Mr Ashwood returned, dragging Eva out of her melancholy. He carried an old pair of boots that were in fashion long before the turn of the century. Perhaps Howard liked to think of himself as a dashing Cavalier.
“Did you find those in Howard’s room?” Eva couldn’t imagine Howard owning something so terribly passé.
“They were hidden behind his polished Hessians.” Mr Ashwood reached into his own boot and withdrew a blade.
Kathleen gasped in fright.
Eva couldn’t admire the gentleman more if she tried.
“The heel is loose.” Mr Ashwood used the blade to wedge the heel from the sole. “The nails have been removed before.” Indeed, the boot came apart in his hands.
Something shiny and beautiful, something that sparkled beneath the soft glow of candlelight, fell to the floor.
Mr Ashwood discarded the boot and scooped up the rose-cut diamond earrings. He crossed the room, captured Eva’s hand and placed them gently into her palm.
“These belong to you,” he said in the slow hypnotic way that teased her senses. “With luck, we’ll find the other stolen items, too.”
For a moment she couldn’t breathe.
Finding the earrings brought happiness beyond measure. And yet it was the way Mr Ashwood held her hand—as if she were as delicate and as precious as her mother’s diamond jewels—that made her eyes widen in wonder.
“You may leave, Kathleen,” Eva said, though it was Mr Ashwood who commanded her full attention. She couldn’t tear her gaze away. Her desire for the man had been simmering since their passionate kiss. Since his daring declaration.
The maid sobbed. “Leave the house, ma’am?”
“Return to your room tonight. We will discuss your employment tomorrow.”
“Oh, thank you, ma’am. I swear—”
“Good night, Kathleen.”
The maid hurried from the room, her loud sniffs echoing through the hall.
“Based on the note, we must assume your brother is alive and hiding from those who seek to do him harm.” Noah Ashwood ran his finger slowly over the sparkling earrings nestled in her palm. “I believe your brother blabbed to one of his creditors, told them the gems were hidden in your boots to bide time.”
“That’s a logical assumption.”
“It’s perhaps the only logical thought I’ve had all evening.”
“Your mind is distracted?”
A smile played at the corners of his mouth. “My mind has been preoccupied ever since you mentioned a poison that can kill a man in seconds.”
Eva arched a brow. “You fear I might kill you, Mr Ashwood?”
“I’ve spent sleepless nights imagining all the ways you might.” He stroked her cheek, his vibrant green eyes possessing a sensual glint that made her shiver. “But it’s late. I should leave you.”
And yet she sensed his hesitation.
Amid all this mess, she knew one thing with absolute certainty. She wanted Noah Ashwood in every wicked way. She wanted to see his clothes flung about the floor, wanted to mould her body to his, feel his heat searing her skin. She wanted to know what it was like to feel pleasure from a man’s touch. Life was precarious. What if she never felt this way again?
And so she inhaled deeply and said, “Stay.”
Chapter 12
Stay!
The word wrapped around his heart with the same steely grip it did his cock. It was a tempting invitation. A host of erotic images bombarded his mind. He wanted Evangeline Dunn. He wanted to consume her, claim her, drive deep into her sumptuous body. He wanted to care for her, protect her, which was the most worrying part of this whole affair.
And it would be an affair.
A wild, passionate affair.
No longer could he deny his craving.
But Bower would know he’d spent the night, would reveal all to Lucius Daventry in the morning. Noah supposed he could devise a stratagem, leave the house, enter the alley leading to Castle Street, clamber over the wall into the garden of Number 12. But he refused to sneak about like a randy young buck.
Sod Daventry. Noah had proved himself to the Order a hundred times or more. Despite his need to help victims of crime, he could not temper his feelings for Miss Dunn.
But appeasing Daventry wasn’t his only problem. The maid’s confession led him to believe the Turners were responsible for attacking Eva in the street. The only way to prove the theory was to visit the stench-filled Rosemary Lane—home of The Compass Inn.
But he would deal with the issue tomorrow.
“You must think me extremely forward,” she said when he failed to reply, her body stiffening as if fighting the first stab of humiliation.
“On the contrary. It just occurred to me that I have been negligent during this investigation.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Negligent? You? That’s absurd.”
“Yes, shocking, I know. But I failed to examine a vital piece of evidence.” It was a mistake he was about to rectify. “I should have conducted a thorough inspection of your thigh. It’s an important factor I’ve overlooked.”
She swallowed. “An extremely important factor.”
Desire flowed through him like a fast-flowing river. He stared at her parted lips, at the rapid rise and fall of her breasts as her breathing raced.
“Perhaps such an intimate exploration calls for more comfortable surroundings,” he suggested, although the angel on his shoulder sought to remind him of his duty. The devil reminded him that loving any woman brought nothing but pain. For the first time in his life, he listened to neither.
“Then we should retire to my bedchamber while the mood for work still compels you.” Beneath her innocent demeanour was a seductress in the making.
“Be assured, I’m compelled to work hard this evening.”
“Then we should not delay.”
She captured his hand and pulled him towards the door. An excitable energy vibrated between their palms. Anticipation had his heart pounding, his cock throbbing.
Once inside her bedchamber, she released his hand.
“Close the door, Noah.” She kicked off her slippers and placed them carefully in a box on her dressing table, along with the dainty diamond earrings she clutched in her hand.
He closed the door. The click of
