And yet she couldn’t deny what a draw he remained to her.
“Hannah,” she whispered. “You may leave us. I’ll be safe with Griffin.”
Hannah turned to her. “Audrey…”
With a nod she hoped would reassure her friend, Audrey whispered, “Please.”
Hannah hesitated, but with a glower for Griffin, finally turned to climb up the stairs.
“What were you-” he began.
“Shh.” Audrey put a finger to her lips. “If I must discuss this with you, let’s at least go into the parlor. There’s no need to share our argument with the entire household.”
With an unreadable expression, Griffin stepped aside and motioned for her to enter the room behind him. She felt his body heat at her back as he closed the door. He passed by her to lean on the mantel then stared at her expectantly. Like a predator stalking his prey, waiting for the moment to pounce.
And yet, that thought didn’t frighten her. In fact, she had to admit that, as she lost herself in his eyes, she actually looked forward to this brief stolen moment in time. No matter the consequences.
***
How he managed to keep his emotions in check, Griffin didn’t know. As he clutched the mantel, he watched Audrey walk over to a chair by the fire and sink down as if she were exhausted. For a brief moment, his anger faded and he felt a strange longing to take her into his arms and comfort her. Then he thought of Douglas Ellison putting his mouth on hers and his anger returned with a vengeance.
“How could you allow that man touch you?” he choked out.
Audrey responded by raising her still-gloved hands to her eyes. When she dropped them, she didn’t answer his question, but slowly began peeling the sheaths from her hands.
At the seemingly simple gesture, Griffin felt himself slipping under a seductive spell. One by one, she freed her fingers, then slid the glove from her hand to place it on the table beside her before repeating the action with the other.
“Fix me a drink,” she ordered softly as she focused her attention away from him toward the fire.
Swallowing, Griffin did as he was told, happy for the chance to turn away from her before her unexpected effect over him became more than apparent.
Crossing over to the bar, he stared at the line of decanters. The last time Audrey had had a drink in his presence, he’d tasted the scotch on her lips. With a smile, he poured her a tumbler of his best. It wasn’t a lady’s drink, but he wondered if she would remember its significance.
Taking the glass he offered, she sipped it, then her midnight gaze flashed up to meet his briefly. She did remember.
“This is my job, Griffin,” she whispered, her voice husky and broken as she dipped her head and broke their heated stare.
Shaking off the desire she ignited in him, Griffin frowned. “To trade your body for his secrets?”
She sucked in a sharp breath of air through her teeth. Without looking at him, she shrugged one shoulder. “Not to the very end. Just to a point.”
“Well, if it’s just to a point, that makes it all different, doesn’t it?”
Clenching his fist, Griffin stalked away, his heart racing with powerful anger and disappointment. It was obvious she took no pleasure in this part of her affiliation with the War Department, but still, she did it.
The sound of her slamming her drink down on the table beside her made him turn. To his surprise, she was on her feet.
“Do you think I enjoy this?” She swallowed hard before continuing. “Do you think I like having that blackguard’s sticky hands on me or his disgusting taste on my lips?” She wiped her mouth to accentuate her words. “Why do you think I wanted a drink?”
Griffin froze, his gaze inexplicably drawn to her mouth. Her lips were full and pale pink, swollen from the way she’d been chewing on them in the past hour. They looked sweet. Irresistible.
“You wish to remove his taste from your lips?” he asked softly.
With a sigh that shuddered through her body, Audrey nodded.
“Yes.” Her voice was much softer when she repeated it. “Yes.”
Taking a few long strides across the room, he found himself directly in front of her. Her proximity warmed him as the lilac smell of her skin flared his nostrils. Slowly he slid his finger beneath her chin to lift her face toward his. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears in the glow of the lamplight.
“I’ve a better way to erase his taste.”
It seemed like it took an age from the time he lowered his head to the moment his lips touched hers, but it was worth the wait. Her mouth was soft, softer than he’d remembered.
With a sigh of acquiescence, she leaned into him. He took her invitation by clasping her waist and drawing her even closer. She let out a little gasp when her breasts flattened against his chest, and he took the opportunity to gently probe her parted lips with the tip of his tongue.
Instantly she pulled back, her breath coming in short, bated gasps and her eyes dilated as she lifted them to meet his.
“Why did you…?” she trailed off and the uncertainty in her gaze was clear. Then she shook it away and leaned closer. “Never mind, I don’t want to know why.”
Pulling her back up against him, he kissed her again. This time it took no teasing for her to accept him. He reveled in her taste, the sweetness of her mixed with the bitter sharpness of the scotch. The kiss deepened until he could no longer determine where she ended and he began.
Finally, with a strangled groan, he pulled back. He had to or else he would do more than taste her lips.
“I have wanted to do that for five years,” he admitted.
Her lips parted in surprise.
“Wh-what did you say?”
In an attempt to control his wild emotions, he looked away. “I think you heard me.”
Crossing the room, he downed his own drink in one swig. Blood raced hot in his veins and the evidence of her power over his body grew. He swelled against the barrier of his trousers after just her kiss.
“Yes, I did hear you,” she muttered. “Excuse me.”
Her shoulders shaking, Audrey hurried from the room. Griffin heard her footsteps fleeing up the stairs and down the hallway.
With a low curse, he shook his head. For all his promises to only be a friend to Audrey Jordan, he’d certainly crossed a line tonight. Now he was certain to pay the cost of his foolhardy actions.
***
Audrey hurried into her room and slammed the door behind her. It seemed an impossible task to draw air in to her aching lungs, no matter how she gasped and heaved.
Griffin Berenger had just kissed her. It was as if he had reached into her soul and drawn out in complete detail a scene from her girlish longings. Even more disconcerting was her response. She’d worked so hard to gain some level of control over her wild heart, but now she was spinning like she was a lovelorn girl again.
The door to the small room off her bedchamber opened and Hannah stepped inside.
“I don’t know where your head was tonight,” the older woman said, crossing the room where Audrey knew she’d begin taking down her hair and helping her out of her gown.
“Oh please, Hannah. I can’t bear this now!” she interrupted. She pushed past her friend to sit down on the bed. “I’ll undress myself tonight. Just leave me alone, I beg of you.”
Audrey winced. Her harsh tone would do nothing to reduce Hannah’s suspicions or concerns.
“What did Griffin Berenger do to you, love?” Hannah whispered, reaching out to slide her hand down Audrey’s arm.
“He-Nothing Hannah,” she denied with a blush.
Perhaps if she didn’t speak the words out loud they could remain her little secret. Once she talked about it, the dream-like quality of the kiss would fade and she would have to face reality again.