but could not conceal the resolve burning in her violet eyes. Unease lanced through Sebastian as he glanced behind her to the black cab waiting at the curb.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Uncle Granville finished the copies just after dinner,” Clara said. Her voice shook, a shiver of pale blue-gold.
Sebastian pulled a hand down his face as a curse ruptured his thoughts. Emotions flared in him—anticipation, relief, disquiet, pleasure. Fear.
“Where is your uncle now?” he asked.
“At home. He’d planned to deliver the plans to you tomorrow. I hadn’t told him you need them tonight.”
“Did you come here alone?” Sebastian yanked open the door and ushered her in.
Clara stepped into the foyer. With a trembling hand, she brushed her hood back from her head. The folds cascaded into a puddle around her long, slender neck, drawing Sebastian’s gaze to the hollow of her throat. The sight of her pale skin roused his lust, which he had fought to keep contained since their encounter in his carriage yesterday.
Arousal coiled through his lower body. Heated memories swept his mind in flashes of color—the hot cavern of Clara’s mouth, the delicious press of her thighs against his aching erection, the tight way she’d locked her legs around him and clung as if she would never let go, as if she belonged to him and him alone…
Christ. Heaviness settled low in his groin. Although he knew he’d done the right thing in putting a stop to matters, he bitterly regretted the circumstances that had forced him to take such measures.
Because God knew he wanted her. Not even the restless sting of half-sleep could smother the desire that burned him during the night, the hot imaginings twisting through his mind of Clara splayed beneath him with her hands gripping his naked back and her gasps hot against his ear.
With every breath, he wanted her more.
And he would have her. One day soon, he would have her until the earth fell away beneath them.
Sebastian swallowed, his agitation tempered by the knowledge that they now had an agreement. If he thought it a mistake, he could not retreat now, even if he wanted to. And with Clara standing in front of him, the folds of her cloak draping over her slender curves, her unpainted lips full and parted, a pulse tapping in her lovely throat…Sebastian knew he would sell his soul to the devil if it meant having her as his wife.
She watched him warily. “Do you still intend to meet with Darius?”
“Yes.”
“And give him the plans?”
“Yes.”
“Then you won’t…”
“I have no intention of reneging on our agreement.”
Her throat rippled with a swallow. “What about your father?”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “He has approved of our engagement and no doubt learned whatever he could about you and your father from the members of his club. We owe him no further information.” He forced his fingers to unclench from the doorjamb. “I will return you to the museum before meeting with Darius.”
“I want to go with you.”
Sebastian jerked his gaze to hers. Alarm split through him at the unyielding determination in her expression.
“Why?” he asked.
“Monsieur Dupree entrusted the plans to my uncle,” Clara said. “And though Uncle Granville would never admit this, I know he feels as if he has somehow betrayed his mentor by making copies of the plans. Yet he did it for me, because he trusts me. I will not see his faith in me misplaced. I must insist upon knowing more about what your brother intends to do.”
Bloody hell. Even Sebastian didn’t know all the details of what Darius intended to do. He would find out tonight. But because he was suspicious of his brother’s hidden motives, Sebastian did not want Clara to hear anything directly from Darius. He didn’t want her to know that Darius had promised to compensate him financially. And he especially did not want to subject her to his brother’s knife-edged perception.
“You can’t go with me,” he said.
“Why not?” She stepped forward. “I’m to be your wife. You made it quite clear we will not wed in name only, so I’ve a right to accompany you.”
Sebastian’s teeth came together hard. “I will tell you what you want to know after—”
“No. I want to go with you. If you do not allow it, rest assured I will follow you.” She paused. “And I will not give you the plans until we arrive at our destination.”
He stared at her for a long minute, convinced this was some form of punishment for having arrested things in