Sinfully Yours (Hellions of High Street 2)

“Are you chilled?” she asked, flattening her palm and slowly circling it against his chest.

“Nothing—not cold nor heat nor tender sentiment—permeates my thick hide,” he replied mockingly, afraid to betray how vulnerable he felt.

As for my heart, it feels like shards of ice are prickling like daggers against the sensitive flesh.

Silence seized the moment. Anna drew her knees up to her chin and sat lost in thought for a while before responding. “I am not sure why you are so terrified to admit to having a sense of honor.”

“This is getting tedious,” said Devlin through his clenched teeth. “I don’t have one.”

“And yet you engage in dangerous work for the government to defend our country from harm.”

“That’s because the government pays me very well.”

Anna cocked her head. “Yes, you sound very convincing, and no doubt your assertions fool most people. However, you forget, I, too, have had a great deal of experience in hiding my true feelings from the world, so I recognize all the telltale signs of subterfuge.”

That she could penetrate his defenses so easily was frightening. In an instant he was back to brooding.

“Oh, dear,” she murmured. “It seems our second spat is following hard on the heels of the first.”

“Stop that,” he growled.

“You mean this?” Anna ran her fingertips lightly through the course curls peppering his chest. “But I like all your different textures and the way they feel against my skin.”

“I—” Devlin expelled a harried sigh as she did it again. “Damnation, I am trying to stay angry with you.”

In response Anna twined a curl around a fingertip.

An apt metaphor, he decided glumly, for how easily she could wrap him around her pinkie. “You are

impossible.”

The sweetness of her laugh nearly took his breath away. “Which only goes to show that we are truly kindred souls.”

Then why won’t you marry me?

Devlin held back from asking. He had already been rejected once. Twice in one night might crush even as callous a heart as his own.

Besides, he didn’t blame her. What lady in her right mind would choose a rake with an unsteady temperament and near-empty purse when she had her choice of far more attractive suitors?

“Cry pax, Devlin?” she added softly.

“We are not at war,” he said quickly. Enough of personal battles that he had no chance of winning. “There are real enemies out there and we had better turn our thoughts to defeating their plan.”

She sat up a little straighter. “I was wondering when you were going to stop being so secretive and tell me what you have in mind. How are you going to stop Verdemont, and what can I do to help?”

“I’ve come up with a strategy for the moors, but I need to work out the final details with McClellan first thing in the morning,” replied Devlin. “As for your role, well, part of the reason I brought you here was because I wanted you to become familiar with the layout. As you might have noticed, there’s a storeroom right outside this alcove with one of those massive ancient doors that weighs more than a Highland ox. More importantly, it’s equipped with an iron padlock.”

“Perhaps I should feel offended that seduction wasn’t your primary plan?” she interrupted.

He waved off the suggestion. “Don’t change the subject. You know I am easily distracted.”

She lifted a brow.

“It would be exceedingly helpful if you could lure Lady de Blois here when we go off to the hunt. Make up some farrididdle—tell her you’ve discovered a jewel collection that seems to have been forgotten, and need her help to discern what gems are the most valuable. Act excited—she’ll understand greed as an elemental emotion.”

“Yes, yes,” interrupted Anna. “I understand the scenario. Leave the details to me. I shall come up with a compelling scene.” She thought for a moment. “It should be easy enough to trick her into entering the storeroom…a special chest filled with Viking gold, perhaps. Or a horde of Elizabethan earrings. However, just in case she needs additional persuasion, I ought to have a weapon.”

Devlin heaved an unhappy sigh. “I supposed you are right. I’ll give you my pocket pistol tomorrow. But blast it all, Manton’s handiwork cost me a fortune, so please see that it comes to no harm.”