A Duke's Wicked Kiss (Entangled Select) (43 page)
Read A Duke's Wicked Kiss (Entangled Select) Online
Authors: Kathleen Bittner Roth
Tags: #duke, #England, #India, #romance, #Soldier, #historical, #military
John chuckled. “Leave it to sly Trent. So, my dear, what does my good wife intend to do with her regained bounty?”
Not bothering to look up from the letter, she shrugged and kept on reading. “Use it for upkeep of the school, of course.”
“But of course.”
She gave a little squeal. “Trent and Edward have located George! In Hong Kong. Imagine that. But I would hardly think even our masterful Trent could manage to disguise himself as a Chinaman.”
John laughed. “Hong Kong is full of English businessmen.”
“Oh, dear, I cannot imagine either Trent or Edward acting the part of stalwart professionals.”
He shrugged. “That depends on what you might call professional.”
“Meaning, they could be anything or anyone?”
“Yes, even a horse’s arse if they so choose. They are both good at playing that part rather well, come to think of it.”
Trent says to tell you George’s ship is the finest he’s ever seen. Sleek, fast, and with all the latest.” She looked up in time to see John purse his lips.
“That means something, doesn’t it? I can tell by the look on your face.” Her fingers tapped her lips and a sudden dawning cleaved a path through her mind. “Oh, my. George runs a spy ship! Why, you were recruited together at Cambridge, weren’t you? No wonder you felt a code of honor with regard to me back in Delhi. And no wonder Trent had that smirk on his face when he took on George’s name before we sailed from Bombay. The cur.”
He shot a fast glance around. “Damn it, woman, if we weren’t out here under this apple tree, I’d have to shove my cravat in your mouth.”
“You’re in a mood,” she said. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her all the while he’d been leaning against the tree. Heat rolled through her belly. She knew that look—he wanted her, and here they were in the middle of the pasture at near noon, for heaven’s sake.
“Is it the fact I am out of a godforsaken corset, as you call it, or is it the letter from Trent that has you in such good humor?”
“
Humph
. Traehaern’s letter would hardly put me in this particular disposition.” His mouth curled.
“Then it is the sari. You like it?” She did a slow turn, but even slow, her stomach nearly erupted. She stumbled to a halt.
He lifted a brow but didn’t move. “Speaking of moods, yours are more mercurial than the weather. I’ve noticed two or three of them speed through you since your arrival. Do you have anything to tell me?”
She fought back a giggle. “Such as?”
He unfolded his arms from across his chest and spread them wide. “Come here.” His voice, husky now, rolled through her, slow and warm, like honey off a spoon.
She stepped forward and leaned against him. His arms enfolded her and he rested his chin atop her head. Her cheek pressed against his chest. The steady beat of his heart thrummed through her— a solid comfort she’d grown to rely on.
“God, I love you,” he murmured, the words rolling through his chest like a slow moving train.
Sliding her arms beneath his jacket and around his broad back, her fingernails scraped lightly through his shirt in lazy strokes, just as he liked. “I’m going to have your child,” she whispered.
His arms around her drew her closer and the heat of him enveloped her. “I know.”
Her head shot up to find mischievous eyes, the gray in them darkening with desire. She blinked. “How could you possibly have known when I only figured things out yesterday?”
He stroked her hair, tucked a few wayward wisps behind her ear. “You turned green on that little twirl you took a minute ago.”
“So?”
His wickedly inviting mouth tipped up at one corner. “And you’ve been casting up your accounts every morning for the past week.”
She fought a grin. “But I’ve always managed to make it to my own quarters before anything took place.”
“And I followed you,” he said, in a voice growing ever huskier. “Put my ear to the door not five feet from you.”
He studied her. His lips parted to ease his labored breathing.
Pleasure, hot and tender, rolled through her. She placed her hand between them, flattened her palm against his stomach and traced a slow downward path, watching the gray in his eyes turn even darker. Then she touched her lips to his and closed her eyes. “I should have known. Once a spy…”
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A book cannot find its way to the reader without a good support team behind the storyteller. To those of you who aided and believed in me, I am forever grateful. I owe a special debt of thanks to the following:
To the folks at San Diego Zoo’s Cheetah Breeding Center, for your valuable insight into the habits of the cheetah, the fastest land animal on earth. This spectacular creature is the only wild cat that can be tamed, as so many of the Indian royalty did during this story’s timeframe. Sadly, the Asiatic cheetah became extinct in India in the 1940s. Here’s hoping I managed to bring one of them delightfully to life for you in the pages of this book.
To my wonderful RWA® Hearts Through History critique partners: Wendy, Anne, Tess, Averil, Renee, Barbara, Joan, and Sam. Believe me, without you, this story never would have happened. You encouraged me, corrected me, wept with me, and laughed with me. What an amazingly talented group of women you are!
To the awesome 2012 Firebirds. As fellow finalists in the prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Contest®, we’ve stuck together and supported one another through thick and thin. Thanks for being there when I needed you most.
To my Beta readers, Jennifer Arp and Jennifer Welsh. Your precious input and catching those niggling little typos and sentences that didn’t make sense saved me on more than one occasion.
To the Lalalas and The Dashing Duchesses. You wow me!
To Jill Marsal of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. Jill, you had me at, “I love this story!”
To my editor Erin Molta and the rest of the wonderful crew at Entangled Publishing: My heartfelt thanks for believing in me and for being the trailblazers that you are.
And my special thanks to you, dear reader. I hope you enjoyed the story, especially all the characters traipsing through the pages, including Shahira.
A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR
Kathleen Bittner Roth is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America® and belongs to the Hearts Through History Romance Writers chapter. Kathleen was a finalist in RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart contest with
A Duke’s Wicked Kiss
. She has also won numerous awards for her writing. She is the founder of Inner World Perceptions, an international well-being center. She has worked in the media for many years (television and radio, including The History Channel, and all four major networks). Kathleen has also been a contributing editor of an online romance magazine and a guest on many blogs.
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