Seduced by Jess Michaels Page A

a lover, don’t lose your head. Giving your heart is a powerful, beautiful thing, but when done only from one side, it can be devastating.”
    Letty froze. Claire was talking about her taking a lover in the same breath as they spoke of Jack. “Claire, I—”
    Her cousin waved her off. “I know, I know. You’re only speaking in hypotheticals when it comes to taking lovers and such.”
    Claire squeezed her hand, then left her to follow the others to the garden. Letty stayed behind a moment, fighting the pain that rose up in her with Claire’s words. No one knew the sting of a one-sided affection better than she did.
    And she would never make that mistake again. No matter what she decided about Jack Blackwood.
     
     

Chapter Eight

     
     
    “When are you and Claire leaving London?”
    War looked up from the decanter he was pouring from and smiled. The expression was more common on his brother’s face now that he was married, settled, happy, but it still shocked Jack when he saw it. His younger brother had always been a quiet, serious type, never filled with much light.
    Jack would always thank Claire and her daughter for that change in War. It was their love that had brought his brother happiness. He also credited Claire with encouraging War to continue their brotherly relationship after their awkward and almost deadly reunion six months before.
    “Are you trying to get rid of me?” War asked as he handed the scotch over.
    Jack shrugged. “You are a terrible nuisance,” he teased.
    War grinned wider and motioned Jack to a comfortable chair before the roaring fire. They had finished their usual Sunday supper hours before and Claire had left them to themselves and gone to bed early, complaining of a slight headache. Jack had almost envied the way War went straight to her side, taking her hand, speaking to her softly.
    That kind of connection was nothing but trouble for a man like Jack, of course, but the intimacy of it was undeniable. It had taken Claire several minutes to convince War that she was not ill and just wanted to go to sleep.
    No one cared about Jack that much. He knew that full well.
    “I assume my presence here must remind you that there are other paths beyond the criminal one for men like us,” War said, interrupting Jack’s wayward thoughts.
    The smile Jack had managed to keep on his face while his mind wandered fell. Leave it to War to touch on serious topics now. Especially ones he was not in the mood to discuss.
    “I like my path just fine,” Jack said, sipping his drink.
    War lifted his brows like he didn’t believe it. “As you wish. But tell me, how bad has it gotten since you shot your main rival between the eyes?”
    “I shot Jonathon Aston for you ,” Jack reminded him. “For Claire and her daughter.”
    War’s jaw set, as it always did when they discussed that awful night. “If you hadn’t done it, Aston would have killed Claire just because he couldn’t have her. You saved her life, I know. I wasn’t judging the action. I would have done it myself had I been conscious. I just know that act opened the door for new competitors. And it must be chaos in the underground.”
    Jack took another drink. How he wished War didn’t know quite so much about his life. War was too aware of the truth to believe the lie on Jack’s tongue. The one that dismissed the danger that had multiplied when Aston died.
    “There are contenders for the throne,” Jack said with a dismissive shrug. “I wouldn’t lie about that. But they are pups all. I am not concerned.”
    War leaned forward and held his gaze relentlessly. “Your expression says otherwise.”
    Jack ground his teeth. In truth, he wasn’t worried about most of the men who pursued him. They were too weak individually to do him much harm. They were also too stupid to work well or for very long together.
    But it was the unknown man who bothered him most. The unidentified one who hung like a ghost in the shadows.
    He looked up from his