Page 85 of After the Spy Seduces

“I did,” he murmured, his smile fading as he struggled to remain conscious. “But that…wasn’t what…I had in mind.”

“Then next time you need to be clearer.”

“I will…”

Please, God—please let there be a next time!“Christopher…”

“Tell her,” he ordered softly, his words now slurring. “Tell Meri…who you really are…”

“Christopher!” Panic rose inside her as she felt him slipping into unconsciousness. She clutched him tightly to her, terrified of losing him. He couldn’t leave her now.He couldn’t die!Not when she’d finally found him and allowed him into her heart.

She kissed him, but the warmth and life she tasted on his lips only made her fear that it was slipping away. So much left to be said, not enough words in the world, and all of them coming too late. Except—

“I love you,” she whispered, her trembling lips barely able to form the words as tears dripped down her cheeks.

He whispered back, his voice little more than a gravelly breath, “You’d better…”

Then his eyes closed, and he went limp in her arms.

Chapter 27

Kit’s eyes fluttered open, then slammed shut as a sharp pain slammed through his forehead. Good God, the sunlight was bright! Who’d opened the damned curtains? His head pounded, but he didn’t remember getting foxed last night.

The fog of sleep slowly cleared, and what he finally remembered…Dear God.He wished he’d been dreaming.

He eased open his eyes again, and this time, with much blinking, they slowly adjusted to the light. But as he looked around, he had no idea where he was or what the hour…until he recognized the room that he and Diana had taken at the hotel. He was back at the Mermaid and waking up in the morning sunlight, as if none of the past few days had happened.

But theyhadhappened. The pain and aching soreness that gripped his entire body proved it.

His eyes landed on Garrett Morgan standing near the window.Notthe person he wanted to set eyes on the morning after he’d nearly died. Or the other man standing with him, the two of them speaking quietly—

Nathaniel Grey.

Well. Perhaps he wasn’t going to survive the day after all.

He shifted to sit up. A piercing pain shot up his arm and into his chest, and he sucked in a mouthful of air through clenched teeth, freezing in place to keep the pain at bay. When the hammer had stopped beating on the top of his head and the lightning ceased flashing in front of his eyes, he panted down the pain and rubbed his hand over his shoulder where a large white bandage wrapped around his bicep. Beneath the sharp pain lay a dull ache that would take weeks—if not months—to heal.

The two men turned toward him, but otherwise remained where they were on the other side of the room.

“By all means,” Kit ground out as he eased back against the pillow, giving up on the idea of getting out of bed, “don’t rush to help.”

In response, Morgan leaned back against the wall, and Grey crossed his arms over his chest.

“So you didn’t die after all,” Morgan mused, the smile on his face revealing how much he was enjoying seeing Kit incapacitated like this.

Grey added, “Looks like I lost that bet at White’s.”

“Not for long.” Kit’s voice was rusty with sleep. And pain. What he wouldn’t have given to be able to dive into a large glass of laudanum or to the bottom of a whisky bottle. Or both. “I’m sure your men will see to that.”

“My men have nothing to do with Home Office agents who have turned rogue.” He knowingly lifted a brow. “Or been saved by women.”

Well,thatstung his manly pride. But speaking of women… “Where’s Diana? Is she all right?” His chest tightened with concern as his gaze darted to the door. “And what about Meri?”

The two men exchanged glances. Morgan answered, “They’re both fine. Meri was taken home last evening.”

“Last evening?” Last evening, he still had the diary, and Paxton still had Diana. “For Christ’s sake—what time is it?”

“Ten in the morning.”