A Rogue No More - Lana Williams Page 0,72

alongside hers settled her concern. He placed his arm on the back of the sofa behind her, and she couldn’t help but lean back while they discussed what more could be done.

“At least the police continue to look for the killer. I am certain something will come from their investigation.”

“As do I.” He shifted to take her hand in his. “Annabelle, I hope you know that I will do all I can to see this through to the end.”

“I’m grateful for that and so is my family.” She smiled up at him.

The look in his eyes had her breath catching. When he leaned close and kissed her, she met him halfway, eager to experience everything he made her feel. The day had been filled with one wild emotion after another and being with him soothed them all.

When he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer, she returned his embrace, placing her arms along his broad shoulders.

He kissed her long and deep, their tongues meeting to lend an even greater intimacy. His hands swept along her body and need quickly filled her. The knowledge that her sister and brother-in-law were gone lessened any fear of being caught, though she worried one of the servants might interrupt them.

She drew back and looked into Thomas’s green eyes to find them filled with a need that caught her breath.

“How soon can we wed?” he asked with a slow smile.

She hid her surprise. Was that what they both wanted? In the back of her mind, she’d held hope that after a long betrothal, they could go their separate ways. In a few months, no one would remember they’d been caught in Sir Alexander’s library. But the feelings she had for this man made her question that hope.

What did he feel for her? That was what she truly needed to know before she could answer his question.

“What do you think of doing so in two weeks?” he asked, the seriousness of his expression nearly making her heart stop.

Chapter Seventeen

Thomas whistled as he left the modest townhouse a short distance from Portman Square. It was perfect as far as he was concerned, and he owed Graham a debt of gratitude for having suggested it. The place would make an ideal home for a newly married couple, and that made Thomas happy.

In fact, Annabelle made him happy. He hadn’t looked forward to his future this much before, and she was to thank for it. He couldn’t wait to show the home to Annabelle.

Graham approved of his impending marriage and had offered to sell a finely matched pair of horses to place a deposit on the house if Thomas wished it. He’d also reminded Thomas that he’d receive a modest inheritance from his mother’s estate upon his marriage, something he’d forgotten about.

The rent would take much of Thomas’s meager income from his share of the Artemis Press profit, but he had every intention of improving the company’s financial success for both his own and his brothers’ benefit. Now he had Annabelle to think of as well.

He'd proposed the idea of establishing a lending library to Graham a few days ago as a way to increase their income. Few people had the pocket money to purchase books, but a lending library allowed potential readers to pay a subscription fee and enjoy reading titles of their choosing and then return them. He intended to make plenty of Artemis Press books available for borrowers. He still needed to determine projections for the cost and potential profit before they proceeded, but Graham had been intrigued by the idea. A portion of the profits from the second printing of Annabelle’s first book should give them the money they needed to start it, but that was on hold until the murderer was caught.

While Graham was in favor of and supported Thomas’s sudden change from rogue to a soon-to-be husband, Hugh seemed puzzled by it. Though aware that Thomas had little choice but to offer Annabelle marriage, he acted as if he was waiting for Thomas to revert to his previous activities despite his betrothed status.

Hugh would soon realize Thomas truly had changed.

He hadn’t explained to either of his brothers how much he was coming to care for Annabelle. Or that the prospect of spending time with her far outweighed the appeal of indulging in his usual vices. Those activities no longer had any appeal. How could he when he didn’t understand it himself?

Love had never been in his vocabulary, not after watching his