Lady Sophia's Lover (Bow Street Runners #2)(82)

“Yes?” Sophia prompted. “And you renewed your acquaintance with this widow?”

He nodded. “She was similarly lonely, and also desirous of intimacy, so we met discreetly for about four months, until…”

“Until?”

“She began to cry one day after we…” A flush of embarrassment crept over his face. “And she said that she had fallen in love with me. She told me that if I did not return her feelings, she could not continue the affair, as it would be too painful for her.”

“Poor lady,” Sophia said, feeling genuine sympathy for the widow. “And so the relationship ended.”

“Yes. And afterward I felt a great deal of guilt for the pain I had caused her. I also learned something—that as pleasant as the affair had been, it was not nearly as fulfilling without love. So I decided that I would wait until I found the right woman. That was three years ago. The time passed quickly, especially since I was occupied with work.”

“But there must have been nights when you found it impossible,” Sophia said. “A man of your physical nature…”

Ross smiled wryly, not quite meeting her gaze. “Well, there are ways a man can solve that problem by himself.”

“You mean you…”

He looked at her then, a touch of color lingering on his cheekbones. “Haven’t you?”

The canopy of leaves rustled over them, and a lone bird chirped innocently, while Sophia struggled to answer. “Yes,” she finally admitted. “Not long after you were shot. You remember that morning when you kissed me and took me into your bed, and we almost…” Her scalding blush spread everywhere. “After that, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way you touched me, and one night the feelings were so desperate that I—” Mortified, she put her hands over her face with a groan.

Ross twisted his hand in her hair and eased her head back, smiling as he kissed her. Still red-faced, Sophia relaxed in his lap and closed her eyes against the splashes of sunlight that slipped through the swaying branches overhead. His mouth possessed hers with slow, tempting kisses, and she did not protest when she felt him unfastening her clothes. His hands slipped inside the garments to fondle her br**sts, hips, thighs.

“Show me,” he murmured, his lips at her throat.

“Show you what?”

“How you pleasured yourself.”

“No,” she protested, giggling nervously at the outrageous request. He persisted, however, coaxing and teasing and demanding until she acceded with an embarrassed sigh. Her hand trembled as she reached down to the place he had exposed, her drawers at her knees, her skirts rucked up to her waist. “There,” she said, breathing fitfully.

Ross’s fingers lightly covered hers, learning the small, subtle motion. Her hand fell away, and he continued to caress her. “Like this?” he murmured.

She writhed in his lap, breathing too hard to speak.

A tender smile curved his lips as he watched her taut face. “Now, isn’t this better than napping?” he asked, his fingers circling wickedly.

Suddenly lost to shame, she purred and twisted in his lap as sensations flowed over her in an endless river.

The only obstacle to Sophia’s happiness was her growing concern for her brother. Nick cut a swath through London with the same cheerful carnage as always, acting alternately as a master criminal and a “thief-taker general.” Society was divided in its opinion of him. Most still regarded him as a dashing public benefactor for his ability to track and arrest thieves and persuade gang members to inform on each other. However, a small but growing number of people were beginning to condemn his corrupt methods. “When Gentry enters the room,” it was said, “one can smell the brimstone.” It was clear that despite the power he held in the underworld, his throne was an unstable one.

After Sophia had sent Nick the information he had requested, he did not ask her for additional favors, nor was there any further mention of blackmail. From time to time he sent her notes that expressed his brotherly devotion, having an errand boy slip them to her undetected. It broke Sophia’s heart to read these short letters, for her brother’s lack of education was more than obvious. The words were labored and misspelled, but his fanciful intelligence and cautious love for her shone through. The notes gave her glimpses of what kind of man Nick could have become. If only his ambition and keen mind could have been turned to good purposes instead of wicked ones, she reflected sadly. Instead her brother was busy developing an extensive network of spies and informers all over London, not to mention a virtual corporation of thieves. He ran a sophisticated smuggling operation that imported huge quantities of luxury goods and distributed them with stunning efficiency. Nick was smart, bold, and ruthless, a combination of characteristics that made him a criminal mastermind. And what Ross had not admitted to Sophia—but was perfectly clear just the same—was that he wanted to bring Gentry down before he himself retired.

Soon Sophia’s worry over Nick was temporarily set aside by a discovery that overwhelmed her with excitement. Before sharing the news with Ross, she had Eliza prepare one of his favorite dishes—broiled salmon with lime-and-parsley sauce—-and she donned a light sea-green gown with white lace spilling from the neck and sleeves. At the end of the day, when he returned to Bow Street No. 4 after being out on an investigation, Ross was pleasantly surprised by the sight of the small table arranged by the window, with supper waiting beneath domed silver covers. Sophia had lit the room with candles, and she greeted him with a bright smile.