"But what about what you needed to talk to me about?" Gwen gasped again as Hunter licked the inside of her wrist and then wickedly began sucking on her fingers.
"It can wait."
"Wait? Until?"
But Hunter had stopped talking and was doing exceedingly well in making her forget what she'd been so worried about in the first place.
Two hours later, they lay in each other's arms. Hunter rose and stoked the fire.
"I am suddenly thankful we do not have a full staff." Gwen giggled. "I can only imagine what a stiff old butler would say to the duke and duchess of the house frolicking around in the ballroom."
"Frolicking?" Hunter paused, his smile making her stomach clench with desire. "Is that what we were doing?"
Gwen laughed as Hunter pounced on her again and whispered, "I thought I was making love to my beautiful wife, but if a good frolic is what you desire, who am I to stand in your way?"
Another hour later and Gwen finally had a new definition for the word frolic, and found that she would never be able to hear it without blushing profusely.
Chapter Thirty-three
Wolf—
That was one time! And the pigeon terrified me! I thought it was an intruder! What do you expect me to do? Swat it with my hand? All I had was a pistol. I cannot believe you would hold one tiny indiscretion against me! And no, I refuse to stay locked indoors. And yes, you are an animal. A complete and utter animal, in and out of the bedroom, you scoundrel!
—Red
Hunter nudged Gwen awake as the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. He had taken her to bed without having a much-needed discussion with her, but the moment he saw the life die in her eyes, he knew he needed to remedy the situation immediately. For it had nothing to do with them, though it had looked that way. He was just so terrified of losing her again and exhausted over the most recent news that he found all he could do was hold her and pray it would fix itself.
For he had been asked to complete a task, something that he could not say no to. Dominique was his best friend. He would die for him, do anything to protect him. And though he wanted to say no, the delicate situation made it hard to. But he could not leave Gwen, so Ash had stepped in, said it was a way for him to redeem his many sins.
Not only had Ash changed from the easygoing brother Hunter had always loved, but he was unpredictable. He would be perfect, that is, if the woman did not kill him first.
"Love," Hunter murmured in Gwen's ear. "Love, you need to wake up. We should talk."
"This early?" Gwen stretched across the bed and moaned. Saints alive, how he wished he could possess his wife instead of having to have such a conversation, but it was necessary.
"Yes, I'm afraid so." He pulled her into his arms and leaned against the headboard while he played with her soft hair.
"What is it?" She yawned again.
"You asked before, why me? Why would Wilkins target me? When he could have set up Trehmont or Hollins, even Redding."
Gwen nodded in his arms. He took a deep breath and continued. "It seems, my love, that Wilkins had somewhat of a grudge against my family, against me."
He grinned and began his story, trying to make it sound as lighthearted as possible. "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman. Everyone loved her. Obviously she had the face of a goddess. After all, she was my grandmother by blood."
Gwen laughed in his arms, and he kissed her head. "A man, an untitled man, wanted her for himself. But she refused him. You see, she loved him desperately, but her parents would never approve of the match. So he ran away with her. But her parents intercepted them before they made their marriage legal."
"What happened?" Gwen sat up.
"She married another, and they had beautiful children. Handsome, strapping men, who then had even more handsome sons." He grinned as Gwen swatted him.
"Wilkins was the man?"
He nodded. This was the part he hated, the part that made him sick. "Wilkins was so angry, so bitter over what had taken place, merely because he did not have the station or the money in order to provide for her, that he developed a strong hatred for the gentry, for royalty, anyone in a higher station."
Hunter closed his eyes. "He never stopped loving my grandmother. She would be hard to forget. She often entertained royalty from other countries and on the night of a party, she entertained some of Russia's royalty. Wilkins snuck in uninvited. Grandmother and he had another fight and my grandfather, bless his heart, tried to kick Wilkins out, but Wilkins was drunk. He had a pistol. He shot my grandfather and then shot my grandmother."
"Hunter!" Gwen wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheeks. "So he decided to kill off your entire family."
"No, I do not believe so, though his hatred was strong. I always knew my grandparents had been shot by a madman. I just hadn't known who had done it until now."
"Then how do you know this information? I guess I don't understand. It is horrible, truly horrible, Hunter, but how do you know?"
"He left a book of conquests, people he'd killed, things he'd done. Hollins offered it as a peace offering in order to lessen his sentence."
Gwen held him for a long time before sighing into his chest. "Are you happier, now that you know how your grandparents died?"
"Yes and no. It saddens me to think of their lives cut short, merely because of a man's jealousy and hatred. I'm surprised he was able to look at me, let alone stand in the same room as me." Hunter swallowed the dryness in his throat. "There is one other thing."
Gwen tensed. "The woman you spoke of earlier?"
"Love, it is not what you think. Calm down before I am forced to frolic with you again."
Gwen blushed bright red and pushed at his chest. He tightened his hold around her and sighed. "Dominique has asked me to go on a mission. A private one."
"No." Gwen shook her head. "We've just been through a mission, and you know I would not let you go alone."
"Don't I know it?" Hunter kissed her pouted lips. "Ash has it in his mind that he needs to do a penance for disappearing for so long, even though he saved our lives. Apparently it will never be enough."
"So he is to find a woman?"
Hunter kissed Gwen's neck. "Not just any woman, Dominique's cousin. I do not know the specifics, but she was forced into hiding. It is Dominique's wish to bring her here and give her a Season, thereby marrying her off and offering her his protection."
"Where is she now?"