A Lady by Midnight (Spindle Cove #3)(105)

As the sun was setting, Badger came by. After depositing the gift of a limp church mouse just outside the door, he settled down in the grass and propped his head on his paws. Waiting. For hours. Until moonlight poured through the gaps overhead, like streams of quicksilver.

“Think of the dog,” she crooned. “Look at him. You know he won’t leave. He’s going to sit there all night long. Out, exposed in the elements. Poor little pup, shivering in the cold.”

Thorne made a dismissive noise. “This is all his doing.”

Well, if concern for the dog wouldn’t move him . . .

“I’m cold.” She trembled for effect. “Won’t you come sit beside me, or are you just going to let me shiver, too?”

At last she’d found the argument to move him. With obvious reluctance, he came and sat beside her on the small, unyielding bench.

She caught his wrists by the iron manacles, still chained together, and ducked her head to slip into the circle of his arms. He didn’t fight her as she leaned against his chest, snuggling into his warmth. Pressing her ear to his shirt front, she found his heartbeat, strong and steady.

“You should go,” he murmured. “Go back to the Queen’s Ruby and sleep in a warm bed.”

“A warm bed sounds lovely indeed. But only if you’re in it. I’ll wait to go home with you.”

His hands flattened against her back, pulling her close. With his thumb, he stroked light caresses up and down her spine.

“I’m not leaving this place without you, Samuel. You didn’t leave the Hothouse without me.”

“That was decades ago. We were children. There’s nothing you owe me now.”

She laughed wryly. “Only my life, health, happiness, and all the love in my heart.” She slid her arms around his waist and looked up at him. “This isn’t about the past, Samuel. It’s about our future. I can’t imagine being happy without you.”

“Katie, you must know . . . it’s only because of you that I can imagine being happy at all.”

She swallowed back a lump of emotion. “Then why are you resisting me now, after everything? Is it solely a matter of your bull-headed pride?”

A half smile tugged at his lips. “If my ‘bull-headed pride’ is inconvenient, you should know that any pride I have is entirely your fault.”

He closed his eyes and pressed his brow to hers.

“It’s all your fault.” His voice was rough with emotion. “You listened when I needed it. Laughed when I needed that. You wouldn’t go away, no matter how I scowled or raged. You loved me despite everything, and you made me look deep inside myself to find the strength to love you in return. I’m a different man because of you.”

Her heart swelled with joy.

“But that’s not enough. I’m not enough. What if I’d hurt you last night? What if it happens again?”

“You didn’t hurt me,” she insisted. “You’ve never hurt me. Even when you’ve . . . slipped away in the heat of the moment, you’ve always come back. You’ve always kept me safe.”

“What if . . .” His voice trailed off. He cleared his throat and continued. “There’d be children. I worry about children.”

She hugged him tight. “We needn’t be in any rush to start a family. You’ve been one year back in England, after spending a decade on campaign. Give yourself some time to heal. You don’t have to quarantine yourself to some uninhabited wilderness. The darkness will ebb eventually. When it does, I’ll still be here.”

“You shouldn’t have to wait. You deserve someone who’s not broken and brutish and . . .” He exhaled roughly and gripped her tight. “There are better men, Katie.”

“Really? I’ve yet to meet one.”

As she pressed her lips to his in a sweet, tender kiss, Kate could taste victory. The battle was nearly won.

She kissed the stubble-roughened edge of his jaw and made her voice a sultry whisper. “You know, we could be starting our honeymoon in less than an hour.”

She twisted in his embrace just a little, letting her br**sts rub against his chest. Teasing them both with the exquisite sensation. He moaned deep in his chest.

“Do you know what Aunt Marmoset told me once? She compared you to a spice drop. Overpowering and hard at first, but all sweetness at the center. I’ll admit, I’ve been desperate to try an experiment.” She gave him a teasing look. “How many times do you suppose I could lick you before you crack?”

His every muscle tightened.

Smiling, she tucked her face into the curve of his neck and ran her tongue seductively over his skin. “There’s one.”

“Katie.” The word was a low, throaty warning. It made her toes curl.

She nuzzled at the notch of his open shirt, pushing the fabric aside. The familiar musk of his skin stirred her in deep places.

With a teasing swirl of her tongue, she tasted the notch at the base of his throat. “Two . . .”

“Finn,” he called in a booming voice, lifting his head. “Send for the vicar.”

She pulled back, shocked. “Two? That’s all, truly? Two? I’m not sure whether to feel proud or disappointed.”

Finn’s face appeared in the grate. “If it’s all the same to you, Corporal, do you mind holding off another half hour? I’ve got midnight in the betting pool.”