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“Then I’d have to reveal your duplicity, and you’d be killed.”
“Not before you and your league were rounded up and killed.”
“You know”—she reached up and straightened his neckcloth—“there’s a way we could both live.”
He caught her hand. “If you are suggesting the way to long life is rescuing the boy, then you are mad. No one will ever free that child.”
“Why is that?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know? Wouldn’t it be perfect for you if I told you every detail? Let me explain something, Alexandra.” He leaned close. “Even if you knew every detail, you would never free that child. It’s a doomed proposition.”
Everything in her itched to push him to reveal more details of the prison and the guards, but she’d rather his cooperation than merely his knowledge. “Then I suppose I am doomed, but at least I will have given my life for something I believe in. Something honorable.”
“And the revolution is not honorable.” His voice held no rancor, only resignation.
“It started out that way,” she said quietly. “But it’s become something else. Something dark and ugly.” She freed her hand from his grip and caressed his cheek. “That’s why you came to us, even if you didn’t know it was the league. The truth is you know the revolution has become more about power and greed than liberty and equality.” She tapped his nose pedantically.
“I should argue. I should give you philosophical reasons and remind you that all political change requires sacrifice and that the ends often do justify the means.” He caught her hand and turned it to kiss her palm. Warning bells rang in Alex’s mind. She should move away from him. Now.
“But I can’t seem to think of any rational points. I can’t seem to think at all.” He pulled her to him, and she didn’t resist. Her body pressed against his, and he slid a hand to cup the back of her neck. Her breath came short and her skin tingled where he touched her. Was this a trick or was he feeling the same fever overtaking her?
She couldn’t resist kissing him, brushing her lips over his. Heat flooded her limbs, making them feel heavy and cumbersome. His hand skated down her back, supporting her, and she realized she was glad. He kissed her gently and slowly, the touches short and leaving her wanting more. Her arms went around his shoulders, trying to increase the contact, but he held back.
“Answer me one question,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she said, her breath mingling with his.
“Did you come here tonight to seduce me?”
His words were icy water poured over her head, drenching her body and numbing it. She stepped back, out of his arms, her gaze on his face. His color was high and his dark eyes even darker from arousal. He hadn’t been pretending. He wanted her, but perhaps even more he wanted to know if she was pretending.
“I don’t seduce men to our cause. Unlike in your so-called republic, the women in the league are valued for their knowledge and skills. We are truly equal.”
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to imply...”
“That I was a whore? The truth is, in fact, quite different. I kissed you because I wanted to, even though I had been warned intimacy with you was a bad idea. If I was truly being loyal to my cause, I would keep my distance.”
“You understand why I had to know.”
She understood more than he thought. “I understand that you worried I was using your own tactics on you.”
“Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t always acting? That kissing you made me forget my true purpose at times.”
“I’d say that sounds a lot like flattery.”
“Then let me prove otherwise.” He pushed away from the table, but now she was the one who took a step back.
“I think we had better discuss Louis Charles.”
He shook his head. “Discuss all you like, but I’m not ready to share what I saw tonight or to make any decisions.”
“You want time, but time is yet another commodity we lack.”
“Forgive me if I want twenty-four hours in which to consider my options and my future—assuming I have a future,” he muttered.
“Then I will return tomorrow.”
“I can send word to your residence. A simple yes or no will let you know where I stand.”
