She looked down at her lap and the gloved hand that rested there. Why could Simon not see the stains of her transgressions?
He reached over and squeezed her fingers. “The blood you seek is on Welton’s hands.”
“I wish that were true.”
“It is.” Simon settled back into his seat.
“Tell me how it is that a known criminal would be invited here.”
“Word has it the future Lord Harwick was maimed during a failed abduction attempt. It is said that his father approached St. John to act as the method of his retribution. The miscreants were dealt with, and Harwick’s gratitude manifests itself in open invitations to his gatherings, amongst other things.”
“A devil’s bargain.”
“To be sure,” Simon drawled smoothly. “So tell me what your plans are, and I will formulate a way to assist you.”
“There is too much uncertainty for me to steer a clear course. Why did St. John choose this venue for us to meet? Why not my residence or his?” Maria sighed. “If I were not so desperate, I would not play this game of his.”
“You think best on your feet. You always have.”
“Thank you,” she said earnestly, taking comfort in Simon’s esteem. “At present, I wish merely to speak privately with St. John. Hopefully, he will tell me at least a small measure of how he thinks our association can benefit him. Based on that, I can move forward.”
“Ah well, that I can help you with easily. He took that path behind you only a moment ago. I believe Lady Harwick mentioned a pantheon being in that general direction. If you wish to follow, I shall make certain you are not disturbed.”
“Simon, you are a blessing.”
“How good of you to notice.” He smiled. “Are you sufficiently armed?”
She nodded.
“Good. I will see you shortly.”
Maria rose to her feet without haste, her movements leisurely as she set the post of her parasol to her shoulder and began to stroll. A carelessly affected glance behind her found Simon intercepting a couple intent on the same gravel pathway she took. Secure in the knowledge that he would handle things beautifully as he always did, she set her mind to the task ahead.
Rounding a large hedge, Maria quickened her pace, her appearance of lazy perusal discarded. She took note of various markers along the way to keep her bearings-a pyramid here, a statue there. A few moments out, she spotted the pantheon up ahead and abandoned the trail, closing her parasol before weaving through the bordering copse. She circled the small building, looking through the pillars to the interior and then through the rear door.
“Looking for me?”
She spun about and found St. John leaning casually against a tree she had passed mere seconds before. Seeing the arrogant curve of his lips, Maria recovered quickly, removing all traces of surprise from her features with a wide smile. “No, actually.”
The effect was what she had hoped for. His grin faltered, the smug gleam in his eyes flaring with a spark of awareness. She took that moment to study him in the dappled sunlight, her first clear viewing. His obviously powerful frame was draped in dark blue velvet that matched his irises and set off the golden strands of hair he kept neatly restrained in a queue. His eyes were not the bright blue of Simon’s, but a deeper, darker shade. They were startling in contrast to the unsurpassed beauty of his face.
“I do not believe you,” he challenged in that delicious rasp that moved like rough silk over her skin.
“I do not care.”
He had the countenance of an angel, a man so handsome he seemed almost unreal. It made a woman’s brain stumble to see those jaded eyes and hear that husky, earthy voice from an otherwise ethereal masculine creature.
And he was definitely male, regardless of that perfection.
White stockings clung to firmly muscled calves, and she could not help but wonder what activities he engaged in to bear the form of a laborer. A build she admired on Simon, but even more so on St. John, who lacked Simon’s softer edge.
“Why, then, are you traipsing through the forest?” he asked.
“Why are you?” she tossed back.
“I am a man, I do not traipse.”
“Neither do I.”
“I noticed,” he murmured. “You, my Lady Winter, were too busy spying.”
“What do you call what you are doing?”
“I have an assignation with a lady.” He pushed away from the tree in a dangerously graceful movement and she resisted the urge to step back.
“Is she a bit…icy, perhaps?”
His gait was slow and blatantly seductive. She admired it even as she marveled at his daring. Her stomach fluttered, but she hid her response.
“Chilly enough to lure men who enjoy a challenge. But I think it’s a facade.”
She laughed. “Has she given you any reason to doubt?”
St. John came to a halt before her. A warm, gentle breeze blew past her, carrying with it a faint hint of the bergamot and tobacco she remembered from his embrace in the theater. “She is meeting me here. As an intelligent woman, she knows what will happen if she seeks me out.”
“You made sure I would come,” she said softly, her head tilting back so their gazes stayed locked together. In such close proximity she saw the lines that bracketed his mouth and eyes, signs of a rougher life than his immaculate garments would suggest. “I’m certain you noticed that I did not come alone.”
Moving so quickly he took her unawares, St. John caught her waist and nape in his large hands and tugged her into his body. “I noticed you are no longer fucking him.”
For a moment his rough possession and the harsh edge to his crude speech startled her into silence. Then she found her voice.
“Are you mad?” she asked breathlessly, panting softly within the unyielding prison of her corset, her parasol dropped to the leafy floor.
The day was warm, but that was not what sent heat racing across her skin. As had happened before, nerve endings flared to painful life at the feel of his arms around her. The mass of her skirts forced her off balance, their chests touching, but yards of material separated his thighs from hers. That did not alter her knowledge that he was aroused. She did not have to feel his cock to know it was erect for her. She could see it in his eyes.
And when he kissed her, she could taste it.
Closing her eyes, Maria told herself to ignore the feel of his lips against hers. Soft, with a brushing touch of the tip of his tongue. But the taste of him-dark and dangerous-was delightful and she indulged, opening to him, and was rewarded with his soft rumble of approval.
He took her mouth as if they had all the time in the world. As if a bed were nearby and he could deliver on the promises made by his deep licks. There was something about the way he handled her, both harsh and tender, that affected her deeply. He stole what he wanted by force, but in a gentle manner so completely at odds with his approach.
For long moments, she allowed him to intoxicate her, her senses reeling behind her closed eyelids. His thumb circled lazily at the back of her neck, an easy rhythmic caress that made her back arch and her toes curl. Her nipples ached, her lips trembled. The quivering in her belly was reflected in her hands, forcing her to cling to his coat to hide the depth of her reaction.
Then she reclaimed her wits and divested him of his illusions.
His posture stiffened the instant the point of her blade pressed against his thigh. Lifting his head, he took a shuddering breath. “Remind me to disarm you the next time I wish to seduce you.”
“No seducing, Christopher.”
As his embrace slackened, Maria stepped away. “I may call you Christopher, yes? Truly, that was one of the best kisses I have ever had. Perhaps
