Free 1939912059 (R) by Delilah Marvelle Page A

in his warmth.
    He smoothed her hair. “Are you comfortable?” he murmured.
    She nodded against him. “Yes. Are you?”
    “Yes. Very. You make me forget we just met.”
    She shifted, loosening her hold.
    His hands dragged hers back up and over his shoulders. “Keep your arms around me for a bit longer. I like it.” He kissed her head.
    She bit back a smile. The promise of great fortune and fame aside, she had to admit she liked this one.

Nightfall
    Although the rain had finally stopped, the roads were too dark to travel on, because there was no moon light peering through the thick, cloud-ridden sky. So they stayed in the forest and talked about everything but nothing in particular.
    It was going to be a long night.
    Gérard quietly watched the fire he managed to start by flint despite the wet branches. He had strategically burned whatever blank parchments of paper he could find from within the large stacks of documents he swiped out of his godfather’s desk that had remained untouched within the secret room of the palace back at Versailles.
    The vandalism and missing furniture, shattered chandeliers and slashed portraits that had once graced Versailles’ pristine façade had been shocking. Gérard had grown up running through those corridors whenever he and his family had been invited to stay. He’d been fortunate. Except for some vagabonds looking for a place to sleep, no one was there. Walking through that echoing silence of a marble palace that might never see another king made him realize he was running out of time. And hope.
    But he had found his hope. And it was brilliant.
    Glancing toward Thérèse who had grown quiet, he dug into his leather satchel, which he had earlier set on the blanket they sat on. That lone tear of hers that had trickled down her face shortly after they made love, made him achingly realize he never wanted to see another tear roll from that eye again.
    He carefully nudged past the stack of documents and, pushing aside several empty silver flasks, he removed his very last flask that was still full of brandy. He closed the satchel to ensure the documents remained hidden.
    Uncorking the flask, he hesitated and held it out toward her. “Here.” He softened his tone in the hopes of winning back her attention. “Have some.”
    She shook her braided blonde head, setting her chin primly on the bent knees of her arranged skirts. She stared at the fire, her flawless pale skin glowing against the flickering light. Her sultry, heavy-lidded azure eyes gave the illusion she was trying to seduce the flame.
    She was so beautiful. It almost hurt looking at her.
    Gérard took a swig of brandy, savoring the stinging warmth of its spicy oak flavor.
    When they first met, he had weighed the possibility she had been hired to lure him and take the papers. But an array of wavering, niggling, unabating doubts led him into realizing the gendarmerie nationale would not have hired a woman to seduce him who was clearly against doing the job.
    So what did he do? He lost what little was left of his rational mind.
    He had been too damn aroused by her presence to pretend he wanted anything else but sex. For he knew if death was going to take him for the papers he held, he was going out in style. With her. Now. Here. For hell only knew what awaited him in Paris.
    “Did you always want to be an actress?” he asked.
    Her eyes flicked over to him. “Yes.”
    Prior to his bold advance of proving to her sex didn’t require love, she had been incredibly chatty. Overly chatty. And now? She barely offered complete sentences.
    He blamed himself. He had a tendency to dig his teeth in deep and quick when it came to a particular woman he wanted. And she had sparked far, far more than his body. She had sparked his mind and soul into believing in the power of women again. Within the first hour of meeting her, he had quickly fit this Thérèse into the ‘soul on fire’ category.
    And together, they were going to take over Paris