Without another word, she braced both gloved hands on either side of his face and leaned up to him. Her soft lips brushed seductively across his, but instead of giving him a quick peck, then retreating, she lingered. Her warm breath mingled with his own, and he wanted to pull her closer, kiss her deeper, but she moved back before he had the chance.
“Now then, I do believe our business is complete,” she said.
“That was a lovely kiss,” he told her, “but it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.” He pulled her to him, her lush body pressing against his own, then he dipped his head to her neck. “This spot,” he murmured. “I’ve been looking at it all night.” He tasted her, the flesh as tender as he’d imagined. Her nails bit through his jacket and into his arms. “Perfect.” Then he let her go.
She eyed him thoughtfully, but said nothing. It would seem there were ways to make the lady speechless.
“I do believe we’ll be seeing each other again,” he said.
She said nothing, but merely turned on her heel and left the room.
Sabine Tobias. Why would someone be that desperate for an antiquity? There had to be a reason, and chances were, it would be a good one. It shouldn’t take too much investigation to uncover who she was and what she wanted with his map.
* * *
The following day, Sabine Tobias grabbed a handful of glass jars and headed out to her storefront. She wouldn’t say that last night had been a complete disaster, though certainly not a success either. But she knew for certain the man in question had possession of the map. And she knew where he lived. Oddly enough she also knew what it felt like for him to lave warm kisses on her neck. Everything about him had been unexpected.
Since the night before, she’d spent entirely too much time reliving that one moment, and not enough on devising a new plan. So far, a trip to his home seemed to be her best option. But she’d need help from her aunts to ensure that she didn’t get caught.
Sabine should have been bone-weary from her unexpectedly late evening, but instead her mind was surprisingly active. She constantly relived every breath from the night before, wondering what, if anything, she could have done differently.
“We open in ten minutes,” Lydia said as she rushed from the back room.
Word was certainly getting out as of late, because their business had nearly tripled in the last few weeks. Evidently someone in London—someone important—had decided Tobias Miracle Crème was highly in fashion. She and her aunts were making the facial crème as fast as they could and still, they sold out each day.
Her Aunt Calliope came out right behind her with an armload of her own. “Sabine, you came in so late last night,” she whispered. “I tried to stay awake, but…” Lydia passed by and Calliope stopped talking. She smiled sweetly at her eldest sister.
After they were once again alone, Calliope continued, “I thought maybe you’d gotten yourself into trouble.”
“No need to be so secretive. Lydia knows where I was,” Sabine said as she placed the jars on the shelf.
Calliope’s pale-blue eyes shone. “How did it go with the map? Did you see it?”
Sabine plucked the jars from her aunt’s arms and started stacking them neatly into the fabric-lined baskets they used for display. “No.” She frowned at her aunt as she pulled a stray thread out of Calliope’s wispy grayish-blonde hair. “I followed him. And I ended up not at a ball as I’d thought, but in a gaming hell.” She filled Calliope in on the rest of the details, their wager, everything except for the kiss.
“You lost?”
“I did.” She put a hand on Calliope’s arm. “But I’ll think of something. I’ve got one idea already. I know Lydia will not approve, but I believe I might simply have to break into his house. Madigan entrusted me with this task, and I do not want to let him or Agnes down.”
“I’m opening the doors, ladies,” Lydia said as she swept past them, then made her way behind the curtain.
Lydia had assumed the role of the eldest in the family when Sabine’s mother had passed. She fussed over each of them, and Sabine loved her for it. While the shop was open, though, she stayed in the back tending the books and packaging orders. She had never gotten used to their living among the English.
Sabine glanced behind her aunts to assure they were alone. “But it will require assistance from each of you.”
Punctuated by the sound of tiny bells, a tall and well-dressed gentleman entered the shop.
“We’ll talk more about my plan this evening,” Sabine whispered.
The man wore a hat that partially hid his face, something Sabine knew was considered rude in polite Society. A true gentleman would have removed his hat once inside the shop. Other customers, all women, also entered the shop and began to mill about. It was how it had been for the past few weeks. They’d open their doors, and the people would come almost immediately, and often they’d be sold out of the facial crème three hours after opening.
The man immediately walked over to the nearest shelf and grabbed one of the jars for a closer inspection. His tall frame seemed even more so in her small and delicate shop, and his dark suit stood out against the pale fabrics of linen and tulle they used in their shelf displays. This was a lady’s place, and he looked very much a man as he pawed at her wares. His large hands dwarfed the delicate jars of crème.
Then he removed his top hat, and steely blue eyes met her gaze.Maxwell Barrett.
“Miss Tobias,” he said with a rakish grin.
“You found me,” she uttered foolishly. Of course, she had given him her name. Normally that might not have yielded a successful search. London was a densely populated city, but the mention of the name Tobias to nearly any woman in Society would have brought him to her door. Perhaps the marquess was married—a fact she had not considered last night when she’d kissed him.