She didn't deny it.
"That's why you want to question him, isn't it?"
"Yes, I need to protect Uncle Ashby from whoever is in association with the thief."
"How are you going to do that without alerting Merewether to the existence of the thief?"
She fiddled with the top button on his shirt. In his haste to leave his room earlier, he had left off his cravat and now he could feel the delicate softness of her fingers against his throat. His body reacted instantly.
She looked up at him with a startled expression. "Really, Pierson, this is not the time to be thinking of such things."
He smiled at the prissy words spoken in a breathless voice. "You're right, but I have difficulty concentrating on anything else when you are near."
She stilled her fingers and gazed into his eyes. "Really?"
"Yes." How could she doubt it?
"That's nice," she said.
He bent his head and gently touched her lips with his own. She returned the pressure, allowing her arms to slide around his neck.
He pulled his lips away a fraction of an inch from her mouth. "You taste so good, I'm always hungry for more."
"I would not wish to be accused of being stingy." She kissed him this time, loving the feeling of freedom in doing so.
This was what she had missed after their time together in his room. The warmth. The intimacy. She felt safe in his arms—as if thieves, their cohorts, even the specter of marriage, could not harm her.
He teased at her lips with his tongue and she opened her mouth. The kiss grew passionate and soon they were both breathing rapidly.
He pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers. "We have to stop, Thea, or Melly will walk in on a much more compromising scene than she did earlier."
She knew he was right, but that did not make it any easier to acquiesce. "Very well," she said, aware that it came out a bit sulky.
He lifted her from his lap and set her on the bed before taking a seat on the chair once again. "Finish telling me about your thief."
"There is nothing more to tell."
"What do you plan to do when we reach London?"
She should question his assumption about accompanying her to London from Liverpool, but knew it would be no use. She had made her decision when she told him about the thief. She had his help now, for good or ill. However, it would be foolish to pretend she didn't want it, when she so desperately did.
"First I must make myself known to Lady Upworth."
"Your friend that has been writing you?"
"Yes."
"She's a crony of my aunt's. What are you going to do after that?"
For some reason knowing that Drake had a connection to Lady Upworth made Thea feel better. "I'm going to begin my investigation at the shipping office."
He frowned. "How?"
She chewed on her lower lip. "I had thought to simply make myself known, express my concerns, and enlist the help of Uncle Ashby's nephew. Now, I'm not so certain."
"Bloody hell. You could be walking into a nest of vipers."
Rather than annoying her, his anger made her feel safe. It felt good to lean on someone. She had not done so since her mother's death. "You are right, but I do not know a better way to approach it."