“Treasures aren’t only about glimmer and gold. Even the brightest gems were rough and unpolished once, correct? They can’t shine without polish and refinement. How else would you know they are treasures?”
“Fair point.” God, he loved her.
“You don’t sound too convinced.”
He kissed her temple. “So then convince me all my life.”
“Be serious,” she chastised softly. “So you haven’t told your story to your brothers?”
He shook his head. “As you might have noticed, we aren’t big on talking about the big things.”
“How did you meet your brothers?” She shifted slightly to better see his face.
“Maxen found me first. Told me there were others. Sons of the same duke. So I helped him hunt them down.”
“You hunted them down? That sounds rather . . .”
“Villainous?”
“A bit,” she agreed calmly.
“Iama villain, love. You should be very clear on that.”
She shrugged against him, utterly unconcerned. “Then it’s a good thing I’ve chosen to be your villainess.”
That drew a chuckle from him, but concerned him at the same time. Reminded, he murmured, “You’d have to marry me for that.”
She dug her fingers into him. “Are you fishing for an answer?”
“Yes,” he said without shame.
“Then you can wait a little longer.”
His mouth curved. “Is this punishment for my foolishness?”
“Would it make me villainous if I said yes?”
“I have a feeling,” he murmured, tightening his arm around her, “that you’re going to be a menace.”
“Well, a villainess does require certain traits. I won’t simply trail behind you lookingmenacing. I intend to be actively involved.”
Not a damn chance. “I don’t like this.”
She smiled at that.
He changed the topic, needing her to confirm from her own lips. “Did you mean it?” Drake asked against her hair. “That it doesn’t matter if it’s one man, ten men, or the whole world, you’d stand by my side?”
“A good villainess naturally would.” She inhaled deeply. “I have something to admit.”
Drake waited patiently for her admission, brows already furrowing.
“When you found me at my garden, I was leaving Brighton.”
Drake reined in the instant fury that drove straight to his hands, his fingers curling as if already seeking something to lock her to him in any way possible. He locked his jaw, drawing a slow, deliberate breath through his nose as he forced the unreasonable rage back into his bones.
“Leaving?” The one word came out hoarse.
“Don’t be angry,” she said softly. “I was merely planning a small trip to Bristol until your feud with my brother died. I was afraid that if you discovered who I was, you’d believe me in league with him.”
