Page 60 of A Stormy Season

“I—” He had to stop and swallow the lump in his throat. “I think it best if we all go back to London. We obviously aren’t as safe here as I’d hoped, and . . .” He lost his train of thought for a moment, trying to look away from her lips, every curve of her face melting his insides. “And Henry and I can try to figure out what it is these men are after.”

“Oh. Good idea.”

He could see her lovely throat move ever so slightly as she swallowed.

“I should go.” She glanced over her shoulder, toward Penelope’s room.

“Yes, I don’t want you to get cold, and you will want to take your medicine. Forgive me for keeping you standing in the hall.”

“I don’t mind.” She stepped toward him, slipped her arms around him, and laid her cheek against his chest.

His breath caught in his throat. He wrapped his arms around her.

This was something new and different. Anne never did anything so vulnerable, so . . . human. And it took his breath away to have the brave, independent, and beautiful Jane Gilchrist embrace him as if she was seeking his comfort.

“My brave girl,” he whispered. The feel of her in his arms, her cheek pressed against him, made him wonder if he was dreaming. He wasn’t sure if she could even hear him, but he said, “I will not let anyone harm you. I will keep you safe.”

She didn’t move for several more moments, then she raised her head, her eyes glistening.

Her gaze locked with his as if she were trying to read his thoughts, to feel what he was feeling. She put her hand on his shoulder, leaned forward, and their lips met in a gentle kiss.

Luke’s heart beat double-time and he intensified the kiss, reveling not only in her willingness, but also in her obvious inexperience. As he kissed her slowly and deliberately, he gave her the freedom to pull away. And yet she continued to kiss him, holding onto him, intense emotion in the way she kissed him back.

He could feel his ardor rising, his emotions swirling. But then she leaned away, breaking the kiss. He felt the loss of her warmth as a shudder passed over his shoulders. But he told himself it was a good thing they stopped when they did.

Her eyes were big and luminous as she stared up at him. She backed away from him—one step, two, then three.

His arms ached to pull her back in, but he forced them down by his sides.

Did she regret their kiss? The grimace on her face, as if she was about to apologize, made his chest feel hollow.

Jane pressed the wadded-up nightgown and bottle to her chest as she continued to back away from him. “Good night,” she said, and turned and went into her sister-in-law’s room.

Luke closed his eyes and rubbed a hand over his face. Had he behaved badly, kissing an innocent young lady? He should have pushed her away, avoided her kiss, as he surely could have. But if he was honest with himself, he’d wanted to do more than just kiss her.

Jane Gilchrist had kissed him.

A new feeling of joy crowded out any regret.Janekissedhim. She’d come willingly into his arms, laid her head against him, and then kissed him.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so hopeful.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs behind him. That would be one of his men coming to report to him.

He couldn’t stand there reveling in Jane’s kiss. The man who might have harmed his son—and did harm Jane—was two floors below him, the only link and possibility of finding out what Lenoir was after.

Luke pushed all thoughts of Jane and the kiss from his mind. He’d worry about the consequences of it later. Now that he had made Dunsmere House as secure as possible, he needed to find out whatever he could, and by whatever means necessary, from their prisoner.

~ ~ ~

Jane lay wide awake remembering over and over the encounter with Luke, while Penelope and Lilith slept soundly nearby.

The events of the evening had played out as if Jane was watching it happen to someone else—actors on stage, a play she was watching. While she was being attacked, she’d hardly even felt much fear, her thoughts focused on how to escape. Afterward, she was vigilant, watching to make sure the man who had attacked her was securely captured and the other intruder she had seen was long gone.

Penelope had gotten Lilith back to sleep, then they talked a bit about what happened. When Jane saw Penelope stifle a yawn, she’d left the room to get her nightgown.

Luke startled her when she came out of her room, and she’d suddenly felt all the fright sweep over her that she’d avoided until that moment. Seeing him looking so tall and strong and protective, making sure she had the apothecary’s medicine for her throat, she’d felt an overwhelming urge to go to him and embrace him as her fiancé. She wanted to stop feeling the evil man’s hands on her throat and instead feel Luke’s arms around her, comforting her, holding her until the tremble inside her subsided.

Perhaps it had been unwise, but she did just that. And it felt as heavenly as she’d imagined. But why had she kissed him? Her cheeks were still warm as she wondered what he must think of her.