Hold Your Breath 02 - Unmasking the Marquess (29 page)

“Can you wait just one moment?”

“If I must.” The tip of Reanna’s tongue slid out, grazing across her lips slowly.

“Debaucher. Do not make me forget this. I would have thought the past two weeks would have tempered your appetite for our bed.” Killian leaned in to bite her lip, then squeezed and dropped her hand, darting into the study.

Reanna followed him into the room, sighing, and watched him go around the desk and begin to rummage through papers in a drawer.

He glanced up at her and chuckled. “The pout is effective, but this really will only take a moment, once I find the paper. I want to write down a note I had about Maggie while we were at the baptism. I think she would like a music box for Christmas, as she loves to dance, and if I do not write it down right away, I will forget.” His head went down as he continued the search. “Use the moment to imagine what I am going to do to you upstairs.”

Reanna laughed and went to settee, sitting. “Have I told you that you are an amazingly thoughtful man? A man who keeps an ongoing list of gifts for little children, I think, is hard to come by.”

“You can thank me upstairs.” Shuffling papers, Killian pulled several sheets with neat lines on them and set them on the desk.

“The baby is wonderful.”

Killian nodded as he pulled a quill. “Yes. And handsome. But we are biased, of course. It would have been a perfect ceremony had Aggie’s brother not toppled Aggie over. It was just a good thing Devin was holding little Andrew at the time.”

“What was wrong with Lord Clapinshire? I know your shipping interests align, so you see him often. Is he always like that? He looked terrible.”

“Clapinshire is usually not that drunk.” Killian shrugged, dipping the quill into ink. “Devin has said he has been getting a little too accustomed to the bottle, these days. Apparently, Aggie is quite desperate to pull him out of his downward spiral.”

“Sad. So sad.”

A rap on the door interrupted their conversation.

“Enter,” Killian said as he finished his note.

Ludwig opened the door, letter on a silver tray in his hand. “Please excuse the interruption, my lord. This missive just arrived, with a fervent plea to get it into the hands of Lady Southfork immediately.”

Killian waved him in, and he came to Reanna, holding the tray before her. She took the letter, and Ludwig exited, closing the door.

Reanna opened the sealed letter, quickly scanning the contents. She looked up at Killian, odd crease in her brow.

“What is it?”

“It is my aunt.” She shook her head, her eyes going back to the letter. “She would like us to host a house party for her with a just few, very specific she says, ‘discrete and trustworthy’ people.”

“Bizarre. Why? I thought your aunt was one to never step foot on English soil again.”

Reanna shrugged. “She was. I do not know what has changed. There are no details, just the request. And she asked for it to happen in a fortnight. She is travelling here even as we speak.”

Killian tapped his fingers on the desk. “We will do it, of course. But we will have to delay the trip to Holloton with the children. I imagine we can convince Devin and Aggie to join us at Curplan Hall. Do you think that will suffice?”

“I hope so.” Reanna lifted the letter from her lap. “It appears she has already invited two guests as well.”

“She has? Slightly presumptuous.”

“I know. But that is her. She is a bold, straightforward woman, my aunt Maureen.”

“Who did she invite?”

Reanna shook her head. “She did not write their names. Nor did she say how long whatever she is planning will take. I am sorry this is upending our trip to Holloton with the children. They love being at the Charles Street house, now that they are settled, but they were still so looking forward to the countryside.”

Killian set the papers back into the drawer, coming around the desk. “It is only September, so we have some time before it gets cold—we can still send the children up to Holloton with the nannies, and then join them after your aunt is done with our hospitality.”

He moved to stand in front of Reanna, taking the letter and setting it on a side table. He grabbed her hands, pulling her to her feet. “Besides, now that the option is in front of me, I do have that copper tub at Curplan that I have been having especially wicked thoughts about enjoying you in.”

Lascivious smile spreading, Reanna’s hands went to his face, caressing the slight stubble along his jaw. “Speaking of wicked thoughts, my husband, my earlier imaginations had nothing at all to do with what you are going to do to me upstairs.”

His eyebrow arched. “No?”

“No.” Her lips went onto his neck, tongue tasting the salt of his skin. She spun them, then pushed Killian down onto the settee. “No, I would much prefer what I am going to do to you, right here, right now.”

He grabbed her hips, yanking her down with a chuckle. She straddled him, hips circling as she grabbed his hand and moved it to the wooden armrest, guiding his fingers over the smooth curve.

Her teeth nipped his ear. “Sturdy, remember?”

“I do.” Killian laughed, hands already working her bodice. “Heaven help me, I do, my love.”

Thank you so much for taking this latest trip back in time with me!

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Unmasking the Marquess
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The next book in the
Hold Your Breath
series will debut in Winter 2015. Aggie’s brother, Jason, has stepped forward to have his story told—and it should be interesting, what with his current despondent state. Be sure to sign up for news of my
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Interested in Paranormal Romance?

In the meantime, if you want to switch genres and check out my
Flame Moon
paranormal romance series,
Flame Moon #1
, the first book in the series, is currently free (ebook) at all stores.
Flame Moon
is a stand-alone story, so no worries on getting sucked into a cliffhanger. But number two in the series,
Triple Infinity
, ends with a fun cliff, so be forewarned. Number three in the series,
Flux Flame
,
ties up that portion of the series.

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~ K.J. Jackson