Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

C yn's body woke her. She was sure every muscle ached as she rolled onto her side, squinting at the curtains, attempting to gauge the time from the light slipping between them.

Leo had brought her home after she was sure everyone at the agency was well. He'd told her not to leave the house again until he returned and to ensure a Mulholland was always close.

Cyn had nearly begged him to hold her again, wanting to feel his strength, but she'd resisted. It had been a moment of weakness she could not afford. She was strong and could deal with this and whatever else came her way, as she had been doing since Kenneth's death.

The staff had been horrified at her appearance when she limped into the town house. A bath was quickly drawn, and whisky laced with lemon and honey made for Cyn to drink. She'd then been ushered to bed. Thankfully, she fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

Getting out of bed, she pulled on her dressing gown and slippers, then began the walk downstairs, shuffling like an eighty-year-old.

"Berry, do not dodge in front of me," she cautioned the cat. "I am not as nimble as I usually am." The feline stalked down the stairs in front of her.

Cyn reached her favorite room, which usually got the morning sun. A small parlor that was lined with books and had two large chairs before a fireplace. There was no morning sun today as she drew back the curtains.

They'd spent many long hours in here discussing literature when they first married. He'd been a good man for all. He was stern natured but more a father than friend or husband. It was in this parlor that he told her exactly why he'd married her and what his expectations were for his children when he died. Cyn had been forced to grow up quickly after that. She'd had to learn to be a mother and run a household. Her husband had been relentless in his lessons. She'd also given up on her dreams of being loved.

"My lady, would you like tea?" Her butler stood in the doorway, looking nervous.

"Yes, thank you, Hadleigh."

"I would like to apologize for my behavior, Lady Lowell," he then said, face serious. "I see now my actions were unacceptable. As were those of Mrs. Peel and Mrs. Tipply."

"Are they truly sorry like you, Hadleigh?"

His smile was small. "They will come about, and I have told them they will be respectful of Jeremiah and Lilly."

"I understand my views are not what many others' are on this matter, Hadleigh," Cyn said, "but in this, I will stand firm."

"I understand and will ensure things run smoothly in that direction, my lady."

"Excellent. "

"Can I get you anything else, Lady Lowell? Some salve for that bruise you have on your chin, perhaps?"

"I am well, but thank you, Hadleigh, and for your apology."

She sat and stared out the window at the empty street below after he had left. At least the Jeremiah and Lilly situation had been resolved. Cyn would still need to discuss their marriage and circumstance, but at least there would be harmony in the household.

She watched a hackney roll down her street and then straightened as it stopped outside her house. Shock had her regaining her feet as Leo stepped down from the inside. He then paid the driver.

What is he doing at my house at this hour? She'd only seen him last night, after all. Yes, she'd expected him to return to discuss this entire situation, as he'd said he would help her in dealing with it, but the hour was still early, and she was dressed in her nightwear.

He walked up the path as she rose.

"Hadleigh!" Her butler reappeared at her shriek.

"Lord Seddon is about to knock on my door. Put him in the parlor I just left and tell him I will be down shortly."

"Of course, my lady."

"Perhaps bring him my tea and something to eat," Cyn added, shuffling to the stairs in an ungainly manner. "Nightingales seem to be hungry most of the time."

She dragged herself up the stairs and found her maid in her room.

"I need to get dressed quickly. Make haste, if you please."

Fifteen minutes later, she was walking back down the stairs, which seemed to have multiplied since yesterday. Anticipation was the only word for the bubbling of excitement inside her. She was seeing Leo again and felt ridiculously pleased about that. He'd held her last night as if she'd been made from spun glass, and that was after coming to her aid in that street.

Cyn had no wish to examine too closely the entire business with him; for now she would greet him and see why he was here.

"Leo, what has you here at such an hour?" Cyn said, entering the parlor she'd recently left.

"Good morning, Cyn." He'd been seated, drinking the tea, but rose to bow.

"What has happened?" she asked, seeing the worry on his face.

"I was out walking?—"

"At this hour and in such weather?" She looked skyward. It was going to be a gray, bleak day, Cyn surmised. "Plus, surely after yesterday, like me, you were weary."

"I rise early, but that is not the point, Cyn."

"Then please get to it."

"I will if you will cease talking for two seconds," he said.

She opened her mouth, but he said, "Cyn, shut up." Her teeth snapped together.

"I passed the Phoenix Agency whilst on my morning walk and saw two men leaving via the side entrance and looking furtive about it."

"Oh dear, that can't be good," Cyn whispered.

"When they had left, I went to check all was well," he continued. "I found a bundle of rags burning on the doorstep at the rear of the property."

"Dear Lord." Cyn braced a hand on the doorframe. "Lewis, Mary, and Clara are there."

"They are safe," he said in his lovely deep voice that she was sure should reassure her but didn't. "I woke Lewis."

"I must go there. Now," she added, looking about her as if her carriage would magically appear.

"I have put the fire out, Hyacinth. There is no need to rush over. Besides, you are hurting from what happened yesterday. The agency will be safe until you arrive."

"I need to go there, Leo." This was their doing… him, whoever the Wolf was. The Baddon Boys and their leader. This was a threat to pull her back into line after what she'd learned yesterday. Plus, they had bested four of his men. She'd angered them. They had angered them, she thought, looking at Leo.

"I have put you in danger," Cyn said.

"They don't know who I am. It is you that is in danger, as is evidenced by the fire and what took place yesterday.

"I will go over there now. I can call my carriage," Cyn said to Leo, who was still standing in front of her. "Thank you for alerting me. I will deal with it now."

"I believe I told you last night you are no longer dealing with this alone. I am involved. There will be no rushing anywhere without at least two footmen."

Cyn had been making her own decisions for quite some time now, and having those reins wrestled from her was not easy to take.

"I am not trying to be ungrateful, Leo, but I dislike being ordered about."

He smiled, and it transformed his face, lighting his lovely eyes and making him seem younger.

"Forgive me. With my siblings, I have to throw out orders, or they will ignore me."

"My children are like that," Cyn conceded.

He moved closer. She felt his fingers on her chin. "Does it hurt?"

"My entire body is one large ache, but I shall live."

"Stay here then, and I will go back to?—"

"No. It is my agency. I will go." She turned to walk back out the door. He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

"It is not a weakness to let others do something for you," he gritted out. She could feel him back her slowly into the door and close it.

"And this is what you do? Let others take charge?" She scoffed. "You do not differ from me."

"You were hurt because thugs set upon you," he snapped. "Thugs who belong to a gang with a notorious and deadly reputation. That reason alone should be enough to have you staying here and locking the doors."

"And yet I would never turn my back on those that need me, as you would not. As you do not with your family," Cyn said. Her heart was thudding hard, being this close to him.

"I am a man."

She scoffed, but it came out more a squeak as he moved closer. So close that his chest now brushed her breasts.

"Who is stronger than you and has fought before. Therefore, I can take care of myself. However," he added as she opened her mouth, "I understand you are equally as intelligent as me and capable of much. But in this, you know I'm correct, Cyn."

She couldn't speak because her mouth was as dry as cinders.

He closed the inches between them and kissed her. It was slow and thorough, and her head was reeling in seconds. She felt it again, that surge of heat inside her when he was near. Last night it had been the heat of his big body comforting her, but this was different. Fire spread through her veins as his lips took hers.

"I woke thinking of you," he whispered, easing back a scant inch. "Woke needing to see you."

"Yes," Cyn whispered, unsure what she was agreeing to, because right then, thinking was beyond her.

His lips met hers again. This kiss was deeper, more desperate. Cyn reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold him close. She'd wanted this for so long but thought never to experience passion as others did.

"More," she whispered as his lips moved to her neck.

"So much more." His hot breath brushed the damp skin he'd just kissed.

The touch of his hands travelling up her sides was bliss. His fingers left a trail of heat wherever they landed. She'd never been this close to someone before, but she'd heard how Charles made Letitia feel, and Cyn had wanted that for herself.

No one knew Kenneth had not touched her. All believed they'd had a marriage in every way.

"You make me lose reason, but I need to stop because you are hurting, Cyn."

"Don't stop," she whispered. When he held her like this, she forgot everything but his touch and the feelings he aroused inside her. Everything that awaited her outside her front door could no longer touch her. "I want this, Leo."

"We are in your parlor." His voice was husky.

"No one will enter," Cyn vowed. "Or I will fire them."

His snort was muffled, as his lips were now on her chest. Leo's tongue swept a scorching line down to the rise of her breasts. She felt him raising the fabric of her skirt slowly up one thigh as his other hand moved to her breast, and with a few tugs, he had it bared. It was scandalous, but then Leo thought her a widow who knew what happened between a man and a woman. When his hand cupped the soft, rounded flesh, Cyn moaned. The heat of his palm was wonderful. And then he was stroking the taut nipple with a finger.

"Everything about you captivates me, Cyn." He had eased back slightly and was watching his fingers stroke her. "My God, what you do to me."

She couldn't speak, just held on to him. Her hand was in his hair, curling into the ends while she grappled with each new sensation. This was what Letitia talked about. The passion she and Charles shared was something Cyn had never understood until now.

"We can't do this here," Leo whispered. "I won't take you against a wall the first time." Before she could speak, his head lowered, and he was kissing her nipple. A sound between a gasp and a moan slipped from her mouth as a white-hot spike of pleasure shot through her.

His finger slid under the hem of her dress and stroked her thigh above her stockings.

Cyn's hands were now on his shoulders, digging into the muscles she found there. She wanted to feel his skin then. Touch him as he touched her.

"Christ." The word hissed from Leo, and then his hands and mouth fell from her body. Cyn stayed where she was, eyes closed, her back pressed to the door. She felt him fix her clothing, and then he was pulling her into his arms.

The hardness of the arousal between his thighs pressed into her belly. She may be innocent, but she knew exactly what happened between a man and a woman. Leo wanted her as she wanted him.

"Forgive me," he whispered. "I have no control where you are concerned, it seems."

"I—ah, it seems I am the same," Cyn said.

He looked down at her, one hand cupping her cheek, and she wanted to weep. The gesture was so sweet, as was the look in his eyes. She wanted his passion and tenderness. Needed it in her life.

"Were you happy with your husband?"

She nodded because it was not a lie, exactly. She had been happy in that she'd had Simon and Meg and every comfort she could need. But there had been nothing more of what a husband and wife could experience .

"Now, we need to go to the agency," Cyn said, placing her hands on his chest and pushing. He did not move.

"You're lying to me."

"No, I'm not. I want to go there now."

"You know that's not what I meant. You were not happy with your husband. Did he mistreat you? Is that why you do what you do at the Phoenix Agency?" Leo demanded.

"No! Kenneth was a good man, we… he was just a great deal older than me."

Leo frowned. "Which means what?"

"I won't discuss my marriage with you, and I wish to go to the agency at once."

His hands fell away, and she missed them on her instantly. Her world felt steadier when Leo was holding her, which was reason enough to put some distance between them at once.

"Very well, but I think your feet will get cold in that footwear."

Cyn looked down. She was still in her slippers. Stepping forward, she turned and opened the door. Leaving her parlor, she headed for the stairs once again, determined not to wince or limp.

"Do you need me to collect something for you, my lady?" Hadleigh appeared.

"No, thank you. I will soon leave the house, as there has been a small fire at the agency that needs my attention."

"Do you need me to alert someone to accompany you, my lady?"

"Please tell the Mulhollands to go to the Agency as soon as they are able. I will accompany Lord Seddon, Hadleigh."

Exhaling slowly, Cyn once again climbed the stairs. Once she'd reached her room, she refused to think about what she and Leo had just done in the parlor. Dear Lord, he'd kissed her breast.

Stop it, Cyn .

Taking off her slippers, she pulled on sturdy black leather ankle boots. Then her warm midnight-blue jacket and bonnet. Lastly, she grabbed gloves. It had only taken her five minutes, and soon she was heading back down the stairs.

Leo made her lose reason, and that rarely happened. With what was going on in her life and two impressionable children, she could not do so again. Therefore, it was important she was not alone with him going forward.

Leo had said he'd put the fire out. Nevertheless, it could be smoldering, and they were not there. She needed to move fast.

Grabbing her reticule, she checked her pistol and money were in there and then left her room once more. Hadleigh opened the front door when she reached it.

"Thank you. I am unsure when I will return."

"Very well, my lady."

Leo was standing beside the hackney he'd arrived in, conversing with the driver. Cyn missed the first step and had to jump the last two, which jarred her sore body.

"Christ, are you all right?" He reached for her, his hands gripping her shoulders.

"Yes," she rasped, breathless.

"From memory, you were constantly tripping over your feet."

"Yes, well, I was in a hurry today, and my body is not feeling as sprightly as it usually does," Cyn muttered as he led her to the hackney.

Leo lifted her inside before she could step up and then joined her, closing the door behind him. She sat back and tried to appear relaxed when, in fact, the truth was far from that. Cyn was in turmoil.