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Then, his tongue snaked lower, tasting those sweet, silky depths. Her gasp sounded like a shot fired from her throat, and she gripped his shoulders while her back hit the wall.
“I-I won’t be able to stand,” she managed as his tongue delved deeper, lashing and twisting the soft, delectable flesh.
“I’ll hold you,” he promised, and lifted her, settling her thighs around his shoulders while bracing her against the wall.
The only thing she said after that were pleas interspersed with his name, and when he finally slid inside her, she had forgotten all about propriety.
* * *
Bones spentmost of the next day contacting the direct members of his line and having them make preparations to come to the States. When he enacted his plan against Ian, he needed all his first-generation people around him. Their presence would further disincentivize Ian from retaliating. But Bones saved one call for when he drove to Cat’s house to retrieve her feline. This conversation needed to be private.
“Crispin.”
Annette sounded so pleased when she answered his ring that Bones felt ashamed. He hadn’t spoken to her since that night in Chicago, and she hadn’t done anything to earn such rudeness. He’d been the one in the wrong. Not her.
“Hallo, Annette. I’m…I apologize for my silence.”
“Give it no further thought,” she said with a graciousness he didn’t deserve. “I’m just glad you’re all right. I haven’t been able to reach Charles in recent days, so I haven’t gotten my usual update on you from him.”
She said that last part with a lilt in her voice that told him she was teasing. That’s right, he’d accused her of such roundabout spying when last he saw her. God, he was a shite.
“I’ve had Charles rather busy on my behalf, I’m afraid.”
“Oh? With what?”
“Backup.” Bones paused, and then said, “I found her.”
Her indrawn breath was the only sound he heard for a full thirty seconds. Then, Annette said, “Isn’t that wonderful?” with such brightness that a deep knot inside him relaxed.
He’d dreaded another lecture, and while there were few people in the world whose opinions he regarded highly enough to endure one, Annette was on that extremely short list.
“It was a happy reunion, I hope?” Annette went on.
“It was,” he said, sparing her the initial complications. “But there are outside issues that still need resolved. Ian is one of them. I’m sure you’ve heard of his pursuit of her, too.”
“Yes.” Now Annette’s tone soured. “Ian is ever chasing the next unattainable treasure, though I have no idea why. He has enough riches and rare objects to make a dragon weep with envy.”
“Yes, well, Ian’s a large complication, but he’s not the only one,” Bones said, and filled her in about Max, his relationship to Don, and how Max had tried to kill Cat.
Annette was quiet until he finished, and then she let out a short laugh. “Well, Crispin. You never could abide the quiet life.”
Bones snorted. “I’m now actively seeking it out, but first, I have to resolve all the above.”
“Why not simply tell Ian what Max did to Cat? He’ll likely kill Max himself for going behind his back that way.”
“Or he’ll offer Max’s punishment as a prize to Cat, should she accept his other advances,” Bones replied with grimness.
Annette paused. “You think she’d accept such terms?”
He didn’t want to find out. That’s why he was twisting himself into knots to avoid it happening. “I think I’d rather handle it myself than leave any of it to Ian.”
“Ah,” was all Annette said, yet the single word contained enough weight to feel like a boulder had landed on him. She had guessed his fear, but she wasn’t commenting on it. Gratitude filled him. Annette had ever had his best interests at heart, which is why now, he needed to have hers.
“You’re the first and most important member of my line, but you also know Ian almost as well as I do, Annette. So, you know that he could well declare war. If so, you’ll be swept up in it, unless you’re already independent of me. That is why I’m offering you your own Mastership of your line. Leave mine, and I vow that you’ll still have my protection, but then you won’t-”
Her laughter cut him off, as clear and sparkling as fine champagne. “You’re barking mad if you think I’d abandon you when you need me the most. Thank you for the thought behind your offer, Crispin, but now, you can shove it up your arse.”
He closed his eyes. She’d shown that same unwavering devotion back when he was a desperate prostitute and she was an abused noblewoman who only experienced a kind touch if she purchased it first. Annette didn’t even know that he was responsible for the worst moment of her life, either. She thought that Abbott had refused to summon the midwife during her breech delivery in another of his impulsive rages, but no. That abuse had been calculated.
