Seeing Danger (Sinclair and Raven #2)(10)

“Do you wear those to see near or far?”

His question about her spectacles threw her off her stride further.

“I—ah... both.”

Dev bent closer and looked through them. He saw the glass was plain, just like his bedroom window. The glasses were part of her disguise.

“They do not appear overly strong.”

“Th-they are strong enough.”

She snatched them from her face and cleaned them furiously with her gloved fingers.

“Oh dear.”

“What?” She looked up at him quickly, and he was able to see her eyes clearly once more. Dev felt something settle heavily in his chest as he studied her delicate features.

“Your eyes are an unusual color.”

“I-I am happy with them.”

“Yes, they are lovely.” She really was beautiful, right down to the sweet bow of her upper lip. How the hell had she fooled them all for so long?

“If you will not dance with me, will you come out from behind that statue and tell me what it was that I stumbled across two nights ago?”

“No. However, I would be happy to give you a tour of the conservatory. There is a splendid display of orchids, some quite rare. There is one that is over—”

“I will not be deterred, Miss Braithwaite, so you had best come clean.”

“I have no wish to talk of that matter, as I told you earlier, Lord Sinclair.”

“Then it appears we are at an impasse. I wish to know and you will not tell me. You wish me gone from here; I wish to stay.”

“I overheard your sisters once telling someone that you were a good and fair man.”

“That was nice of them.”

“They said no woman would ever have anything to fear from you.”

“I am trying very hard to imagine what conversation prompted those particular compliments from my sisters. I can only suspect that such nice words were from Essex, and surely I had done something wonderful to get into her good graces.”

Her lips pursed, and he saw that she was getting angry but fighting hard to stay in character.

“The point I am trying to make, Lord Sinclair, is that I have no wish to tell you what you want to know, and if you are the gentleman your sisters believe, then you should not force me.”

She was clever; he'd give her that.

“Were my sisters the ones walking about London streets at such an hour, chasing men with dubious intentions and rescuing a child I suspect lives on those streets, I assure you I would be questioning them the same way.”

She wasn't scared of him, Dev realized, only of what he may learn.

“I am nothing to you.”

“Not quite true, but I take your point. However, after saving you from certain death—”

“Neither Leo nor I would have died from falling on the road,” she scoffed.

“You are certainly as ungrateful as my sisters.”

He saw the small twitch of her lips, and with it came a flash of two dimples he had not known she had. It was yet another glimpse into the woman society knew nothing of.

“Should someone chance upon us, Lord Sinclair, the results would not please either of us; therefore I would ask you to let me pass.”

He knew her words for the truth and yet he could not draw away. Lifting a hand, he traced the bruise marring the pale skin of her jaw. She felt warm to touch and the effect on his body was instant. Every nerve end stood, every pulse thrummed.

“Can we be friends, Miss Braithwaite?”

“No.”

The word made her pout. Just a taste, a small brush of his mouth against hers, and this madness inside him would ease.

“No.” She shook her head as he lowered his. “I don't—”

He swallowed the rest of her words. Dev was gentle, placing small kisses on her lips, each one opening them bit by bit, until she gave him what he wanted. She had the most kissable lips, full against his and shaped to perfection, and in seconds all thought of this being a brief interlude fled from his head.

Had someone doused him in fire he would not have moved. The immediate and powerful reaction he suddenly felt shocked him to his toes. It was as if she touched him everywhere, yet in truth the only skin he could access was her face and lips. It was enough to tell him that when he got this woman undressed and beneath him, theirs would be a fierce passion.



Lilly had never been properly kissed before. There been several pathetic attempts by men who had drunk too much or declared they were enamored by her, which was of course untrue. She’d soon taught them the error of their ways, but this.... Dear God, this was a slow seduction of the senses.

His mouth, which she had previously believed hard, was soft and wicked as it kissed and nibbled hers. She could do nothing to stop the shameful flood of heat that filled her body. It was as if she had relinquished control of herself to him, as if her body were now his to command.

Of their own volition, her arms moved up his body and her fingers dug into the hard muscles on his shoulders. For a brief moment, she almost wished she did not wear gloves, so she could explore the soft hair at his nape.

“Open for me, Lilliana.”

The deep rasp of his words brushed her lips, and she found herself doing as he asked. Felt herself arch into his body, press her breasts against his chest as she sought more from him. More contact, more kisses.