“Thank you.” He bounced his gaze between Finn and Jane. “Behave yourselves.” Then he took Sarah by the hand. “Where the devil is Brand? Shouldn’t he have arrived by now?”
“It is still snowing,” his wife reminded him. “Perhaps the roads are impassable at this point. If that’s so, there’s every chance he might not arrive until after Christmas.”
“If he’s deigned to come at all.” Despite the delight the treasure hunt brought, attempting to wrangle the Stormes into one place for a damned house party was trying his forbearance. “It was a simple request,” he said as he stomped up the sweeping marble staircase of Hadleigh Hall. “If not for my sake, then for Christmastide,” he told the newel post as he passed.
Sarah caught him up just outside of the study. She poked a forefinger into his chest while her deep brown eyes flashed fire. “Andrew Storme, I’m rapidly losing patience with you.”
Surprise shot down his spine as his back connected solidly with the wall. It had been some weeks since he’d sent his wife into a temper. “What do you mean?”
“You seem to have forgotten that everyone here is probably suffering from nerves and emotions of their own. It took courage on their part to accept your invitation. Each time your pompous, arrogant side rears its ugly head, you are stirring a stick through that confusing miasma and potentially undoing all the good you’ve planted.” She pressed a palm against his chest and held him in place. “Everyone is struggling during this time with matters you know nothing about, and your only duty here is to have an open mind, to extend tolerance and welcome.”
Whenever she chastised him, he wanted to hide himself away or, alternately, throw himself on his knees and ask for her forgiveness. And, if he were honest with himself, deep down in his soul he was still terrified of losing her. “I apologize.”
She held his gaze. “I once told you that actions speak louder than words. I haven’t relaxed those rules.” One of her eyebrows rose over the rim of her spectacles.
How did she have the power to bring him to heel with nothing more than the movement of an eyebrow? And the longer they stood here in the corridor, the more likely William and his team would solve the next riddle. Yet… his relationship with Sarah remained the most important fixture in his life. “Forgive me. I promise to do better for the duration of the house party.”
“Good.” She patted his chest. “Thank you. It’s an adjustment for all of us, but I’m proud of you for wanting to heal the rift.”
It was as if the sun had come out from behind the clouds when she smiled. Drew basked in her praise, and with a wicked chuckle, he reeled her into his arms. As he pressed his lips to the column of her neck, she giggled.
“Andrew, stop! This is not the time nor the place.”
“It’s always the time for me to show you how much I adore you.” Daring much, he quickly flipped their positions so that he held her between the wall and his chest. The longer he peered into her upturned face, fell into the rich depths of her brown eyes, the more that need shot through his shaft. “Is there an objection?”
“I can’t think of one right now.” Her whispered breath warmed his chin seconds before he lowered his head and claimed her lips. Every time they came together, it was as if it were perpetually summertime with the scent of orange blossoms in the air.
Though his intention had been to tease with tiny exploratory nibbles, once her arms went about his shoulders and she lifted on her toes to better meet his mouth, Drew was lost. “I’m going to need you to use your intelligence to help our cause and solve that riddle.”
“All right.” Her eyes shuttered closed, and she nipped his bottom lip.
With a groan, he crushed her into his arms and deepened the kiss. This wonderful woman who’d changed his life… would there ever come a day when he wasn’t still surprised that she’d agreed to marry him or that each day they were together was the best? He chased her tongue with his, drank from her, told her in no uncertain terms how much he wanted her, adored her, couldn’t live without her.
By the time he pulled away, his engorged shaft pressed hard against the front of his trousers and Sarah was as breathless as he. She put her spectacles back into place, but her bemused expression worked to further fire his desire. “You’re quite the distraction,” he whispered as he trailed his hands along her sides and then placed his palms on either side of her growing belly. “If we reach the end of the treasure hunt in good time, we can usher in Christmas Eve by doing unspeakable things to each other.”
The unmistakable sound of someone making gagging noises interrupted the moment. With heat rising up his neck, Drew glanced over his shoulder. Of course Finn was there being placed into his Bath chair by a footman, while Jane looked on with raised eyebrows and shock etched into her expression. “I, uh…”
“You know, I wouldn’t mind your displays of affection if you wouldn’t condemn mine so much, Hadleigh,” he said in a conversational tone. “However, if your need for carnal satisfaction causes us to forfeit solving this riddle, I will throw you down the stairs myself.” Not even the pleasant smile on his face could soften Finn’s threat.
“Fine.” When an exuberant cheer went up inside the study, Drew cursed beneath his breath. He shoved a hand through his hair and turned back to glance at his wife. Amusement danced in her eyes and a fierce blush raged in her cheeks. “I think we’re too late to solve the riddle. Which means Finn will never let me live this down.”
Sarah snorted. “There is no shame in showing affection for your wife, Andrew.” She peered past his shoulder and waved to Finn and Jane. “I’m certain the two of you know how easy it is to let the emotions of the moment carry you away.”
“Please do not speak about kissing my brother,” Finn said as he wheeled past their position and into the study. “I’d rather have that remain a mystery lest my nightmares return.”
“Don’t mind him,” Jane said. She followed with a knowing grin. “I well understand how potent the Storme men can be, and what’s more, I welcome that. They’ve all spent entirely too many years stifled emotionally.”
“Agreed.” Sarah giggled again, which did nothing to alleviate Andrew’s cockstand. “Come.” She laid a hand on his arm and steered him into the study. “Let’s continue the game. It doesn’t matter who solves the riddles first. It’s bringing your family together.”
How could he argue with that?
“Ah, thank you for joining us, Hadleigh,” William said as soon as Drew stepped into the room. “I believe we’ve solved the puzzle. You’re just in time.”
“Please don’t expound about it on my account,” he responded with heavy sarcasm. Though he despised the fact that his cousin was making a better showing in the game than he was, it truly didn’t matter.
“Oh, but it’s not I who is about to reveal the answer. It’s Miss Bancroft.” William stood aside so that Drew could see beyond him. The young lady had seated herself behind the desk. An ornate snuff box made of thin bone china rested on the desk. The lid had been painted with a picture of an 18th century couple in white wigs.
“Where the deuce did you discover that?” In his months of occupying the study and looking over the account books with his man of business, he didn’t recall ever seeing a snuffbox. He crept closer. “I don’t recognize this.”