“Mr. West, I’m thrilled you found me. I’d hoped to have another chance to speak with you this evening.”
“I am at your service.” Jack bowed low and offered her his arm as if he hadn’t noticed the colonel’s hold on her.
She moved to take it, and the colonel jerked her back.
Jack’s gaze dropped to Stephens’ hand on her arm. “Sir, I believe you forget yourself.”
“You, sir, are interrupting a private conversation I was having with this…lady.”
“Mrs. Sullivan, were you desirous of privacy with this…gentleman?”
“No, sir. Our business is concluded.”
Jack nodded his head slightly in the man’s direction. “Good evening to you, sir.”
The man sputtered. “I will not be dismissed by the likes of you.”
“Colonel, it is time for you to leave,” Constance said.
Jack had hoped not to make a scene, but he would do anything to defend Constance. “Do you need someone to show you out, sir? A house can become a maze in a gathering of this size.”
“No, I damned well do not.” He let go of Constance, then jabbed a finger in her direction. “We are not done.”
“You are mistaken, sir. We are quite thoroughly finished.”
“You’ll regret this.” His wild look as he turned and entered the ballroom made Jack question his sanity.
“Shall I go after him?”
“And what? Call him out? He’s hardly worth your taking such a risk.”
“He hurt you, and I suspect he had far worse intentions once he had you alone.”
“I suspect he did as well, and I am more than grateful for your intervention.”
Her voice was steadier, but her color had not yet fully returned. “What did he want?”
“He believes I led him on, that my showing interest in him meant I was willing to fuck him.”
Jack choked at the bluntness of her words. At least she was acting more like herself. “When you refused, he decided to force himself on you?”
“Yes.”
Jack wasn’t going to let that stand. He turned to go after the vile man, but Constance grabbed his arm and held him back.
“I will not allow him to get away with treating you like that,” Jack said.
Constance shook her head. “You saved me. That’s enough. We have to keep our cover.”
“The man insulted your honor and intended you harm. If you think—”
“He isn’t worth your time.”
Did she really think he would begrudge her anything? “You are worth my time.”
“Thank you.”
He studied her, and a horrific thought dawned. He led her into the conservatory so they could speak privately. “You intend to keep pumping him for information even after his behavior tonight.”
“I’ll do whatever is necessary. Washington—”
“What if no one is here to stop him next time?”
“I could’ve taken care of him myself,” Constance insisted.
“You are an incredibly capable woman, but Stephens must weigh twice what you do.”
Constance lifted her skirt, and Jack glanced toward the door, anxious that someone might see them. When she’d bunched the material to her thigh, he saw a sheath strapped to her leg. It held a knife and a corked vial.
“Poison?” he asked.
She nodded.
“How would you explain a dead man in your bedroom?”
“With a fat bribe and a fabricated story about a whore he’d been seen with.”
Jack sighed. “Constance, he might well have overpowered you.”
“Yes, and you might be shot when you step onto the battlefield, yet you take the risk.”
“Let me make this right for you.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger. Besides, you need to leave town without causing a stir.”
She was right, though he was loath to admit it. “I’m going to tell Eli so he can watch out for you.”
“Fair enough.”
“We’re all sacrificing a great deal, but I—”
She cut off his words by placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.
They walked toward the ballroom. Before they reached the doors, he said, “Maybe you and Eli shouldn’t continue after I leave.”
“Jack, there’s a war going on. We’re all in it.”
“Nothing I say will convince you, will it?”
“Would you say no if you were asked to stay?” she asked.
He wouldn’t lie to her. “No, I would not.”
“Then don’t ask me to.”
Jack laid a hand over hers. “Take care of yourself.”
She nodded. “I will.”
The city wasn’t safe, not even for someone of Constance’s wealth and standing, not with Howe refusing to curb the criminal behavior of the officers. He considered writing Tallmadge to say something had come up and he was needed in New York, but he had to leave eventually. Parting from Eli wasn’t going to get any easier. Eli could protect Constance, but who would protect Eli?
When they reentered the ballroom, Jack poured Constance a cup of punch.
“Thank you,” she said, taking it from his hand. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you as well.”
He scanned the room, searching for Eli once again. As painful and awkward as it might be, Jack needed to talk to him. He wasn’t among the dancers, nor close to the door to the smoking room.
“I assume you’re looking for Eli,” Constance said.
“Yes.” There was no point in denying it.
“I saw him slip through the balcony doors a few moments before Stephens cornered me.”
“Was he with someone?” Jack asked, wanting the answer to be no.
“I didn’t see, but it would only be logical. He surely has many ways of extracting information from willing partners.”
Did she have to be so cruel?
“You didn’t think he would waste time pining for you, did you?”
“No. Of course not. I have no hold on him. I never have.” He’d wanted to, though. He’d wanted that very much.
***
“Rosemary!” The sharp voice startled them both. “What the hell are you doing out here?”
Eli and Rosemary turned to face her husband. “I was taking the air, sir,” Rosemary said.
Stephens grabbed her arm and jerked her away from Eli. “We’re leaving. I’ve never been treated with such insolence at a card table in my life. Then I discover my wife missing and find her out in the night with some tradesman.”
“I became overheated, and Mr. Ashfield kindly offered to escort me out of doors so I could recover.”
“You should have sent for me.”
“I didn’t want to take you away from your game, sir.”
He snorted. “The tables here are not worth my time.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, sir,” Rosemary said.
“Never lay a hand on my wife again,” he said to Eli. “Or you will have much to answer for.”
“My dear, he did me a service,” Rosemary insisted.
“Enough! I’ve called for our carriage.”
Stephens turned, and Rosemary followed him after a quick smile at Eli.
Eli had known that Stephens was an insufferable bore, but he hadn’t realized how poorly he treated his wife. Eli wished there were something he could do. He feared for her safety upon reaching home, but the man was her husband and one of Howe’s most trusted men. Eli had no power over him. Perhaps Stephens would collapse when they reached home. He’d certainly had considerable to drink.
Wrong as it might be to profit from another’s misfortune, Colonel Stephens’ treatment of his wife might make Rosemary ripe for turning to the rebel cause. Did Eli dare let her in on his secret? He’d discuss it with Jack and Constance after the party.
No. Jack was leaving. Fuck it all!
He glanced toward the doors leading back to the ballroom.
He might learn something valuable if he went back inside. A night of hard drinking always loosened the lips of the officers, but right then, he didn’t care. He could do with a drink himself, or better yet an entire bottle, and he wanted to be on his own. Drunk and alone, that was likely how he’d spend most nights from now on.
He let himself out the back gate and turned into an alley, which served as a shortcut to his shop. It was a place no gentleman should be at this time of night, but Eli didn’t care. He was armed and spoiling for a fight.
***
Jack didn’t find Eli in the gardens, though several other men and women were making good use of the dark. He hoped Eli had gone home. At least there they could talk in private.
He risked the walk, trying to stay on the most well-traveled thoroughfares. As soon as he reached Eli’s shop, he rang the bell.
Several excruciating moments passed without him hearing a sound from inside.
He rang again.
He was about to walk away when he heard footsteps. Eli unlocked the door but only opened it a crack. Was he really going to send Jack away? Did Jack have any right to ask for more?
“Why are you here?” Eli’s tone was sharp, and his words slightly slurred. Jack had never seen him foxed before. He was always careful to have his wits about him.
“Why did you leave the party?” Jack asked.
“I wished to be alone.”
“I…”
“Thought you’d get in one more fuck before leaving? Did someone rouse your interest at the party? You were too afraid to go after what you wanted, so you figured I’d do?”
“Eli, you know that’s not—”
“And, of course, I’m willing. I’m always willing.” Eli opened the door and stepped back. “You’ll probably get me to beg for it.”
He started up the stairs, and Jack followed him. When Eli turned to face him, the candlelight in the sitting room showed his face more clearly. He had a large bruise on his cheek and blood around his lip. “What happened to you?”
“Some fools thought to bar me from taking the route I’d chosen. I showed them the error of their ways.”
“Eli—”
“I’m capable of defending myself, as you well know.”
Jack stepped closer, and Eli sucked in his breath when Jack’s thumb brushed over the bruise on his cheek.
“You’ve got to be more careful.”
Eli looked up at him, and Jack wondered how much a kiss would hurt Eli’s injured lip. Eli pulled away before he could decide.
“What are you going to do when you go back to the army?”
Jack frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Will you find another lover or wear calluses on your hand because you refuse to take that risk?”
“I don’t want to hang. Is that really so hard to understand?”
“Yet you want to be on the battlefield in front of bullets and shells. You could be left there to rot like those men in the woods.”
Nausea coiled in Jack’s stomach at that thought.
Eli looked away. “I’m sorry. That was… I don’t like thinking about people shooting at you.”
Jack sighed. “Neither do I, but I’d rather die as a gentleman than be hung for a crime.”
Eli crumpled into a chair. “You should just go.”
Jack blew out a long breath. “I put off telling you because I didn’t want to say good-bye. It was easier to pretend I wouldn’t miss you. I tried to tell myself this was just convenient for two men who needed release. I was lying to myself.”
Jack sank to his knees, managing not to wince as his left leg protested.
Eli watched, eyes big, as Jack unfastened his breeches and pulled his cock through the opening of his drawers. Jack held Eli’s gaze as he took him into his mouth.
“Christ!,” Eli shouted. “You feel fucking incredible.”
Jack used his tongue along the underside of Eli’s prick and was rewarded with a deep groan.
“Don’t stop,” Eli ordered.
Jack didn’t. He worked Eli, sliding his mouth along Eli’s length. Then he pulled back and licked him, using his free hand to tease Eli’s balls and tug on the skin of his scrotum.
“Jack. I’m not going to last. I…” Eli pushed at his shoulders, but Jack grabbed his wrists and placed his hands on the sides of Jack’s head.
“Jack! Please! I’m going to spend.”
Jack looked up, willing Eli to understand he wanted to swallow every drop of Eli’s seed.
“Jesus!” Eli gripped Jack’s head and thrust into him. Jack gagged on the first stroke, but then he managed to take Eli as deep as he wanted to go.
“Jack. Oh, fuck! Jack!” Eli thrust against his lips once more and began to come. Jack swallowed again and again, but some of Eli’s seed spilled from the corners of his mouth and dripped down his chin.
When Eli was finished, he pulled out, and Jack fell forward, bracing himself on his hands and gasping for breath. The hard floor had been hell on his leg. He was going to regret this for days.
Eli dropped to his knees and grabbed Jack’s chin, forcing him to look up. “Kiss me.”
He did, and Eli lapped at the spend on his lips, groaning as he did so. When he reached for Jack’s prick, Jack gasped. After only a few strokes, he was spilling over Eli’s hand.
Eli brought his hand to his mouth and licked his palm, watching Jack’s reaction the whole time.
The sight made Jack’s exhausted prick long to rise again.
“By all that’s holy, Eli, you’re so damn…”
“Lascivious?” Eli suggested.
“Yes.”
“You love that about me.”
Jack nodded. “I do. So very much.”
“I don’t want you to leave.”
Jack ached as he thought about walking away. “I’ll miss you, but this is how it has to be.”
“Stay tonight.”
Jack shook his head. “It will only be harder to leave in the morning.”
“Write to me, then.”
He couldn’t. He had to break their connection, but he didn’t want to hurt Eli more than he already had. “We have to write each other. How would we pass information otherwise?”
“Yes, but…” Eli helped Jack to his feet and then stepped back as if realizing Jack was truly ending things. “I suppose it’s best if you go now.”
Jack nodded. “I—”
“Don’t say anything else. I’m not strong enough to listen.”
Jack wasn’t strong enough to speak. He pulled his clothing together hastily. Hopefully no one would see him as he made his way back to Constance’s house.
“Good-bye, Eli.”
Eli didn’t respond.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Eli laid a cloak over the shoulders of a woman whose name he couldn’t remember. She was the current mistress of one of the officers Constance had invited to dine with her that evening.
“Thank you for a wonderful evening,” the woman said as her lover arrived to escort her home.
“Your company made it so,” Constance said.
Eli wasn’t sure how late it was, but he wouldn’t have been shocked to see the sun starting to rise. The officers who were quartered in Constance’s home had already retired for the night. And now the last of the guests had departed.
“Have a brandy with me?” Constance asked.
The last few hours were a whirl; the last thing he needed was more to drink.
But the alternative was going home alone.
“You miss him, don’t you?” Constance asked when she handed him a glass.
No. He absolutely would not let himself think about Jack, not right now. In his drunken state, he might completely fall apart. “He made it quite clear that he wants nothing to do with me.”
“That’s not going to keep you from wishing for him.”
They both drained their brandies. All he could think about was how taken aback Jack had been the first time he’d seen Constance toss back a b
randy and pour another round.
“So. It’s just the two of us now?” Eli said.
They looked at each other. It was probably the copious alcohol he’d consumed, but Constance seemed…interested in a way she hadn’t since their first meeting.
No, she and Bradford were lovers, and Bradford didn’t seem the type to share. His inebriated mind was toying with him.
“I noticed Bradford didn’t stay the night.”
Constance’s eyes widened. “Why would he?”
“Do you really think I don’t know?”
“What is it you’re so certain of knowing?” she asked, but her smile told Eli she was teasing.
“That the two of you are lovers.”
Constance sighed. “Actually, we’re not.”
“Do you really expect me to—”
“I’m being honest. I’d like for us to be, but he’s too much of a goddamn gentleman.”
Eli was truly shocked. “He turned you down?”
Constance frowned. “Not exactly. He respects me too much to engage in an affair, but he refuses to marry until the war ends. He says his duties to the crown would make him a terrible husband.”
“He told you he wants to marry you?”
She tilted her head to one side. “Not in so many words, but even if he did propose officially, I couldn’t say yes. He’s a British officer, and I’m spying for the rebels. Our marriage would be based on lies. If I didn’t love him, he’d be very useful, but I won’t lie to him day after day.”
Eli sighed. “I know what it’s like to care for someone when you can’t be what they want.”
“So here we both are. Unable to have the men we want.”
Constance looked up, and tension sizzled between them.
“You and me. Is that the solution?” Eli asked.
Constance laughed, but there was no mirth in the sound. “We’re certainly suited for each other.”
“Plenty of people already assume we’re lovers.”
Constance considered his words. “True, but won’t Mrs. Stephens be jealous?”
“She already thinks you have me enthralled.”
“Don’t I?”
Eli cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a kiss. Her lips were soft and full. She kissed him back, tugging on his coat until he rose on his knees and straddled her. She lay her head against the back of the couch, and he kissed her jaw, her neck, down to her collarbone. At the edge of her gown, he stopped. His breath wasn’t ragged, he wasn’t overcome with the need to free her breasts and explore her body, and he didn’t think Constance was any more roused than he was.
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