Chapter Twenty-Nine
A frisson of alarm raced down Eleanor’s spine. Her gaze flew to Phin. Their eyes met for a hard moment before he leaned toward the other man, his expression tense.
“You’re certain?” he asked.
“I know the accents of the English upper class well enough,” Aadesh replied, his tone subtly angry.
“During their attack on my home, I saw him, face to face, and heard his voice as he commanded the men to search for the necklace. His men destroyed everything in their path as he stood watching. Despite doing all I could to fight them and prevent their success, I was but one man against nearly a dozen. I failed.” He lowered his head.
His anger was self-directed now. “We had become complacent through the many generations we’d been tasked with our duty to shield others from the curse we created.
There had been too many years of peace. The necklace had been safe for so long.
When it came time for us to prove ourselves, our training was not enough. ”
Eleanor noticed that he used plurals. So, there were others…
“Do you know anything about this British gentleman that might help us identify him?” Phin pressed. “Was anything said that might clarify his motivations or intentions? You must tell us everything you know.”
Aadesh lifted his chin and focused his stare.
“They referred to him as my lord. He knew exactly what he was searching for. He was there for the necklace. I have no idea how he knew its location, but I blame myself for not properly ensuring its safety.” He lowered his head.
“As I said, we’d allowed the importance of our commitment to fade through so many years of having no immediate threat against us. It will not happen again.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Eleanor assured, leaning forward.
“Before I saw Lord Waring’s drawing, I didn’t believe the necklace even existed outside of my grandmother’s book.
” She glanced between the men. “What’s clear to me now is that we have enough reason to work together.
Lord Waring wishes to ensure his friend’s safety.
You wish to ensure the protection of the necklace.
The link between the two is this British nobleman who wants the piece for himself.
If we can identify him and learn his motives, we will likely discover a way for both of you to succeed in your desires. ”
Lowering his brows, Aadesh met her gaze with an earnest, questioning stare. “And what is your desire, Kumari?”
Unable to keep her eyes from flickering over to Phin, who stared back with his bright, penetrating gaze, Eleanor replied firmly, “I desire to see the matter resolved without more bloodshed. There has been far too much death already in this story.” She returned her focus to Aadesh.
“The necklace must be kept safe from those who’d exploit it. ”
His expression remained still and unreadable as he stared back at her. Oddly, she felt no need to flinch or shrink or glance away, but accepted his perusal with unexpected confidence. After a long moment, he lowered his chin and his gaze in a deferential gesture.
“How shall we attempt such an outcome?”
Eleanor’s heart jumped in her chest. She could barely believe what she was about to say. She met Phin’s gaze again and offered a short smile. “I think I have an idea.”
*
It was a few hours later that Phin escorted Eleanor back to the garden gate of Lindley House.
He was not at all happy with what had been decided.
But his protests had all been countered.
If he wasn’t so…personally, emotionally invested in the situation, he likely would’ve been the first to agree it was a sound plan.
Clever and efficient with a sort of poetic justice that appealed to his sense of drama.
But—
He glanced at Eleanor who walked beside him with her cloak securely hiding her features. He could barely make out the tip of her nose peeking out from the shadows of her hood.
Her bravery had astonished him once again. Not a brash, ostentatious thing, this woman’s courage was quietly fierce, like a thread of steel woven within silk. And he suspected that she had no idea how strong and bold she really was.
But that didn’t mean she had to willingly place herself in harm’s way.
No matter how many times he vowed to himself that he would keep her from danger, he constantly seemed to bring her closer to it.
He must have expressed his frustration out loud as she turned to him, her soulful eyes finding his instantly. Likely reading his expression, since he wasn’t bothering to conceal his distress, she offered a reassuring smile.
“This is going to work,” she said softly.
“I know,” he replied. “That’s what scares me.”
She arched a brow. “You? Scared?” Her tone was teasing. “I didn’t think that was possible for an adventurer of your experience.”
“I’ve never experienced this,” he grumbled under his breath just as they arrived at the gate to her garden.
“Never experienced what?” she asked gently.
He ignored her question as he reached for the latch to open the gate.
She stopped him with a hand on his forearm, stepping forward to block his movement.
Phin flicked his gaze to hers and his breath became trapped mid-inhale.
Her beauty stunned him. It sang through his blood, swirled like life in his veins, and wrapped around his heart. It was her bravery and compassion and uncertainty. It was her reluctant humor and her grace and her intelligence.
She tilted her head. Her stare seemed to darken and his attention fell helplessly to her lovely rose-tinted lips.
“What have you never experienced, Phin?” The words were a husky whisper, and if he weren’t so enamored with her, he might have had enough wit to suspect that she already knew the answer to her question.
As it was, all he managed to conceptualize was that she was seeking an answer from him.
And he’d already learned that he’d give her anything she desired.
The hand which had reached for the latch, now swept around her waist as he stepped into her. Aligning his body to hers while he pressed her back against the stone wall of the garden. His voice was raw and graveled. “This.”
Holding her sultry stare, he lowered his mouth to hers. Already tilting her chin upward, she looped her arms around his neck. Eager. As if she’d instigated the kiss from the start.
Maybe she did.
He didn’t care.
A low, humming moan of satisfaction rolled in his throat as he brushed his lips across hers. Silky soft and honey sweet.
Her sigh was warm as she swept her tongue along the seam of his lips. He pulled her closer and let her in. A husky sound of pleasure and need slid from her and her arms tightened. The kiss twisted and plunged, deepening with increasing passion.
Phin’s body hardened and his blood thrummed. The urge to claim and keep was a force within him. It overwhelmed caution and inspired some primitive need.
“Take me to your bed,” he demanded in a graveled tone against her mouth.
A soft laugh spilled from her throat. She pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his lips before tipping her head back against the wall to gaze up at him with a sparkling gaze.
“It’s the middle of the day,” she noted with a smile.
His arms tightened around her. “I don’t care.”
Her smile widened for a moment. But then she sighed and glanced aside. Her arms loosened around his neck until she had the freedom to twist her fingers playfully through the hair at his nape, sending tingling shivers down his spine.
“It’s not a good idea,” she finally murmured.
He tensed to argue. It was a fantastic idea. “Why not?”
Dark eyes returned to his. “You promised to be careful,” she whispered soulfully. “Remember?”
Dammit.
He glanced over the wall to the great mansion rising opulently beyond. Then he slid a glance down the length of the mews—one way then the other.
Though they were currently pressed to the garden wall and he doubted anyone from the house would see them, they were still in full view of anyone who might happen along the narrow lane where they stood.
Looking back to the woman in his arms, he clenched his jaw and smoothed a hand up the length of her spine. He was pleased to see her lips part and her pupils widen at the sensations caused by his caress. Then he bent his head and pressed another soft kiss to her lips.
“Tonight?”
“I’ve a ball to attend. I’ll likely be out very late.”
“I’ll wait,” he vowed roughly.
“And you now have a houseguest,” she added in a murmur, though her fingers continued to wreak havoc over the sensitive nerves at the back of his neck.
“Aadesh will be fine.”
She smiled, the curve of her lips slightly crooked, and his heart lurched hard against his ribs.
“Do you think you can slip through my house undetected? Find your way to my bedroom door without being intercepted?”
The softly spoken boldness of her challenge fired his blood. His reply was gruff. “Easily.”
She smiled again. This time, the curve of her lips and her half-cast gaze were undeniably sensual. A rush of heat angled to his groin even as she stepped to the side and slipped out of his arms. A moment later, she’d disappeared through the gate and into the garden.
Phin remained there along the wall for a long while after, fisting his hands to resist the desire to follow her and shaking his head at his own foolishness.
There was no denying it…
He was in deep.