Chapter 4

Remington looked down, ruefully, at his soiled, damaged uniform. Kuramatsu, the Wellington's gardener, had been revealed as Hastings' murderer, and had been foiled in his bid to add the pair of detectives to his list of victims, if it meant saving his own neck. Instead, he now lay unconscious in a stall in the stable.

"My tailor's going to kill me," Remington bemoaned, slapping his hands together to remove some of the fertilizer from his gloves. He and Laura stopped in the doorway, arms touching, as they looked outside at the now pouring rain. "Suddenly, I don't feel that eager about going back to the house." His eyes scanned her slim frame from head-to-toe, when they traveled back upwards, they stalled on the rounded curve of her bottom. Her eyes focused ahead on the inclement weather out of doors, she was unaware of his gaze, and lowered then dropped her arms.

"Well, we can't stay here." Why not? he wondered, then repeated the thought aloud, as an arm snaked around her waist and turned her to face him.

"Why not?"

Before she could form an answer, his head descended and his lips covered hers, as he pulled her close. Instinctively, her lips moved with his as she grasped his upper arms. His imagination ignited when her small hand slipped through the cut in his jacket, to caress his shoulder. He tugged her tighter against his lean frame as he deepened the kiss in response, teased her with a quick brush of his tongue against hers, before their lips parted. Still held firmly in his arms, she pressed up on her tiptoes to look over his shoulder at Kuramatsu.

"What about him?" she asked. A mischievous grin spread across his face, as he released her and reached for the stable doors. Realizing what he had in mind, she lay a hand on his upper arm. "What will people think?" she asked, the better part of her unconcerned with the answer to her own question.

"What else?" he asked, then quirked a brow. "The butler did it."

A helpless laugh bubbled up from her throat at his impertinence. Not three minutes before, life and limb had been threatened, yet he'd already put that in the past for more personal pursuits. When he cupped her cheek in one hand, her neck in the other, she dragged her fingers through his hair and lifted her lips to his, quite willingly. The kiss quickly turned hungry, demanding. Her hands wandered over his shoulders, down his arms, back up, then as she palmed his neck, she stroked a splayed hand down his back. With a soft groan, he walked her backwards until her back was pressed against the barn wall. She couldn't stop the quiet moan deep in her throat, caused by the sensation of being trapped between the wall and his lean frame, while his hand skimmed over her silk covered waist, her ribs. Her fingers clenched his arm, flinched against the small of his back when he dared to sweep a thumb over a breast, unfailingly finding its sensitive peak. As a jolt of pure desire shot straight through her, she ripped her lips from his and buried her face in his neck.

We can't. Wecantwecantwecant, her pesky conscience tortured her.

"Laura," he murmured, breathlessly,

She pulled in a long breath of air, prepared to put a stop to things and that was her undoing. His scent surrounded her, and her lips, of their own accorded, whispered across his neck. He drew in a sharp breath, his eyes squeezed shut and his fingers clutched at her waist and head.

He'd never been inhibited when it came to sex… when it came to much of anything, actually. He'd had assignations any number of times, not particularly caring where he was, who might see. But this was Laura, and he wasn't willing to share any part of her with anyone else. His eyes opened of their own accord and skirted towards the figure of Kuramatsu, whose head was lolling as he began to come to. He grasped her hand in his, when she began to tug at his tie. He shifted, drawing his neck away from her talented little mouth, and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Not here," he panted. She reared back her head, and dazed but surprised eyes searched his face. When his eyes flickered in the general direction of Kuramatsu, she understood his sudden reticence. She nodded slowly, as she cupped his cheek in her palm.

"Then let's call the police so we can go home." This time it was he who nodded. Dropping a kiss on the tip of her nose, he caressed her neck then stepped away.

"There's a tarp on those bales," he indicated with a snap of his head. "Should keep you dry enough. I'll Secure him while you go up to the house and make the call."

"Alright," she agreed, shaking off the remnants of their encounter, focusing on business once again.

"And, Miss Holt?" She turned, giving him a questioning look with a tilt of her head as she held the tarp aloft. "Don't dawdle." A small, knowing smile lifted her lips, for she was an anxious for some alone time as he was.

"Don't worry, I won't."

With those final words, she dashed out of the stable, him watching her until she was out of sight, then turned his attentions to securing the gardener.