“Given that you have no idea how long you are going to be here, I think we need to make the most of our time together,” Jeb murmured huskily.
He wasn’t prepared to allow her to leave without making plans to see her again. While he had breath in his body, if he could move her to stay however temporarily to Briggleberry, then he had no qualms about doing so. Mainly because it helped give him time to persuade her to become a part of his permanent future.
When she turned to look at him askance, he captured her lips with his and drew her toward him. He put all of the yearning, fears, and unspoken emotions into that tender kiss and groaned at the willing way she melted against him. Her soft hands slid up his chest and across his shoulders, and came to rest on the back of his neck. In doing so, her breasts pressed against his, and drew forth a shudder of awareness that made him groan and instinctively hold her tighter. He cupped the back of her head to keep her steady and deepened the caress. His tongue invaded the moist recess of her mouth to mate with hers in a parody of physical need.
While she responded, he sensed a hesitance in her that warned him to be careful. With that in mind, he eased away until he finally lifted his head.
“I am sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten so carried away,” he murmured, easing back from her.
“It’s alright, I am just not used -” She broke off and felt incredibly awkward.
She wished she hadn’t gotten so carried away, and
had been unable to restrain herself. While it felt heavenly to share such affections while locked in an intimate embrace, it was also incredibly wanton of her.
“I am sorry,” she said, unsure what else she could say. She was still trembling from the force of the passion that swept aside all logic.
“It’s not your fault. I make no bones about the fact that I find you utterly desirable,” Jeb replied.
To reiterate his point he leaned forward and kissed her again. It was some time before they broke apart, and a struggle for them both to do so when Jeb finally did manage to lift his head.
Unfortunately, the fine drizzle that had started to fall about them began to permeate their clothing. Sophia hadn’t even realised the sun had gone in and stolen all trace of warmth from the otherwise sunny afternoon.
In spite of the white hot flames of passion that carried them along on a tide of desire, she knew they had to stop. It was considerably harder than either of them expected to pack the contents of the basket away and slowly make their way back to Delilah’s house.
Jeb eyed her walking shoes doubtfully. “Are you going to be alright if we take a short cut through the woods?”
He pressed a loving kiss to her temple when she nodded, and could not deny either of them when she captured the back of his head and tugged him toward her for a loving kiss.
Sophia nodded. “I am fine,” she replied once she had released him.
She couldn’t quite believe she had been brazen enough to do that, but made no apology for it. Thankfully, Jeb didn’t seem to expect one. She snuggled against him with a smile of contentment curving her lips when he slid an arm around her and drew her flush against him. They walked side by side deeper into the woods, but didn’t go far before the silence was broken by an argument somewhere near to the house.
“Listen,” Jeb whispered, and drew them to a stop several feet away. He released her and peered through the branches, and saw Delilah glaring angrily at a stranger.
“I am not going to do it,” she protested loudly.
“I am telling you that you are,” the man snarled.
His voice held a slight hint of brogue but for the life of him, Jeb couldn’t quite place whether it was from London, or not. The tone was just too low to decipher. For a moment, the stranger sounded almost Irish, but then there was a hint of a Scottish accent in there too. It made Jeb wonder if the man was putting on a false voice to try to deceive Delilah in some way, but then that didn’t make sense. Why would he want to hide where he came from?
Keeping Sophia’s hand in his, he stepped as close as he could while remaining under the protection of the branches, and put his finger to his lips to warn her to stay quiet.
“Who is it?” she breathed directly into his ear.
“Take a look.” He moved her until she stood before him and wrapped both arms around her waist to keep her still. “Do you recognise him?”
Sophia rested her arms on his and her shoulders against his chest while she watched her aunt do battle with the stranger.
“Is he the man you saw watching you in the village the other day?”
Sophia nodded.
Jeb suspected the stranger was the person Delilah sold her stolen goods to. Therefore, the man who had accosted him in the street the other night was most probably the murderer responsible for the deaths of Mrs Banks and Tabitha.
Had he followed Jeb from London though, or was he someone just passing through the area? Jeb doubted it was the latter given the warning the man had given him. However, Jeb knew that Terrence Sayers didn’t usually give warnings. Anyone Sayers wanted to silence usually wound up dead. So why warn him to stop investigating?
“I can’t,” Delilah cried. “I have told you several times that I cannot take that kind of risk. It is foolish. I will get caught.”