Andrea Kane (43 page)

“Really. Irrevocably. Eternally.” He punctuated each promise with a bone-melting kiss.

“I want a houseful of children with silver-gray eyes and devastating dimples.” She stroked her hands down his back.

“And pure, trusting hearts and romantic dreams,” he agreed, trailing his lips down the hollow between her breasts.

Sammy’s breath caught in her throat when Rem turned his head, nuzzled the warm curve of her breast, and simultaneously caressed her thighs with slow, tingling strokes of his hand. He shifted again, drew her achingly taut nipple into his mouth, and Sammy had to bite her lip to stifle her cry of pleasure.

“So sweet,” he breathed. “So extraordinarily beautiful.” He moved to her other breast, his own breathing ragged, tugging lightly at the crest until he felt Sammy shift restlessly beneath him. “Yes, darling,” he replied as if she’d spoken. Ardently, he enveloped her nipple, bathed it with his tongue, while his hands urged her thighs to part, opened her to his touch.

He shuddered when he found her, so satiny wet he had to grit his teeth against the climax threatening to erupt in his loins. He entered her with his fingers, feeling her inner muscles clench around him, then expand in wondrous welcome.

A soft cry escaped Sammy’s mouth, and Rem lifted his head, covered her lips with his, and drank the muted cry into himself. “Move against my fingers,” he breathed. “I want to feel you.”

Sammy arched, her nails digging into Rem’s back at the burst of pleasure his deeper penetration brought. He withdrew, then glided forward again, beginning a motion Sammy’s body understood. Of its own accord, her hips began to move in conjunction with his fingers, her thighs parting to his possession. With each motion of his hand, she became more abandoned, undulating, tightening, desperate to hold him longer, deeper inside her.

“God,” Rem rasped, withdrawing his fingers and rising to his knees. “I want you every way there is … all at once.” He cupped her bottom, lifting her to his seeking mouth. “I need to know your taste again.”

Writhing in his arms, Sammy pressed her fist to her mouth, frantically trying to silence a scream. Her entire body was on fire, and Rem’s tongue was stoking the flames so high she wondered if she’d survive. He took her to the tantalizing brink of sensation, her muscles taut, poised, frantic for release.

Then he stopped.

“No!” Wildly, she reached for him. “Rem … don’t.”

“I won’t. Never.” He came down over her, wrapped her legs around his waist with shaking hands. “Open your eyes, love. I want to watch you.” With one erotic motion of his hips, he penetrated her softness. “Now.” Even as he spoke, she began convulsing in his arms. “Go ahead and scream,” he whispered, covering her mouth with his. “Samantha …” The last was a harsh groan into her open mouth, his powerful body shuddering with unbearable pleasure. “God, Samantha.”

He matched each spasm of her body with his own, pouring into her with more emotion than he ever knew he possessed, drinking in her cries of pleasure and giving her his.

So this was peace.

“I love you so much, Rem.” Sammy’s breathing, her words, were uneven, her body still quivering with magical aftershocks.

“You make me whole,” he murmured, his face buried in her hair, his body buried inside hers. “And I love you more than all your dreams combined.”

“Do you think anyone heard us?”

Rem grinned, happiness suddenly inundating every dark corner of his newly awakened soul. Rolling to one side, he clasped Sammy tightly to him. “I’m sure no one heard us, imp. I myself drank in all your exquisite little cries of passion.”

Sammy smiled against his chest. “Does that mean I pleased you, my lord rake?”

“You nearly killed me, my lady.”

Leaning back, Sammy chewed her lip in mock dismay. “Are you implying you’re already spent?” She sighed. “’Tis a pity. I had exhilarating plans for the remainder of the night.” Seductively, she reached down to caress his length, feeling him harden instantly at her touch. “You see, I have yet to explore you, my lord. You’ve given me such intriguing possibilities to contemplate; ways that I might learn your body as you learned mine … with my hands, my mouth.” Her fingers paused, hovered. “But if you’re too tired, I’ll understand …”

Sammy laughed softly as Rem seized her wrist, dragging her hand back to his throbbing body and showing her without words that he was, in fact, quite revived.

“I was going to find you in the morning, before I left Allonshire,” Rem murmured, absently stroking the sable waterfall of Sammy’s hair, which cascaded across his chest.

“Well, now you don’t have to. I’m right here.” Sammy closed her eyes, curled closer against Rem’s powerful body. “Moreover, the morning would have been infinitely unsatisfactory. Why, all we could do was talk … and probably not even in private. Whereas tonight …” She sighed contentedly.

A deep chuckle rumbled in Rem’s chest. “Once wed, am I to expect my poor body to be repeatedly ravished by my innocent bride, then?”

“I’m afraid so, my lord. I find myself becoming quite addicted to your extraordinary skill and stamina. Do you mind very much?”

“I’ll adapt.” He caressed the smooth slope of her back. “With astounding ease, in fact.” Abruptly, he rose onto his elbow and twisted around to gaze soberly down into Sammy’s face. “I love you, imp. You’ve given me joy and laughter and enough love to heal wounds I always believed fatal. I want to give you the world, with all the magic you believe it holds … to be every bit your hero.” Rem stroked his knuckles across her cheek. “Dawn will be here in an hour. We need to talk.”

Sammy regarded him with solemn understanding. “You’re going to share all of yourself with me, aren’t you? To tell me whatever it is you’ve been keeping from me?”

“This information has been undisclosed to anyone prior to tonight. To divulge who I am, what I do, could endanger countries, lives.” Rem shook his head, negating the frightened widening of Sammy’s eyes. “I’m not saying this to frighten you, imp. I’m just explaining why I’ve kept myself from you and why it’s crucial that you understand the highly confidential nature of what I’m about to disclose.”

“All right,” Sammy whispered. “I won’t tell a soul.”

“I know you won’t.” A tender smile touched his lips. “I trust you with my life,” he added, intentionally repeating the very words she’d used to him. “I work, not only for the Admiralty, but for the Crown. Since they approached me a decade ago, I’ve taken on numerous inflammatory missions, some on English soil, some abroad, all of which, if not successfully completed, could have meant disaster for our country.”

“Oh my God.” Reflexively, Sammy clutched Rem’s arms. “You’re telling me you’re a spy.”

“I’m telling you I’ve had the opportunity to preserve England’s strength and to right some very ugly inequities, during both war and peacetime.”

Sammy’s mind was racing. “During our recent war with America … ?”

“I moved among our fleet, assessing strengths, recommending tactics. On other occasions I performed a similar role in Europe.”

“Europe? I don’t understand. Napoleon’s navy is no longer a threat.”

“But Napoleon himself is.” Rem’s jaw set. “Was,” he amended. “I’ve alerted Wellington to Napoleon’s strategy for his recent insurrection. In short time, Bonaparte’s reign will end … this time for good.”

“My head is spinning,” Sammy whispered.

Gently, Rem ruffled her hair, trying to soften the impact. “Do I surpass even your Gothic novels?”

“Rem.” Sammy pushed herself to a sitting position. “My novels are inventions of the mind. This is real … and dangerous.” She swallowed. “I’m afraid.”

“Don’t be.” He gathered her against him. “I’m completing my final mission. Once it has been resolved, I plan to resign.”

“Because of me?” Sammy blinked back tears.

“Until now, my life didn’t matter. Now it does.”

“I should be noble, insist that you continue to serve England as brilliantly as you obviously have been.” Sammy’s voice quivered. “I can’t. I love you too much. I can’t lose you.”

“You’ll never lose me, imp. Never.” He raised her chin, kissed her damp cheeks. “Don’t cry.” His dimple flashed. “Not unless your tears are spawned by passion or pleasure.”

“Oh Rem.” She flung her arms around his neck. “I’ll fill your life with so much love … I swear you’ll never regret your decision.”

Fiercely, he held her warm, soft body in his arms. “Ah, imp, from the moment you smiled up at me from that seedy counter in Boydry’s, there was no decision to make. I was yours, body and soul … even if I was too dull-witted to recognize it. The past is over, and I’m more than ready to let it go.”

Sammy drew back, drying her eyes. “You said something about a final mission. It involves the missing ships, doesn’t it?”

“Your novels have stood you in good stead,” he teased softly. “Yes.”

“And that’s why you began visiting me, taking me to Hatchard’s, dancing with me at Almack’s—you thought I might know something. Why? Because of Barrett Shipping; because I’m Drake’s sister?”

“Yes. But you made quick work of that plan. Once I tasted your sweet, beautiful mouth, I was lost.”

Sammy sat back on her heels. “I asked you this the other night at Boydry’s. I’m asking again. Does your investigation include Drake?”

“It didn’t then. It does now.” He silenced her protest, placing a forefinger across her lips. “I’ve elicited your brother’s help in exposing the culprits.”

“You’ve …” Sammy’s eyes widened. “Does that mean you told Drake who you are?”

“Yes. I didn’t give him all the details I just gave you, but I did tell him I’m an agent of the Crown. I also disclosed the specifics of this particular mission. He is being tremendously helpful.”

“Do you know who’s responsible for the sinkings, and why?”

“We know several of the offenders and their motives.”

“Is Viscount Goddfrey one of them?”

Rem gave her a quizzical look. “That’s the second time you’ve brought Goddfrey’s name up. Are your suspicions based solely on the conversation you overheard at Almack’s regarding Goddfrey’s disappearance?”

Sammy fingered the bedcovers uneasily.

“What aren’t you telling me, imp?”

“Well, ’tis true I overheard Stephen and Lord Keefe discussing Viscount Goddfrey’s disappearance, expressing their concern over the viscount’s vast number of lost vessels and depleted fortune … plus the increased dangers of sailing in British waters. But I was privy to another conversation which I haven’t had occasion to mention to you.”

“In other words, I’m going to throttle you when I hear these details. Go ahead.”

“Well, I couldn’t clear my mind of what Stephen and Lord Keefe had said. I kept worrying about the effect these perils could have on Drake. So …” Sammy chewed her lip, stalling as she pondered Rem’s reaction.

“Samantha …”

“I did a little investigating of my own,” she blurted out at last. “The morning after the Almack’s ball I slipped away at dawn and made my way to the docks, where I waited and listened.”

“You visited the docks at dawn … alone.” Rem inhaled sharply. “Surely someone must have recognized you as Drake’s sister and demanded that you return home?”

“I’m sure I was spotted, but I don’t believe I was recognized.” Sammy steeled herself for the explosion. “I was garbed in one of our gardener’s clothes.”

“Hell and damnation,” Rem ground out, his teeth clenched to stifle the outburst that would doubtlessly awaken the whole household. “Am I going to have to tie you up in Gresham’s sitting room once we’re wed, to prevent you from darting about on these impulsive excursions of yours? The London docks, Shadwell … what next?”

“I was terrified for Drake. What if he’d been captaining one of those missing ships? I went to the docks to protect him, just as I went to Shadwell to protect you.”

“Samantha.” Rem framed her face. “Are there any other little jaunts you’ve taken that I should know about?”

“No.”

“Then in the future, would you mind sharing your worries with me and allowing me to take the risks?”

“Unless they threaten you, my lord. Then I’ll do whatever I must to shield you.”

All Rem’s fury dissipated at the earnest honesty of her reply. “I suppose I cannot argue with that,” he murmured tenderly. “I’ll have to instead make certain that I’m never again in danger.”

Sammy smiled. “That would be ideal.”

“So … in your travels along the Thames, you overheard a conversation about Goddfrey that prompted your suspicions?”

“Yes.” Sammy relayed the conversation of the two dock workers. “So I thought, having never met the viscount, that his personal circumstances might have been enough to provoke the crimes. His family relationships were strained, he’d run off without a word. It further occurred to me that, even if Goddfrey weren’t responsible, perhaps he was the target of the sinkings, and that all the other attacks were merely being done to cast aspersion elsewhere.” She frowned. “Now that I say it aloud, I realize how utterly ludicrous it sounds. Perhaps I have read too many novels.”

“Your reasoning is not ludicrous.” Rem smoothed the pucker from between her brows. “And there is truth to it—Goddfrey was in trouble. He was being blackmailed by an unscrupulous scoundrel who, at one point, I suspected was involved in the sinkings. He wasn’t. He also won’t be extorting money from anyone again.”

The triumphant gleam in Rem’s eye struck Sammy instantly. “You apprehended him yourself, didn’t you?” she guessed.

“With some help.” Rem grinned. “Remember that meeting at Annie’s you accompanied me to, uninvited? That’s what we were discussing. ’Tis also why I had to feign financial difficulties … even to you. Although I must admit I found your compassion more moving than I can say.”

“You were setting the stage for this scoundrel’s downfall!”

“Precisely.”

Rem’s earlier revelation precipitated another question. “With some help,” Sammy repeated. “Is Boyd working with you as well?”

“Boyd will be offering his resignation along with mine. And, despite our long-term friendship, I suspect I have little to do with his decision.”

“Cynthia.” Sammy’s eyes twinkled.

“Indeed.”

“They’ll be wonderful together. I know it.” A pause. “Rem, if Lord Goddfrey isn’t involved, then who is?”