Page 59 of Revenge

He peppered kisses down my neck, each sending sparks of pleasure across my skin and between my legs. I reached for his belt buckle, and he grabbed both hands. “I said I’d be a gentleman, and part of that means not taking advantage of your aroused state.”

“You’re right.” I wrapped my arms around him, holding us close. It was already hypocritical to take all this pleasure from him while he was so upset, considering who had caused of his troubles. “Let’s go to bed.”

Spooning with Edward was nothing like spooning with Henry. Edward held my hips still when I tried to grind against his erection, and he didn’t let his hands wander as Henry might. If I was skeptical, I would suspect he was banking my desire, keeping me simmering until I exploded from pent-up need and pounced on him. This might have been how he’d strung Alice and Patricia along for months. But then again, I might have spent so long mistrusting Edward that I looked for nefarious reasons in his every small action.

Later, I turned around and stared into his face. In slumber, and without the cruel twist of his features, Edward’s beauty melted my heart. The light streaming in through the windows caught his mahogany hair, turning its ends coppery. The strands fell onto his face, framing thick brows and lashes, a straight nose, high cheekbones, kiss-swollen lips, and an angular jaw.

I pressed a kiss on the tip of his nose. How would he cope when the Saturday Correspondent published the article on money laundering? Poor Edward had signed a contract giving the headmaster permission to convert a disused building into an international summer school, and now it would be the center of an even worse scandal that would lead to a police investigation.

After several minutes, Edward’s breathing deepened, and I slipped out of the bed.

“You’re leaving?” he slurred.

“Not if you want me to stay.”

“Stay.”

I slid back into the warm bed and nestled in his arms, hoping he would have the strength to deal with the calamity I had set into motion.

* * *

On Friday after classes, an e-ticket for a flight from London to New York arrived in my inbox, accompanied by a message from Rudolph’s PA that asked where I would like to study the following semester. I squealed and dropped my phone on the mattress.

Rita raised her head from the marked-up music scores on the table. “What’s happened?”

“I finally have my ticket out of here.”

Her eyes bulged. “How soon can you leave?”

“One sec.” I glanced at the date on the ticket. “Monday afternoon.”

“Have you checked with the you-know-what about what they’ll publish over the weekend?”

My eyes shuttered closed. If it was the money laundering article, Edward would know I had leaked it to the press. It wouldn’t take long for him to work out that all the other articles about the school had come from me. This time, there would be no gauntlet, only a howling mob. I pulled out my burner phone and sent a message to Jackie. She replied immediately with a message that she and Greg were still sifting through the papers I had given them, and she had another article planned for Saturday.

A huge sigh of relief slipped from my lips, and I gave Rita a grateful smile. “That article I was afraid of won’t be published tomorrow.”

She nodded and fixed me with serious, dark eyes. “It might be fun to see their reactions, but be safe and get out before the paper publishes anything that can be linked back to you.”

Wrapping my hands over my middle to settle the regret roiling through my stomach, I gave her a sharp nod.

* * *

Rita shook me awake in early in the morning, just as the first traces of light peeked through the chink in the curtains. Instead of night clothes, she wore a denim jacket over her sweater, meaning she had spent the night with her friend in Hawthorn house.

I blinked to clear my vision. “What’s wrong?”

“Sit up,” she whispered. “They’ve just published the latest article.”

All traces of sleepiness vanished. This had to be serious if she had woken me. Maybe Jackie had changed her mind and published details from Edward’s folder. Maybe Rudolph had told her to expose me as a slut who had three boyfriends she couldn’t even stand.

I pushed myself up and rested my back against the headboard. “W-what is it?”

She placed her smartphone on my lap.

BOURNEVILLE £1M KIDNAP SCAM

All the blood drained from my face. “Am I mentioned?”