It Takes a Spy...: A Secrets and Seduction book by Sheridan Jeane Page B

the French doors. But even as she realized she was falling backward, Devin’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to his chest.
    “Careful now,” he said. “Don’t fall.” Those full lips of his curved into a slow, sensual smile that sent Cecilia’s pulse racing. It really was unfair for his mouth to be so enticing. Did he realize what he did to her when he looked at her that way?
    Heat rushed to her cheeks. “That’s what I should be saying to you.” She flattened her palm against his crisp white shirt and was startled by the heat emanating from him. For a moment, she imagined curling up against him on a cold winter’s night and letting his warmth soak into her bones. She almost sighed in contentment.
    Evangeline cleared her throat. “I’m standing here. Are you certain this is appropriate behavior for an impressionable young girl of fifteen to witness?”
    The words hit Cecilia like a splash of frigid water on a winter’s morning, and she stepped from the circle of Devin’s arms. “This, coming from the girl who likes to peer through windows?” Cecilia asked, directing a frosty glare at her sister. “I’ll wager you’ve seen much more scandalous behavior.”
    Evangeline smirked. “Perhaps, but I’ll never tell. And besides, I hold you to a much higher standard. After all, you’re my sister. I expect your behavior to be above reproach.”
    Devin looked uncomfortable at those words. He cleared his throat. “Can I assume you’ve heard about what happened tonight?”
    “Heard? Of course I’ve heard! Who do you think created the distraction so you could escape? ‘Help!’” she said, softly mimicking the call she’d given earlier.
    Cecilia shot Devin a surprised glance. “Didn’t you recognize her voice earlier? I’d know it anywhere. She was trying to help you escape.”
    “That was you?” Devin asked, looking dumbfounded.
    “I thought you knew because you reacted so quickly when the police ran off,” Cecilia said.
    Devin brushed her comment away with a sweep of his hand. “That was pure self-preservation. Everything happened so quickly that I reacted instinctively.”
    “If you hadn’t darted out when you did, you’d be sitting in a jail cell right now,” Cecilia said.
    Devin nodded. “I know too much about our legal system to expect anything else.”
    Cecilia caught a staccato burst of noise as someone rapped on a door down the hotel corridor. The peremptory sound told her it wasn’t the knock of a servant or a guest. It could only be the police. She exchanged glances with Evangeline and Devin and saw that they recognized it as well.
    The police would be here shortly. They needed to find a place to hide Devin, and now.
    Without a word, Cecilia darted over to her traveling trunk, a five-foot-tall behemoth that held many of her gowns. She fumbled with the latches in her rush to open it and had to pause and slow down before they’d give way to her efforts. Her servants had carefully packed and hung her gowns from a rail at the top of the tall case, but Cecilia began pulling them out by the armful. She turned and tossed them on one of the beds.
    “You can’t simply leave them lying around like that,” Evangeline protested. “If the police search the room, they’ll see them and realize you emptied out a trunk.”
    Cecilia stopped and stared at the pile of gowns strewn across her bed. “That’s a good point.” She looked around the room, and her gaze landed on the tall wardrobe that Evangeline had claimed. “Is there room in there?” she asked.
    Evangeline frowned. “Not much, but I’ll make them fit.”
    It only took a few moments to move the gowns from the trunk to the wardrobe. By the time they were done, the wooden cabinet was so overstuffed that the doors wouldn’t close all the way. Devin pressed his shoulder against the double doors and managed to latch them shut.
    Devin crossed the room toward Evangeline. “I want to thank you. I owe you a debt of gratitude