Page 29 of Cocky August Rake
He should refuse.
… But it really was a rather tidy solution.
He nodded once and then turned to Sam. “Tell them they may come tomorrow evening. But speak with Boris first. And make certain every man understands that the rules are not negotiable.”
Sam’s grin returned.
“Aye, aye, Lord Reginald.”
“Do not start.”
Sam laughed, gave Miss Darling another brief nod, and let himself out.
Reginald looked at her again.
At the woman who had made him forget himself completely.
She stood before him now—calm, certain, and utterly unapologetic. Beautiful, by God. Her posture was elegant, her voice refined, her expression composed.
And yet she was no lady. Quite the opposite by society’s measure.
Perhaps that was what disturbed him. She didn’t fit anywhere he tried to place her.
Against all reason, Reginald felt drawn to her.
He should hand the whole business over to Sedgewick. Let the solicitor and Huxley settle the accounts. Reginald could rent a room near the docks and hide out while the Phantom Gale was made seaworthy again.
It would be simpler.
Safer.
Only a fool would mistake this woman for harmless.
She had already persuaded him to act against his better judgment once, and she had made no secret of her intentions.
She wanted The Domus to remain open.
He meant to close it.
There could be no compromise between them.
And yet, for reasons he could not begin to understand, he didn’t dismiss her outright.
Even now, with Sam gone, she remained in the doorway, watching him.
Her gown was modest enough for daytime, though it did nothing to hide the lush curves of her breasts or the smallness of her waist. Her skirts fell in smooth folds over rounded hips. Everything about her looked touchable. Yielding.
He remembered that she was soft.
Reginald set his jaw.
“Did you come here for a reason,” he asked, “or do you mean to eavesdrop outside my door for the full thirty days?”
She did not look offended. In fact, amusement danced in her dark eyes. “We never finished our tour.”
Right.
That.
