‘Absolutely.’
Reaching out, I cupped him, too - only not his face. I went a little bit lower.
‘Ah!’
‘Are you really, really sure?’
‘Miss Linton…!’
I smiled into the darkness. ‘Yes, Mr Ambrose, Sir?’
‘I am the one in charge here! You cannot manip-aahh! - manipulate…oh…’
He was probably going to say more on the subject of what I could and couldn’t do - but my kiss shut him up mid-sentence. Shuddering, he melted beneath my touch as I whispered words against his lips that no one but the darkness was ever meant to hear.
Well, when I say ‘melted’…
Most of him did.
The most important part didn’t. It remained quite solid and substantial, in fact.
‘Miss Linton! I order you to dispose of that…item immediately! I will not allow - aaa…!’
‘You were saying?’
‘Ohh…’
‘Bloody hell! Hold still, will you? How am I supposed to get it on you if you keep wiggling like that? Let’s try again…’
‘Aaargh! Ouch!’
‘Oops! Um, sorry. I missed.’
‘I noticed!’
‘Well, at least I know what you told me back in South America was true. You do still have your balls.’
‘Miss Linton!’
‘All right, all right. I’ll get a move on.’
‘You do realise that people have been thrown in jail because of these things?’[20]
I grinned into the darkness. ‘Sounds great. I know a comfy police station in London where we could share a cell.’
‘Miss Lin-’
I pushed down.
‘-aaah!’
‘There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?’
‘No comment.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Leaning towards him, I pressed a light kiss on his lips. ‘It’ll get better from here, I promise. I’ll be gentle.’
He groaned. Capturing my face between his hands, he held me fast, unwilling to let me go. ‘I actually believe you. Sometimes what you do to me frightens me.’