Taming the Wicked Wulfe (The Rogue Agents) (15 page)

He slipped away and left the square, mingling with the people on the street.
 
He walked towards the
Lady Luck
, having one other thing he needed to check on before reporting to the boss.
 
Two blocks from the gaming hell he saw his quarry.
 
Wulfe walked away from the gaming hell, and not in the direction of his house.
 
Interesting.
 
Wulfe never walked anywhere.
 
The man’s curiosity was definitely piqued.
 
The men played cat and mouse for well over an hour before Wulfe arrived at a townhouse.
 
The man hid across the street between two houses as he watched Wulfe knock on the door and wait.
 
He did not wait long as the door opened and he stepped inside, closing it once more.

Getting comfortable, the man knew that this might be a long wait.
 
He just wondered who the light o’ love was on the other side of the door.

***

“Wulfe, I’ve missed you so much, darling,” Aimée gushed.
 
She pulled him close and took his mouth in a hot, searing kiss.

Thorn found himself attempting to push thoughts of his wife out of his mind as he tried to respond to the kiss from his mistress.
 
In the past, her kisses would have left him with a painful erection and so ready to slake his lust that rarely would they even make it to her bed.
 
Today, he could only keep picturing Rebekah, her dark hair and mood changing eyes.
 
Lost in thought, he almost jumped when he felt Aimée’s hand slip below the waistband of his pants to fondle his flaccid member.
 
Thoughts of Rebekah had him hardening until he smelled his mistress’ perfume.

“What is wrong with you?” Aimée asked as she extricated herself from Thorn and moved across the room.
 
“Are you still angry with me?
 
I am sorry for throwing such a fit.
 
I should have realized this day would come sooner or later.
 
But there is no reason you can’t still come see me.”

He felt her eyes on him as he moved across the room and poured them both a brandy.
 

“Are you going to answer me?”

“A lot has happened, Aimée.”

“Yes, you have a wife now.
 
So do half the men in London.
 
What difference does that make?”

“I’m a father now, too.”

“Again, so are half the men in London.
 
You give poor excuses, Thorn.”

“You’re right, Aimée.
 
You at least deserve an honest answer.
 
You are a beautiful woman, and I have enjoyed our time together.”

“You are throwing me over for your wife?” she asked incredulously.

“No.
 
I’m not throwing you over for anyone.
 
I am ending our acquaintance.
 
Aimée, my life is changing and I must take some time to figure it out.”

“You sound like a young schoolgirl rather than a man fully grown.
 
If this is what marriage and fatherhood do to you, I don’t want to be near you.
 
Wulfe, you were so fun, so exciting, so primal,” once again, Aimée had plastered herself against Thorn and pulled him down for a deeply erotic kiss.
 

Thorn pulled away when he felt no response stirring to life in his body.
 
Would Aimée believe that he felt as frustrated as she?
 
He doubted it.
 
More than likely she would laugh him out of her house.
 
Better to keep the information to himself.
 
He reached inside his breast pocket and pulled out a long, narrow box.
 
He presented it to Aimée, opening it so that she could see the contents.
 
A large ruby, slightly bigger than a robin’s egg, hung on a gold chain nestled within the box.
 
It also contained a matching bracelet and ear bobs.
 

“My payment?” she queried.

“Yes,” he said and reached once more inside his pocket.
 
He retrieved a piece of paper and handed it over as well.
 
It was a bank note made out to her for several hundred pounds.
 

“Very generous.”

“I enjoyed our time together.
 
I don’t want you to think otherwise.”

“If that is all, I think you should leave.”

“You’re right.”

“Before you go,” she crossed to him and kissed him once more, followed by a kiss on each cheek.
 
Unknown to him, as she pulled away, she let her lips brush his cravat, leaving a smear of her lip rouge.
 
She pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and used it to dab at his lips.
 
“There, now you are once more presentable.
 
I do hope you have a good life, Thorn.”

“And I wish the same for you, Aimée.”
 
He walked to the door and let himself out, never once looking back.
 
If he had, he would have seen the malice and hatred sparkling in her eyes.

***

The man across the street perked up when he saw Wulfe leave the townhouse.
 
He watched as the other man hailed a hack.
 
Needing to see who lived across the way, the man chose not to follow Wulfe.
 
He crossed the street and knocked on the front door.
 
It flew open, revealing
 
a gorgeous woman on the other side, her emerald eyes shimmered with tears and a half-smile lit her face.

“Thorn, I knew you…
 
Oh, can I help you?” The woman went from exuberant to dejected in seconds.

“I was told this is the residence of Grace Smith,” the man improvised.

“I’m sorry, it isn’t,” the woman began to shut the door.

“But are you certain?
 
She gave me this house number.”

“I am positive,” again she tried to close the door.

“Please, ma’am, are you absolutely certain?
 
Maybe she is one of the maids.”

“I am Aimée Beauchamp and I own this house.
 
Furthermore, I know every one of my servants by name, and there is no Grace Smith.
 
Now, good day!” This time she did slam the door in his face, followed quickly by the snick sound of the lock being turned into place.

The man left the little townhouse and began whistling.
 
Looked like a woman scorned had just presented herself to the boss.
 
He would be eager to hear of this.
 
Thorn Wulfe had more Achilles’ heels at the moment than any one man should.
 
How very interesting.

***

Thorn entered the hack and gave directions for the townhouse.
 
The streets were clogged with traffic and it took a while to make the trip, giving him too much time alone with his thoughts.
 
He appreciated how well Aimée took the news of their relationship ending.
 
With the gifts he had bestowed on her, she could be very choosy as to who her next protector would be.
 
He relaxed against the squabs and looked out the window at the passing scenery, not really taking anything in.

His thoughts strayed to his wife.
 
What was it about her?
 
There was something incredibly familiar, but he just could not seem to put his finger on it.
 
It was as if he should know her better than he did.
 
Then he could not help the smile that crossed his face as his thoughts turned to the twins.
 
They were definitely a handful, but they reminded him what life was all about.
 
He was going to do everything in his power to see that Zach’s education on running a dukedom would be equally balanced with that of being a boy.
 
Then there was Ivy.
 
She would have every man in England pawing after her when she reached the proper age.
 
He would be there to make sure they passed what he knew his brother would have wanted for his daughter.
 

He found himself wondering if perhaps someday he and Rebekah would have their own children.
 
If things continued between them as they currently were, the answer was a resounding no.
 
He wished for the first time that he had some magic way of knowing why she despised him so much.
 
She hated the gaming hell and the way it tarnished the family’s image.
 
He could not blame her, but could not let it go yet.
 
There was too much currently at stake.

He found himself thinking about the carriage accident.
 
Already, he had put his new family’s lives in danger.
 
He would have to talk to the director and ask for guards to be placed within the house.
 
Every day they went without protection, he risked losing them.
 
The cab lurched to a stop and Thorn looked out the window and saw they had arrived at the townhouse.
 
He opened the door, got out, and paid the driver.
 
He heard children’s laughter coming from across the street and spied the twins playing in the park.

He walked across the street and saw Rebekah and an older woman sitting together on a bench.
 
Rebekah looked at peace for the first time in weeks.
 
The twins interrupted that peace when they yelled his name and raced towards him.
 
He entered the park and found that he had a child attached to each leg.
 
He pulled Ivy into his arms and bent down to give Zach a hug before standing once more.

“Who’s with your aunt?”

“Gertie,” the children answered simultaneously.

“It seems as if you are going to meet my husband,” Rebekah turned to Gertie as they watched Thorn greet the children.

“He is very handsome and seems to be good with the children.”

“Hmph.”

“Now, Rebekah, remember that time changes people.
 
And you were as responsible for what happened as he was.
 
Now, take me to your husband.”
 
The two women stood and walked towards the trio.

“Thorn Wulfe, I would like you to meet Lady Gertrude Greenwood.
 
Gertie is my mother’s cousin, and we are very close.
 
I spent some time with her some years ago.”

“It is a pleasure to meet a member of Rebekah’s family.”

“I have heard a lot about you, young man.”

“Uncle Thorn, why do you have pink on you?”

“What are you talking about, sweetheart?”

“Here,” the girl pointed at a spot he could not see on his cravat.
 
His mind quickly went back and he knew that Aimée had deliberately dragged her lips across his cravat.
 
Damn the woman, and he had thought she had taken the news well.
 

“It’s nothing,” he muttered, a slight flush spreading across his skin.

Rebekah raised one brow at him.
 
He watched as she surreptitiously sniffed the air as well.
 
He jaw stiffened and her hands fisted beside her.
 
Gertie took one of her arms and threaded it through her own, rubbing her fisted hand.
 

“At the end of the week, I am going to have a dinner party.
 
It is only going to be close friends and family.
 
My niece and her husband are also inviting some of their dear friends.
 
I would dearly love if the both of you could come.”

“I don’t know…” Rebekah hedged.

“We will be there.”

“Wonderful!
 
I will send an invitation over tomorrow.
 
Bring the twins.
 
The other families are bringing their children.
 
I know it is not the done thing, but it will be a perfect opportunity for the children to meet each other.”

“If you are certain.”

“You are practically like a daughter to me.
 
Why would I not want to show you off?”

“But I don’t have any clothes for a dinner party, or any type of party for that matter.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Thorn interjected.

“I don’t need anything.
 
We are still in mourning.”

“We will discuss this later.
 
Lady Greenwood, it was a pleasure meeting you, but I think these two are ready for a nap,” he indicated the children.
 
Zach was stumbling as he walked and Ivy’s eyes kept drifting closed where she laid her head on his shoulder.

“You must call me Gertie and please see to the children,” the women watched as Thorn crossed the cobbled street and entered the house with two sleepy children and their pups.
 
“My, he is handsome.
 
I can see what turned your head.”

“He has been with a woman,” she seethed.

“Now, you don’t know that,” Gertie soothed.