Chapter Twenty-Six
As much as Tobias knew his whole attention should have been focused on finding a killer, while he stood there in Jack’s entrance hall watching as the lady herself strode towards him, all thoughts of anything but her flew from his mind.
The dark-sapphire-blue dress she wore hugged her waist to perfection, while the soft silk of her skirt clung softly against her hips, swishing against the floor as she made her way over to him.
A portion of her thick, auburn hair was twisted back into a loose bun, while the rest cascaded in thick waves down to her waist, each strand caught by the light and reflecting a warm, copper glow, which he wanted to touch to see if it felt as silky as it looked.
For a moment, he stood there, completely captivated as she stopped at the coat stand and grabbed her cloak, then swung it over her shoulders, tying the strings around her neck.
He’d never been so entranced by anyone before.
As she came to a halt in front of him, her bright-blue eyes staring at him with a curiosity she wasn’t trying to hide, he couldn’t help himself—he took a step closer to her until they were but inches apart.
He knew it was completely inappropriate, but for once, Tobias didn’t care. He wanted to do something entirely inappropriate with this woman boldly standing her ground in front of him. “Did you sleep well?” he asked her, his voice husky.
Slowly, she shook her head, the pulse at her neck thrumming rapidly. “Not particularly…” Her voice trailed off as they stood there, staring at each other, an energy between them that was electric.
“Neither did I,” he whispered. “My dreams were filled with you.”
She gulped but did not look away. “They were?”
“All night,” he confirmed, slowly reaching out his hand until his fingers brushed against hers. It was like lightning passed between them, and he knew she felt it too when she breathed in sharply.
He wanted this woman, with a sudden, consuming need he hadn’t known he possessed.
“Miss Hart?” an older woman’s voice interrupted, and Tobias took a hasty step back as Jack did the same.
“Yes, Mrs. Thompson, what is it?” Jack turned to the lady, who bustled into the entrance from the side hallway.
“I thought you might need some snacks for the day.” The lady handed Jack a small knapsack, her eyes locking on Tobias’s, a warning in their depths. “There’s also a little something else in there, in case you need it for protection, considering your favorite dagger is still missing.”
Tobias glanced down at the bag as Jack pulled it open, and he saw a small derringer inside. He glanced over at Mrs. Thompson and could see she’d meant him to notice the gun.
“Thank you, Mrs. Thompson,” Jack said, closing the bag and swinging it over her shoulder. “I promise I’ll be careful.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” Mrs. Thompson said, crossing her hands over her chest and glaring at Tobias as if she had daggers in her eyes.
“I’ll be fine.” Jack crossed over to the lady and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning back to Tobias and motioning to the door. “Shall we go?”
He nodded, then opened the door and held it open for her as she went ahead of him outside.
Following her out, he closed the door behind him and couldn’t help but admire the sight of her as she strode down the steps to the street below; there was such strength and purpose behind every step she took. It was compelling.
The thought that a killer was targeting her pierced his heart and he clenched his fists. He dealt with death day in and day out. It was a harsh reality of the life he’d chosen, but he wouldn’t let that death get close to Jack.
“I have a possible lead,” she said, turning to him as he walked up beside her. There was excitement in her eyes as she pulled out a piece of newspaper from her skirt pocket. “I think I know where Bethany Cartwright was heading on the day she disappeared.”
He took the paper from her and opened it up. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the Great Dondaric’s advertisement, and the words below it. Perhaps this was the link to magic they’d been missing. “It seems like we need to pay this address a visit, and then the Great Dondaric too, don’t you think?”
She nodded, but her eyes clouded over. “I agree. And the docks aren’t too far of a walk. Let’s go.”
Tobias fell in step beside her as they began to stride towards the address. “What was Dodd to you?” He found himself wanting to know rather desperately.
Jack pressed her lips together, her eyes drifting ahead into the distance, though her steps didn’t falter for an instant.
He thought she wasn’t going to answer him, but then she did.
“At first I thought he was going to be my rock,” she said.
“That he and I were going to create something together, a family, a purpose, a future. So, when he asked me to marry him, I accepted, though deep down, a part of me knew it was all an illusion… That he was only asking me because he knew it was the only way I’d share my father’s secrets with him. ”
“I don’t think that’s all he wanted from you.” No man could look at Jack without wanting her the woman, not the magician’s daughter. Tobias hated the thought that she’d been hurt.
“You’re quite right; it wasn’t all,” she acknowledged, her eyes flicking back to his as she squared her shoulders but continued walking down the street. “In any event, twelve months later, once he’d learned all he could and had gotten bored with me, that’s when he disappeared.”
“He didn’t deserve you.” Tobias couldn’t imagine anyone getting bored with her. She was the most intriguing woman he’d ever met.
She smiled wryly. “It wasn’t really Caleb’s fault.
Deep down, I knew he was a rake and a selfish son of a bitch, but I’d been so alone in the six years since my father had died—having to fend for myself day in and day out—that I desperately wanted to believe in a fairy tale.
To believe that I could have a family again.
I was happy to be swept up in the magic of being wanted and needed.
In the end, though, Caleb did me a favor.
He taught me the importance of not relying on somebody else for my happiness or my future, and not to let my heart be so easily captured. ”
“Do you still have feelings for him?” Tobias knew it was inappropriate to ask, but he had to know.
She glanced across at him before her attention turned back to navigating around the other pedestrians rushing past them on the street. “That’s bold of you to ask.”
“It is,” he agreed. But he’d not met another woman like her.
A woman who not only intrigued and challenged him, but who made his heart thud in her presence.
Something he hadn’t thought to ever experience again.
Something he wasn’t going to just let go of, at least not without doing his best to pursue her.
“After this investigation is done, I intend to court you.”
“You what?” Jack exclaimed, coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the footpath.
Tobias paused and turned to face her. “You’re a woman who likes directness, so I’m being as direct as possible. I intend to court you.”
She blinked and her lips parted slightly. “I’m twenty-eight years old. A little old to be courted, don’t you think?”
He shrugged. “And I’m thirty-five. Age makes no difference, apart from allowing you to realize that it slips away all too quickly.
I’ve gotten to a point in my life where when I see something I want, I go after it.
And I want you, Jaqueline Maguire. So, yes, after all this is over, I intend to court you. ”
*
Jack didn’t know how long they stood there on the street, their eyes locked together with an intensity that had her heart skittering as the hunger in his gaze sent a whisper of longing through her entire being.
She licked her suddenly dry lips and felt lost for a minute.
Of course, other men had shown interest over the years, but none with whom she’d ever actually considered having a liaison.
But Tobias was different. The attraction between them was all but sizzling in the atmosphere, and the thought of his hands stroking against her skin while his lips brushed against hers had her body throbbing in need.
A need she’d buried for years but that was springing to life with an intensity that had her aching.
“No. I have no feelings left for Caleb whatsoever,” she said in answer to his original question, caring little for the complaints of passersby as they had to walk around them while the pair continued standing there in the middle of the footpath.
“But what makes you think I would welcome your advances?”
Tobias’s lips quirked up at the corners, and Jack’s breath hitched. Why did the man have to be so attractive? How was a woman meant to resist such a grin?
“You’re as attracted to me as I am to you,” his deep voice murmured as he bent down to her ear, his breath whispering against her flesh, sending goosebumps across her skin. “And we’re old enough to acknowledge that rather than tiptoe around it, aren’t we?”
She took a step back from him, her thoughts far too clouded by his very nearness, her body begging for his touch.
Resist Jack, resist. “You’re right; I am attracted to you.
” There, there was no harm in acknowledging that, she hoped.
“But I have no intention of ever tying myself down to a man again.”
He gave a half shrug. “I don’t intend to tie you down, Jack. I’d just like a chance to explore what this is between us, and I think you want that too, if you’re honest with yourself.”