A Kiss Before Dawn (28 page)

At the eloquent plea, Emily couldn't deny him, no matter how much she might wish she could. With a single, abrupt nod, she pulled away from his grasp, crossed her arms, and waited for him to speak.

He let go of her and scrubbed a hand over his face before pacing a short distance away. “I told you about my background, about my mother and about my past before I met you. Whether it shows or not, it affected me. It still does.”

There was a pause, then he glanced back at her over his shoulder. “No matter how much I've accomplished with my life, there's always been a part of me that sees myself as unworthy. Unworthy of my place at Willow Park. Unworthy of all the support I received from your brother and his wife. But most of all, unworthy of you.”

The pain on his face was stark and intense, and Emily felt her heart give a sympathetic squeeze, her love for him softening her in spite of her resolve not to be swayed. “Oh, Peter. You
are
worthy. You must know that.”

He shook his head. “You don't understand, Em. Deep down inside, I'll always be that vagabond street thief, the son of a whore who doesn't even know what his real last name is.”

“None of that matters!” she protested, moving toward him, unable to resist the need to reassure him, to offer him comfort. “I've tried to tell you that over and over. And you are not unworthy. Just look at what you've become. You're one of the best men I know.”

When he didn't answer, merely looked down at the ground, she laid a hand on his arm, drawing his attention back to her. “Think about it, Peter. Lord Moreland had every advantage money could buy, and look what sort of human being he turned out to be. But you…It's a testament to your strength of character that you are the man I see before me. I've always known that.”

Peter captured her free hand in his, lacing his fingers through hers. “But
I
had to know it. I had to believe that I deserved you, and I didn't. Until today.” He lifted her hand to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles that managed to wring a shiver from her before offering her a slight smile. “I was talking to Benji when I realized something. All along I've tried to tell myself that I was pushing you away because of what other people might think, what they would say about us together. But it was what I thought of myself that was the true barrier. And somehow I just couldn't get past that.”

He turned, reaching up to cup her cheek in his palm. “And then I remembered the look on your face the other night when I found Moreland holding that pistol on you. In that instant, I saw all the love in the world on your face. You believed in me, had faith in me to rescue you. You thought I was worthy enough to give me your trust.”

His smile widened, and he leaned forward to bestow
a brief kiss upon the tip of her nose. “And if my angel thinks I'm worthy, who am I to argue?”

Warmth and hope flooded through Emily. Did Peter truly mean it? Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

His next words confirmed it. “Em, if you still want me, if you truly don't care what society or anyone else thinks, then I'm all yours. Your brother has already given his blessing.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her close, staring into her eyes with so much love it took her breath away. “Say you'll forgive me for being a stubborn fool. I love you more than you will ever know, angel. I want to marry you, have babies with you, and spend the rest of my life with you. I promise I'll never push you away again.”

How could a woman resist such a moving proposal?

“Very well,” she breathed, going up on tiptoe and framing his face in her hands. “But first, I want you to repeat after me.” She traced the seam of his lips with her tongue. “I.”

He groaned, his hold on her waist tightening. “I.”

“Am.” Emily punctuated the word with a slow, deep kiss.

“Am.”

“Worthy.”

“Worthy…” Peter barely managed to whisper it before she plunged her tongue into his mouth, tasting him with voracious need before finally tearing her lips from his. A shaky laugh escaped him. “And the luckiest bastard I know.”

She giggled and rested her head against his chest, soothed by the thump of his heart beneath her ear. It was a sound she wanted to go on hearing for the rest of her life. “I love you, too, Peter.”

“I know, angel. It's the one thing I can always count on.”

They were quiet for a long moment, then he spoke again. “You'll be all right with living at least part of the year in London? I know you love the country, and we'll visit as often as we can, but I'll be needed at Bow Street.”

“Of course. I would never expect you to give up your position as a Runner. Not when you've worked so hard to get where you are. But I will insist that we make use of the Ellington town house when we're in the city. It seems silly for it to sit there empty so much of the time.”

Emily felt him bury his face in her hair. “Hmmmm. That might be a good idea. My flat certainly isn't big enough for a family, and it occurs to me that we might already have a babe on the way.”

She gave a jolt and pushed herself away from him, staring down at her stomach with a mixture of consternation and joy. Such a thing had never crossed her mind. “Peter…A baby…”

He tilted her face up with a hand beneath her chin and gave her that seductive smile again. “I like the idea of a beautiful little girl with her mother's eyes. Although I am putting my foot down now. There will be no lessons in picking pockets—or locks—for this one.”

Emily felt a smile spread over her own face. “Come
now, darling. Don't you want our daughter's education to be well-rounded?”

“Not if it means that I'll have to worry about her slipping in through other people's windows on a lark.” He stroked her bottom lip with his thumb. “And I expect her mother to behave, as well. Though I might not mind if you should decide to wear those breeches for me again. In private, of course.”

“Of course. And speaking of privacy…”

She led him with her into the copse of elms, where they were shielded from prying eyes by the thick foliage and the surrounding hedges. Overcome by their passion and not caring who might stumble across them, they began to shed their clothes, exchanging kisses and caresses in between untying laces and undoing buttons.

When they were naked, Peter drew her down with him to the warm, soft grass, fitting her intimately against him. She felt him shift his hips and gave a soft gasp as the thick hard length of his manhood entered her, sliding deep into her feminine core.

He began to move inside her, and she rose to meet him, their shared pleasure gradually building until it reached the peak and they both shattered, wave after wave of ecstasy sweeping over them.

When the tempest had passed and they lay close together, spent and sated, Emily raised her head from his chest and gazed up at him from under lowered lashes. “So…” she ventured, almost timidly, “you're not angry with me anymore?”

His brow lowered in a frown. “I won't lie and say I wasn't at first, Em. You should have gone to someone,
anyone. As your brother said, you went about things the wrong way, and I hope you've learned a lesson from it.” The frown faded away and he captured her lips in a brief, yet tender kiss.

“But how could I stay mad at you when you were only trying to protect the ones you love?” he continued huskily. “Just as you've always done from the day the Rag-Tags met you. It's why I fell in love with you, you know. That urge you have to take care of everyone and everything around you. You were our guardian angel then, Em. You still are.”

She smiled, a genuine smile of pure joy and contentment. Finally they would have the future they'd once envisioned so long ago.

Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to his temple before whispering close to his ear, “I'll always be
your
angel, Peter. Only yours.”