Free A Not So Respectable Gentleman? by Diane Gaston Page B

you know about it? How did you learn of it?’
    He, too, was masked and dressed in black. He held her closer, and the darkness felt like a blanket around them. Her heart skittered.
    He murmured into her ear, ‘You should know why. Never mind how we knew of it. You should not be here. What if Kellford discovers what you are doing?’
    ‘He could hardly do worse to me than what I face after the marriage,’ she retorted. He and his companion were risking far more than she. They would hang if caught. ‘You have obviously broken into the house. You are trespassing, Leo. And stealing. Have your wits gone begging?’
    He held her so close their bodies touched and, in spite of the situation and her anger at him, her senses flamed. Feeling malleable as putty, Mariel found temptation to melt into his embrace become nearly irresistible. He again placed his lips near her ear, and she yearned to turn her head and place her lips upon his.
    ‘I said I would help you,’ he murmured. ‘Leave it to me.’
    Mariel trembled at the whirlwind of emotion and sensation coursing through her. The darkness of the room fuelled the illusion that they were alone.
    The man at the safe put the candle down on the desk; the sound caused enough distraction to jolt her back to reality.
    She strained against his arms. ‘What will you do with the paper if you find it?’
    He released her, but reached up to cup her face. ‘Give it to you, Mariel. What else?’
    Perhaps it was the darkness or the danger with which they flirted, but he seemed to possess her with his touch, warm her with the sound of his voice. Her body ached to be held by him again.
    ‘Mariel,’ he murmured.
    His hand still rested on her arm; his thumb gently rubbed her skin, creating wonderful sparks that flashed through her.
    He drew her closer, leaning down so that his lips were near to hers. Memories flooded her, memories of stolen kisses, hidden from everyone’s view. The impulse to close the scant distance between them and again taste his lips was hard to resist.
    She forced herself to step away from him, out of the alcove to where she could feel chaperoned by the other man. He seemed to be putting keys in the safe’s lock.
    ‘Do you have a key that will fit the lock?’ she asked Leo.
    ‘Not a key. A set of lock picks.’ He still spoke in whispers. ‘How did you intend to open the safe?’
    ‘I would have used a hairpin.’
    He smiled for a moment, then sobered. ‘You must go back, Mariel. Someone might come looking for you, then we will all be in danger.’ He took her arm and led her back to the door. ‘Meet me in the park at eleven tomorrow. The same place where we talked the other day. I will give you the paper then.’
    ‘Yes.’ Her heart gladdened. It would be over by tomorrow. She would be free. Impulsively she flung her arms around him.
    He held her very tight, so tight she could feel the length of his body against hers. The ache grew stronger.
    He released her and, his gloved hand firmly on her arm, walked her over to the door. Opening it a crack, he peeked out. ‘It is safe to leave.’
    She hesitated. ‘The candle I dropped—’
    He put his hand on her back, urging her on. ‘We will take care of it. Go now.’
    She slipped out and hurried down the hallway back to the dining room.
    * * *
    Leo stared at the closed door as if it would give him one more glimpse of her. Her appearance in the room had shocked him. Holding her in his arms, feeling her body against his, had sent his senses reeling. His desire for her was unabated, even if he had ruined long ago any chance of spending the rest of his life with her, loving her each night, waking beside her each morning.
    The wrenching pain he thought he’d buried deep inside him burst forth anew. He felt doubled over with it.
    And it was only worsened by the knowledge that he could have prevented it.
    He glanced over at Walker, who was trying one pick after another. This escapade of theirs was fraught with danger,