The answer entered his mind like an enchanting apparition. A dazzling beauty with honey-gold hair, rosebud lips and porcelain skin.
Nicholas, don’t stop!
Never stop kissing me!
Hell, his body reacted instantly.
Blood pumped to his loins, teasing his flaccid manhood to life.
“I’m merely tired, filthy, and can’t pretend I’m not one mistake away from a stint in Newgate.” It was not a lie.
Aaron steepled his fingers and gave a curious hum. “No, there is something else. A restlessness I would lay odds is due to a woman. Speak now. Know I would rather entertain a murderer than a liar.”
God’s teeth!
After a silent deliberation, Nicholas realised that if he wanted Aaron Chance’s help, he had no option but to reveal his secret.
“I’m in love with Denton’s sister,” he said casually, though speaking the words aloud fired his blood. “We have always treated each other as kin. I thought she saw me as a brother, but …”
Intrigued, Aaron said forward. “Something happened.”
“Not knowing if I would see her again, I kissed her last night.”
Aaron laughed. “You’re dragging your chin on the ground because of one kiss? Hell! I thought you’d ruined her and Denton’s out to spill your innards.”
“It took Hercules’ strength not to ruin her.” Once the walls of restraint had crumbled, love and lust had burst from him like water breaching a dam.
“Ah, it was one of those kisses. Wild. Rampant. The sort that leaves a man solid in seconds.”
Nicholas cleared his throat. “Indeed.”
“Now you’re confused because a viscount’s sister does not marry a fugitive with a price on his head.”
Nicholas told Aaron about the blood pact with Sebastian and explained how the viscount needed their friendship as a way of dealing with grief. The man listened with keen interest, so Nicholas spoke about his parents’ strained marriage, too.
“A man must make a choice,” Aaron said, sounding like a wise seer. “Does he cast his own needs aside for those of his family? As I have done. Or does he think only of himself and indulge his deepest desires? As I sometimes wished I had done with—” He stopped mid-sentence.
“In an ideal world, he could do both.”
Aaron arched a brow. “We both know the world is anything but ideal, St Clair. But to my mind, you cannot do either unless you prove your innocence. That should be your only focus.”
“You’re right, of course.”
Aaron snorted. “I am always right.”
“Except when you wagered against me in a fistfight.” He enjoyed reminding the King of Clubs he’d lost for the first time in ten years.
“You had the devil in you that night, and I had much on my mind.” Aaron eyed him narrowly. “A man must have faith in his own abilities. If you deal with this problem the way you dealt with me in the ring, with logic and the right stratagem, you will be victorious.”
Nicholas raised his glass in salute.
What choice did he have?
The alternative was … was death.
* * *
The breeches were tight and chafing her thighs. The boots were too big, and Lady Brompton had stuffed the toes with a crumpled copy ofThe Times. Helen’s hair was three inches shorter and tied loosely on top of her head, so it sat nestled inside her hat.