Page 83 of The Worst of Them

“Cecily?” His eyes sparked with that longing that was so newly familiar, his question low and gruff. He wanted more, but only if she wanted it too.

Cecily glanced at his lips and answered, “More.”

With a sharp, quiet huff, Jack obliged. He gripped her waist, pushing her back into the tree. He pressed himself to her, one hand sliding to her nape as he angled the kiss into something deeper and so consuming that Cecily arched into him, her arms wrapping around his shoulders to pull him nearer, her body begging him closer of its own volition. He groaned as her fingers curled in his hair and she stretched up onto her toes, wanting him all around her.

His hands wandered to her neck, her face, her waist. She wanted him to let go, wanted all of him, but somewhere beneath her haze of desire, she knew she didn’t fully know what that meant.

Innocent, her mind whispered. You’re so damn innocent.

She nearly laughed at the thought—that Jack had found the only innocence she had left and was mindful of it, even as he kissed her like it was the only thing keeping him alive.

He broke away, trailing his mouth over her jaw and tilting her head so he could kiss her throat. She shivered at the feel of his soft lips against her jugular where he’d held a knife a mere half hour ago. Each kiss, every breath he exhaled over her heated skin carried the assurance of all he’d said to her tonight—that he was true, that he wanted her, and she was his.

When he lifted his gaze to hers, the blue was entirely gone from his eyes, leaving them black and deep.

Cecily no longer felt like a criminal. Now she was cherished and worthy of being wanted. Happiness welled, strong and bright enough to gild the edges of her life with renewed joy—and even hope.

She pulled him back to her, kissing him now, demanding in the same way he had only seconds ago. He was smiling, and so was she.

And not one bit of her felt cold.

20

JACK’S GIRL

By the time they returned to the inn, the lanterns had been extinguished and snoring rumbled from behind doors. The stairs creaked beneath their boots as Jack led the way to their rooms, his fingers loosely twined with Cecily’s. When they stopped before her door, she stuck her key in the lock and faced Jack as he leaned against the door frame.

“I won’t invite you in,” she told him. Shyness crept into her tone and cheeks, making her feel terribly girlish. “I’m not…ready…for that.”

His lips, red and full from how much she’d kissed them, pulled into a smug grin. “Yes, I assumed as much,” he said.

“It’s just that Fay and Maria said⁠—”

“Lord,” he mumbled with an eye roll.

“—that you once had a certain…laxness of morals.”

“All my morals are lax,” he told her flatly.

She bit her lip. “The ones pertaining to women.”

He leaned in, taking her chin to angle her face to his. “Are you suggesting I’m loose?”

Her smile appeared, along with an errant giggle. “They suggested you’re loose. Though they also said it’s been a while…” She trailed off, cheeks warming further at the impropriety of discussing Jack’s bed.

“Did they now.” The edge of his mouth hitched upward, that delicious grin hovering inches from her lips. “Well, if you’re so inclined to be nosy, darling, it has indeed been a while, and only because I chose it to be so once I decided to seek the kind of woman who would disapprove of me being a rake.”

The only kind of woman who would disapprove of his rakishness would be one who lasted long enough to care. Yet barely two hours had passed since he’d first kissed her, and there was no saying if this would last between them. Both of them knew it and were willing to see it to its end.

If there was to be one.

“I don’t want anything you’re not willing to give,” he said. “Nor will I ask. Besides, it’s far too late tonight, and our friends will kill us both if we’re dead in the morning.” He reached to the side, unlocked her door, and pushed it open.

She lingered in the open doorway, half inside the room. A glance at him from beneath her lashes was all it took for him to lean down and kiss her once more, long and lingering.

He shifted his weight, gently pushing her farther into the room. Her heart broke into a sprint, but when she had fully crossed the threshold, he pulled away to whisper against her lips, “Goodnight.”

Then he slowly shut the door, with himself on the other side.