The Trouble With Misbehaving. Victoria Hanlen

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СКАЧАТЬ pulled her to him and covered her mouth with his. Mint and vanilla filled his senses.

      Her sweet, almost maidenly response surprised him. No, she probably wasn’t a tart. Just a hasty stolen kiss, yet he couldn’t help appreciate the tantalizing fit of her supple lips under his and how her body softened against him. His heart stammered and launched into a faster beat. Lifting his head, he gazed about her bewildered, upturned countenance, breathlessly poised for a man’s kisses. Hmm, not entirely a maiden either.

       Perhaps another quick kiss would clarify matters?

      Alarms blared through his mind, but the evening’s stresses muted their warning. Months of wondering if each day would be his last had his inner voice insisting: live life when it’s handed to you…it could end in a heartbeat.

      He lowered his head and softly brushed her lips.

      Though clearly not experienced, she returned his caress with such tenderness he couldn’t describe why it felt so thrilling, so right. They’d just met, yet she kissed him as if she was…as if they were…well, something more than strangers.

      She circled her arms around his neck and leaned into him. This spurred him further. He angled his head for a better fit; she moved to accommodate. Warmth trickled into the damaged, hollow place in his heart. For the first time in a very long while he allowed himself the comfort of human contact, and he couldn’t keep his starved longing from entering his caress. Lifting her off her feet, he held her tight in his arms.

      C.C. responded with a sigh and melted into him, sending shocks through his torso. A sensual fog clouded his mind. His heart thumped wildly and another part grew uncomfortably insistent. The woman wasn’t joking when she promised the Highest Rewards and Benefits.

      Hazy thoughts struggled through overloaded senses.

      No. This was too convenient. He still didn’t know why she’d sent him the notes. Two men were trailing him. Was she really a spy? He set her down. “Madam, this better not be a trap.”

      At his words, she pushed out of his arms. Her confused expression sharpened. “If you’d responded to the first two letters we wouldn’t be tromping around a darkened pleasure garden at nearly midnight.”

      “Quiet,” he breathed, as he peered around for their pursuers. “Four words, madam. What’s this about?”

      “The Roundabout…the blockade.” Her voice quavered between gasps.

      The Roundabout? How did this woman know about his ship? “I don’t understand.”

      “I need your help. You have the experience and knowledge to help my family—”

      Footsteps crackled through the leaves and grass only a few feet away. A deep, gravelly voice rasped through the gloom, “It was her, I tell you. She went into this grove with some bloke. Keep looking.”

      She went into this grove with some bloke? They were chasing C.C. and not him? Beau’s protective nature marched to the fore. He pushed her behind him and peered out from the side of the bower. Two large figures clomped toward them. A breeze carried the stench of stale sandalwood and sweat. One of the men coughed so badly he bent over double.

      C.C. gasped behind him and he could only make out a few of her muttered words: “Not again…that insufferable termite.” Before he could stop her, she scurried out the back of the bower and disappeared into the fog.

      ***

      Miss Calista Collins dashed from hedge to tree on quivering legs. Indecision dogged her wobbly retreat. After three and a half years the War Between the States had slowly dismantled the South. Now her family in North Carolina desperately needed her help, and Captain Tollier was the only man she would trust to take her through the Union blockade.

      Laws, he’d actually kissed her…and she’d kissed him back! She fingered her lips and drew in a ragged breath. Should she try to find him again, or leave Cremorne? She couldn’t decide. His kisses had scrambled her wits. And drat him, the captain didn’t even know the extent of her business proposal because he’d thrown her letters into the fire!

      Now those two scoundrels had ruined everything. Did they suspect her real reason for being here?

      A branch snapped behind her. She turned. All she could see was swirling fog. It could be Captain Tollier, or it might be the coughing villain who’d been loitering on her street corner.

      Nothing had gone as planned. After all her work and forethought she’d not been prepared for any of it…the captain’s dazzling charm or his lusty manner or…the sun-kissed lights in his honeyed hair.

      Another branch crackled, sending her scampering into a nearby vine-covered arbor.

      “Oh!” a woman yelped.

      “Christ!” growled her partner.

      The couple’s odd silhouette quite shocked C.C. “Oh, my, I’m terribly, terribly sorry!” Gasping, she quickly backed out and skittered to another hedge. This evening’s events had stretched her nerves to a frazzle, and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. The air was indeed dense tonight. She pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle her wheezes, only to be reminded of the captain’s kisses.

      Kissing had never much appealed to her. Only a handful of men had made the attempt. Anything more than a quick peck made her feel slobbered on—like her aunt’s Basset hound’s kiss. But when the captain pulled her into his arms and sealed his soft, full lips over hers the unexpected pleasure stunned her.

      Now annoyance struggled with unwanted desire. How had he enticed her into doing things totally contrary to her character and certainly not on her agenda? It had been years since she’d found a man irresistible. And that had ended in disaster.

      She didn’t like how the captain’s kisses alternately bewildered and sent thrills through her, or that her treacherous body melted so comfortably into his.

      She’d too much to do and no time for confusion. Why did she have to find Captain Tollier so compelling?

      She inhaled. Laws, his exotic citrus cologne still lingered on her cheek. Tingles raced over her skin. No one told her his voice had such a deep, rich timbre or that he possessed such roguish charm.

      A deep voice murmured in the distance.

      Her pulse leapt. She almost called out before stopping herself. It might be one of those scoundrels instead. Hadn’t everything been spoiled anyway? Could she even have a reasonable conversation with the captain now?

      It was getting late. The pleasure gardens would soon close. Should she wait for him, try to find him or leave? This whole endeavor had been assembled with Captain Tollier in mind.

      Her family in North Carolina needed her help. If she didn’t make haste things could get a lot worse. This also might be her last chance to discover answers to a decade-old mystery.

      A hand bell rang through the fog followed by a booming voice, “Cremorne Pleasure Gardens will close in ten minutes. Please proceed to the exits.”

      C.C. ground her teeth. Captain Tollier obviously hadn’t followed. No doubt, he’d slithered away into the mist. Drat it all, now she’d have to hunt him down again.

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