She reached the front door … then held her breath.
“It’s Tyreham.”
Those were exactly the words she’d waited to hear, and the voice she’d awaited speaking them.
Turning the key, she opened the door, her heart pounding as she gazed up at the man she loved, simultaneously trying to still her trembling.
“Welcome home, Lord Tyreham,” she greeted him in Stoddard’s voice.
Those midnight eyes delved into her with an intimacy that made her weak. “Stoddard.”
Dustin stepped inside, shut the door.
And Nicole was in his arms.
“God, I’ve missed you,” he murmured, seizing her mouth in a kiss of undisputed possession.
“I missed you, too.” Reluctantly, she eased back, searched his face. “Are you all right?”
“Now I am.” He cradled her against him for a moment, as if deriving strength from the very feel of her.
“Papa’s right inside,” she informed him softly.
“I assumed as much. Otherwise, I’d be doing much more than holding you.” He tilted her chin up. “I’m taking you to the cabin tonight. We’re going to talk.”
Her insides melted. “Only talk?”
That devastating smile. “Knowing what happens when you’re near me, I doubt it.” His expression intensified, his knuckles tenderly caressing her cheek. “For now, I want to hear only two things. First, that you and your father are well and safe.”
“We are.”
“Next, that you love me.”
Nicole’s lips trembled. “I do,” she whispered.
“Say the words.”
“I love you.”
“And I love you.” Again, he kissed her, this time with a wealth of poignant emotion. “I’m never going to let you go, Nicole. Never.”
“Nickie?”
Her father’s voice intruded, and Nicole stepped away, as loath as Dustin to break the intimacy of the moment. “Yes, Papa,” she called back, her voice unsteady. “It’s all right. It’s Lord Tyreham.” She gave Dustin a shaky smile. “That’s as tactful as Papa gets. He knows it’s you. He’s announcing himself before he descends upon our privacy.”
“I realize that.” Dustin captured her hand, intertwined their fingers. “Will you come with me tonight? To the cabin?”
“You know I will,” Nicole heard herself reply. Was it only wishful thinking or had she just offered him far more than a stroll?
“You’re back.” Nick emerged, relief flooding his features. “Is Sully well? Did you learn anything?”
“Lord, I didn’t even ask you how Sully was,” Nicole burst out, blushing profusely as she recognized the implication of her statement.
“You had other things on your mind,” her father surprised her by saying—with a grin, no less. “I didn’t.”
“Sullivan is up and about, restless and irritable,” Dustin reported, Nicole’s hand still clasped firmly in his. “He and Tuttle have become fast friends. Evidently, in between Sullivan’s grumbling, they play cards and argue over which one of them has cheated.” A corner of Dustin’s mouth lifted. “On the whole, your friend is very much himself. The bruises should fade enough over the next week or so for him to leave his quarters and resume his life without having to answer a lot of disagreeable questions. In fact, we’re going to have him as a houseguest the week of the Derby.”
“Sully’s coming?” Nicole demanded, seeing her father beam from ear to ear.