The Problem with Seduction - By Emma Locke Page 0,35

coach, it was as if he’d become a part of them overnight.

By the time she looked back, the door stood open and Con was no longer in sight.

She entered some moments later with her retinue. Con stood in the foyer with Rand. Her butler nodded several times at whatever Con was saying, then replied, “Aye, my lord,” and nodded some more.

Elizabeth didn’t like it one bit. She shifted Oliver into a more comfortable position and approached the men. “What’s going on?”

Rand traded a speaking glance with Lord Constantine. Her suspicion grew. Had they become friendly in the few seconds she’d been out of sight?

Her man waited for Con to give his assent, causing no small amount of annoyance in her. Then Rand spoke. “Lord Constantine is advising me on what I should do in the event Captain Finn attempts to gain entry. He wanted me to know he is but a runner away.”

“With any luck, it won’t be necessary to call for me or the constabulary.” Con placed a hand at the small of her back. Despite her irritation with him for usurping her command, she could feel each fingertip through the many layers of clothing covering her skin. Her nipples tightened. But none of that foolishness compared to the flip-flop her heart executed when he looked at her and Oliver then. Goodness, the man should tread the boards. His painted-on expression was the image of husbandly pride.

Oh, no. She was not going to let that Look affect her.

He rubbed her back gently, as if to offer comfort. “I simply want to be sure you’re safe even when I’m not available to show Finn the bottom of my boot. Rand has orders to send for me at the first sign of trouble.” His arm slid more firmly around her waist. He smelled like a man who’d been traveling for two days. Musky and heady and wonderful.

Oh, no.

His fingers smoothed idly at her waist. “I’ve also let him know we’ve formed an attachment again. That should ensure he also allows me entrance, whenever the mood strikes me.” He grinned at her, perhaps enjoying the exasperated look she cast him. “I shall try to come often.”

Those words should not have sent a quiver through her belly. Oh, goodness, but she couldn’t deny they did, especially when coupled with his rakish smile. She couldn’t be falling for him already. They weren’t going to consummate this, even if his last words had been brimming with innuendo. His show was all for the benefit of her butler, and any other staff who happened to be eavesdropping.

But when Con leaned over and trailed a fingertip across Oliver’s cheek, then pulled a face that made her baby chortle, her heart melted into a puddle of want.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Con’s blue eyes caught hers. “Please don’t wait up.”

“I won’t,” she replied, a bit breathless. If only he knew she was unlikely to sleep ever again.

“Oliver, my boy,” he touched his fingertip to the baby’s nose, “take care of your mother.” Then he bowed gracefully to their small audience of attendants standing in the foyer. “It’s been a pleasure traveling with you. Until we meet again.” He swept his beaver hat onto his head and strode through the front door toward his horse, untethered and staged at the ready, leaving her staff agape.

Well. If that wasn’t one of the most charming men she’d ever met. She should know better than to dally with rakes like him.

She did know better.

Her staff came out of their daze and burst into motion. An undercurrent of excitement threaded through the house. A tide so swift and strong, Elizabeth couldn’t ignore its pull. When Nicholas had been her protector, her apartments had always seemed suffocating. At any moment he might arrive and make demands, and there had been no way to anticipate him. He came only when the mood struck him and stayed only as long as it took to draw her into bed. This was an altogether different feeling. Her maids ran about dusting tabletops that already gleamed and airing rooms that smelled sweet—it would seem the current state of the house wasn’t good enough for dashing Lord Constantine. They whispered to each other, sly smiles pasted on their faces, and even Rand strutted as if he’d been knighted by the king himself.

Con had an easy way about him that made others feel as if they mattered. She was disappointed in herself to know she was already pining