Chapter Ten #3
Pippa knew then that she could not live with her conscience if she did not tell him what her terms would be.
There was a slight chance that he would come to care for her, if his kisses were any indication.
Mayhap she should try it again, to see if she still had the same overwhelming reaction to his mouth being pressed to hers.
“Would you kiss me to seal your promise?”
Flaherty’s eyes deepened to the color of a midnight sky. He molded his mouth to hers, sending sparks careening from her mouth to her fingers, from her breasts to her toes. “’Twill be me pleasure to kiss ye, lass, every day. Every morning, midday, and evening for the rest of our lives.”
Pippa had to tell him. She eased out of his embrace and licked her lips, savoring the potent flavor of him.
When he leaned toward her, she struggled to compose herself.
Finally, she put a hand to the middle of his broad chest. “Before you turn my mind to mush, you should know my terms are not negotiable. I will marry you, but you must agree to allow Millie and Roarke to live with us and extend your protection to include them. There is a chance that at some point, Millie will want to live with her father, but until then, I’d like your word that you won’t pressure her to to do so. ”
Flaherty stared at her, as if trying to discern whether she was testing him. “From what I’ve gleaned while ye’ve been living here, I do not believe ye would issue such terms without good reason.”
Thank God he had not refused outright. “I would not.”
“And ’tis clear that Millie fears her brother-in-law.”
“He cannot be trusted.” Needing to win him over, she added, “You must have noticed that the change in Millie as she recovered from the birthing. Under the protection of yourself, O’Malley, and Garahan, she has started to relax and seem like her old self again.
Her babe is thriving, and the fear and the hunted look have vanished from her eyes. ”
When Flaherty remained silent, Pippa urged, “I know it is a huge favor to ask, but I cannot in good conscience leave her to her own devices. I know the moment I let my guard down, Trentchester will move in and whisk Millie and Roarke away. I could never live with myself if I had the chance to protect my very best friend and her babe and did nothing.”
“What about her husband? Is there no chance that he is injured and missing in action?”
Pippa replied, “We have asked our fathers to visit the War Office—they have contacts there that would have the information we seek. Millie has been informed that he died. Not where, nor when or how.”
Flaherty nodded. “It would seem that whatever regiment her husband was attached to was involved in something crucial.” He paused, studying her face without speaking.
Finally, he said, “I think Millie should have a say in this as well. We’ll speak to her together.
If she agrees, then I will offer a permanent place in our home for Millie and her babe for as long as she wishes. Will that be agreeable to ye, lass?”
Tears welled up and spilled over. “Aye, Dillon. Thank you.”
“I could never turn away someone in need—especially yer friend and her infant son. Can ye not understand that I’d do anything for ye, lass?”
“I am beginning to.”
He gave a brief nod. “Well then, there’s just one more thing, Pippa-lass.”
“Oh?”
His lips were a breath from hers when he whispered, “I’ll be thinking of ways ye can thank me later, lass.”
Pippa blinked, but Flaherty’s devastating smile remained on his too-handsome-for-his-own-good face. Needing him to understand that she was not afraid of him, she warned, “I’m no pushover, Dillon.”
The intensity in his blue eyes deepened. He slipped a hand behind her head, tilted it back, and stole her breath with a kiss that set off a conflagration inside of her. Dear Lord, what had possessed her to think that she could ever control the man?
When he ended the kiss, an inadvertent sound of distress escaped before she could think to contain it.
“Ah, Pippa, ye have no idea what ye do to me. Do ye?”
Unable to articulate any one of the myriad thoughts trapped in her brainbox, she opened her eyes to stare into the ones she would see first thing in the morning.
Every morning. The sculpted lips that lifted into a devastating smile the longer she stared at him.
Would he smile at her while they sipped their morning cup of tea before sharing their meal?
He would be far too busy with his duties to the baron and the duke to see her midday…
or even at teatime. Pippa trembled, thinking of gazing at Flaherty during their evening meal before he took her hand, guiding her to the bed they would share…
“Pippa?”
The sound of her name snapped her from her reverie.
This man was dangerous in ways she’d never even considered.
How was she supposed to be diligent in protecting Millie and little Roarke if her mind was muddled with thoughts of kissing her husband—well, her husband-to-be—instead of watching for another attack from within?
Warm lips pressed to the middle of her forehead had her sighing. “Forgive me. I was woolgathering,” she said.
His self-satisfied smile held the knowledge that he knew what she had been thinking. “If that’s what ye’d prefer to call it, I won’t be arguing with ye. Now then, lass, shall we tell Millie that ye’re awake? She’ll be wanting to speak to ye.”
Pippa nodded. “You are right. It would only be right to ask Millie—not tell her—what we have in mind. I know for a fact the payment was coming due on the cottage she and Roarke rented.”
“Did she not have the coin to pay?”
Pippa bowed her head, murmuring what she feared, but Millie had never confirmed: “The payments Roarke arranged before he left to join his regiment have stopped.”
His expression turned lethal for a heartbeat before all emotion was wiped clean from his face.
“I have connections through His Grace. We will get to the bottom of what has happened. Until then, Millie and her babe will be under me protection, and therefore that of me brothers and cousins in the duke’s guard.
All told, there are sixteen of us—including meself.
” Eyes suddenly ablaze with emotion, Flaherty placed his hand to his heart.
“Ye have me word, Pippa-lass, on me honor, me heart, and me life, that neither yerself nor Millie and her babe shall ever be fearful again. Ye will never be cold, nor will ye go hungry again.”
“How can you be certain? I have heard and witnessed how dangerous your duties are.”
Flaherty brushed her cheek, gently, reverently.
“Did ye not hear that ye’ll be a part of me family and under their protection as well?
I have three brothers, two older—Seamus, Rory—and one younger, Fenton.
Four Garahan cousins—including Ryan, whom ye’ve met.
Eight O’Malley cousins—including Thomas, whom ye’ve also met. Shall I name the rest of them for ye?”
She leaned against him, felt the play of the powerful muscles in his broad chest as she let her body all but melt into his.
“No. I did hear you, but my worry got in the way. How could you be so honorable? So willing to take on my vow to my dear friend to protect her and her son? Why are you being so nice to me, when I am the person who shot you?”
Flaherty chuckled. “Well now, lass, ye have a number of attributes that bear exploring…sampling…tasting—once we’ve wed.”
Her mouth fell open, but not a sound emerged. Flaherty was laughing when he called out to the footman in the hallway that Pippa wanted to speak with Millie.
By the time Pippa closed her mouth, and the stain of embarrassment had faded from her cheeks, soft footfalls approached from the kitchen.
“Are ye ready to ask yer friend if she’ll accept me protection and offer of a home?”
Pippa studied him for a moment before asking, “Do you have a home?”