Charming a Spy (18 page)

Then it hit him. She was there to distract him.

Rafe and Luke must have deduced right away when Geoff came to London that he was on their trail. His occupation had become too well known. Even those stodgy aristocrats from his London ball knew the rumors. And Kat was there when Geoff heard them whispering about him being a spy.

She could have tipped off her brother and Rafe that Geoff would discover their identities. So together, they devised a plan to have Katherine seduce Geoff. They probably wanted to keep him busy and distracted.

This was all making too much sense. No wonder she’d been so willing to get into bed with him. Even when he offered to look for Luke without her having to grant him sexual favors in return, she’d taken off her nightgown and lured him into her arms anyway. If she were innocent, when he offered to help her at no cost, she would have called off the proposition.

Geoff felt so stupid. So used. Certainly, they were in this together.

Now Rafe was trying to kill Katherine. Maybe he wanted her share of the money. Or maybe he sensed Katherine had become too emotionally involved with Geoff and was now a liability. He would have to get rid of her before she fell in love for real. Before she gave Geoff her innocence.

Then it occurred to him. She probably wasn’t even an innocent after all…

‡

H
e wasn’t surprised
Katherine was pretending to be asleep when he opened her door. “I know you’re playing possum, Katherine. You’re not asleep.”

Katherine sat up and faced him. She was wearing only a thin, high-necked pink night rail. It looked like what an innocent girl would wear to sleep. She was playing her part to perfection.

“I was trying to sleep…” she started.

“Trying to avoid me, more like.”

She didn’t deny it, didn’t say anything. Her face was turned down, but her emerald eyes resembled the face of a puppy dog knowing it ate the master’s slipper, waiting to be punished. He wondered how long it took her to perfect that look.

“Katherine, I’m going to ask you this once and I want the truth. What were you doing alone with Rafe Grier?”

“I wasn’t there alone with him. He was there alone with me. What I mean is, I was reading a book when he cornered me in the library. I tried to leave at first, but then he started telling me about my brother and I thought I might learn something to help us find him.”

He considered what she was saying. It seemed a logical explanation. If only he didn’t know Katherine had a habit of sneaking around libraries, and it wasn’t to look for books.

“What did he tell you about Luke?”

“Truthfully, nothing that would help us find him.”

How convenient. “If nothing useful, what did Rafe say exactly?”

“He told me Luke spoke of me often when they were abroad together. He said I deserve to be with a wonderful husband.”

Their master plan was finally revealed. “I suppose I’m to be your wonderful husband? Is that what this is all about?”

“What?” Kat said. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“Is that what
this
is all about,” Geoff said, lifting her off the bed and tearing away her night rail from her shoulders to her midriff, exposing her breasts. She gasped and grabbed the pieces of fabric to pull over her naked body, covering herself, like he had become a raving madman.

Her acting skills were actually quite good. If born into another family, another life, she would have had a wonderful career on the stage. He’d certainly fallen for her.

“How dare you,” she said.

“So you’re going to pretend innocence? Suddenly you’re all modesty when yesterday you offered me your body on a platter.”

“Geoff, why are you so angry? I don’t understand what is happening.”

“No, but I do. And I’m going to enjoy it,” Geoff said. Tonight he was going to have his fill of Katherine Dubois and then never be distracted by her again.

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her body up to meet his so they were both kneeling on the bed. He brought his lips crashing down to hers and kissed her angrily. No more being careful. No more going slow.

She didn’t resist, not even a little. Instead, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him into her mouth even deeper. The little vixen had probably been trained for this moment.

He pulled the pieces of torn fabric away from her body again so he could see her. She had perfect breasts. Round, ripe melons created to tantalize men. She was literally made for this job. What a seductress. A siren. A spy.

He pushed her down so she lay beneath him and then he lowered his mouth to her chest, pulling her nipple between his teeth. While he sucked in hard, she gasped, arching her back off the bed. He grabbed the other breast in his hand, kneading it with his fingers.

She called out his name “Geoff, Geoff.” How many other men’s names had she called out during the act? She had probably done this same thing with dozens of men, seduced them for information, keeping them away from the truth. She was no better than a whore, disguising herself as a debutante and then debauching men for her purposes.

An unwelcome thought flashed across his mind. Hadn’t he done the same in the past… hundreds of times? Was he any different than Katherine Dubois, using his body to deceive women to get information? Geoff pushed the unwanted notion away and brought himself back to the present. His hand and mouth were on a delicious woman’s body and he was going to have his way with her. Tomorrow he could ponder the meaning.

He thrust his hand between her legs and started to rub the magic spot, making her grow wet and ready. He tickled her core, strumming the strings of her body until she was writhing and squirming beneath him. She was close to release, but he planned to torture her fully. Make her beg and scream before he took his own pleasure. She deserved a much worse kind of torture, but he wanted this one more.

He moved his mouth down to replace his hand, licking her. She pretended to be shocked by his intimacy at first, but he knew it was an act, and he didn’t care. His tongue was flat and heavy, lapping up and down. She bucked on top of the bed and brought her hands down to his head, keeping him in place. He could tell she was close, so he grabbed her fleshy button with his lips and put a finger inside of her, tantalizing her with the feeling that was to come. Being full. Only soon, it would be more, thicker and fuller. Her thighs flexed and quivered and she shouted as she came, “Oh God. Oh God. Oh God!”

Geoff lifted himself up and unbuttoned his pants, letting his hard member spring free. She stared at him wide-eyed as though she’d never seen a man before. “Come now, my little siren,” he said. “You don’t need to be afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid,” she said. He was sure she wasn’t. This was nothing new for her.

“Good, because I’m going to take you now,” he said. She didn’t answer, only opened her legs to receive him.

Geoff put himself between her thighs and pushed the head of his cock inside her. She was so wet and gloriously warm. Nothing about this was going slow. He needed her now and thrust himself inside her in one deep thrust.

That’s when the evidence overwhelmed him…. of her innocence breaking. She was a virgin.

He was wrong about her deception.

“Dammit, Kat!”

‡

K
at woke early
the next morning in her bed, alone. The sheets next to her were cold. Geoff must have left hours ago. She was glad he was being cautious and keeping his word to protect her reputation, but she also couldn’t help but wish he’d stayed so they could reenact last night all over again.

It was incredible. Even though it started with a fight, it had ended so much better. Gloriously different. At first Geoff was furious at finding Kat alone with Rafe. His anger was so intense it took her aback. She didn’t know how to convince him nothing had happened or how to calm him down. But then his anger turned into a sort of hungry passion leading somewhere else entirely.

When Geoff first began touching Kat, she had been powerless to stop him even though she thought she should fight back. It reminded her of being caught up in a thunderstorm, rough and brutishly powerful. His forcefulness should have frightened her, but instead it made her feel alive.

Then when he entered her… it all changed. After one violent thrust, he became gentle, even careful. The tempest inside him suddenly stopped, dying down to a slow, gentle patter. He slowly rocked inside of her, showing her the rhythm and bringing her to the most intense climax of her life.

Kat knew she should feel ashamed. She’d given herself fully to Geoff. Aunt Ellie raised her better. She was supposed to be a pure bride for her husband and now she was ruined. But she didn’t feel ruined at all. She felt alive and sated.

She could never regret making love to Geoff, even if meant no other man would ever have her. Even if last night ended up being the only time in her life she would ever experience passion, she wouldn’t be sorry. Katherine Dubois was forever changed.

Katherine Dubois was also starving. How long had it been since she’d eaten? Weeks? Apparently late night’s amorous activities could cause one to work up quite an appetite. Kat dressed without her maid and went downstairs to breakfast early.

She didn’t expect anyone to be up yet, save a few scullery maids, so she was surprised when she heard voices coming from the library. Kat was even more surprised when she recognized one of them as Geoff’s. Who was he talking to this early in the morning? She doubted any of the guests would be out of bed before noon. Perhaps he had an early morning meeting with his man of affairs. That would explain why he left her alone. Maybe it was about Luke. He must be keeping his word and searching for Luke already.

She knew she shouldn’t, but Kat couldn’t help herself from walking towards the library door. Katherine wouldn’t eavesdrop, but if she happened to overhear a little of the conversation long enough to figure out who Geoff was talking to, no one would be the wiser. She gently pressed her ear against the oak door.

“I will leave for France right now and bring him back posthaste,” Geoff said.

“What will you tell Ms. Dubois?” the other voice asked. It was a man’s voice, but she didn’t recognize it. He obviously knew her though, because he’d said her name. At least he knew about her. So she was right, they must be talking about Luke.

“I don’t know. I shall leave a note explaining I have to go away on government business for a while,” he said.

On business? If he was really looking for Luke, why couldn’t Geoff say so? Unless. Unless. Oh no. He couldn’t have told this stranger what transpired between them last night. He promised. Besides, he wouldn’t tell for fear he could be trapped in a marriage he didn’t want. This wasn’t making any sense. She was so tempted to open the door and ask Geoff what he was talking about, but then the other man spoke again, asking the question for her.

“But doesn’t she know you are looking for Luke? Why not tell her the truth?”

“She thinks I am searching for her brother on her behalf. I can’t imagine what she would do if she knew I was looking for him because I suspected he was a traitor. She would probably claw my eyes out if she knew I’d been searching for Luke before I even met her and this whole time I’d been lying to her.”

Kat’s knees buckled beneath her.
Don’t faint, don’t faint.

She managed to walk away from the door quietly and tiptoe back up the carpeted steps to her room before she lost the entire contents of her stomach. Her shaking was so violent, she barely made it to the washbasin.

It was unbelievable. Luke was alive. Geoff said he was going after him to bring him back, which meant he had to be alive.

But a traitor? How could Geoff actually believe her brother was a traitor? He loved his country. He went to war and risked his life for the crown. There must be some kind of mistake, some mix-up. Where was the logical explanation for all of this? When she found out what it was, she would explain it to Geoff. He would listen to her. After last night and what they shared together, of course, he would listen to her.