"Raven.” He shifted so that he was kneeling before her, his hips pressing against her legs to subtly part them, his supplication transitioning into an erotic position of hidden power. “I’ve come to you. After everything, after all of it, I am here. I have begged forgiveness for that terrible day. I have repented every stupid moment of that last day and vowed to enslave myself to you and you alone in exchange for your forgiveness. You have shoved me into a creek, abused me at every turn, tortured me body and soul and left me in the rain and mud. I’m not sure what else is left. What else can I do? What additional proof of my devotion do you need?”

“For once, Sir Warrick, my mind draws a blank on the subject.”

“You’re infuriating, woman. Damn it, Raven. How can you be so calm? Tell me it is not every day that men are kneeling at your feet begging you for their lives.”

She smiled. “No. Not every day.”

“I’m an idiot.” He stood slowly but lifted her up from her chair and into his arms. “But no more begging. Tell me there is hope and that we can yet find some way to craft a future together, you and I.”

“You are not an idiot. I generally have no use for idiots, Phillip, but I—I find that I am very much in need of you. As illogical as that may be…” She shook her head. “I am not a woman who hopes. But I am a woman who needs.”

He kissed her then without preamble, without pretense. It was a searing kiss that threatened to overwhelm them both with hunger and with relief at the passionate fires that still burned between them. Nothing had been lost. Phillip’s kiss was commanding, lifting her up against him, tasting her mouth and ravishing her senses. There was no hint of begging or supplication now. He was the man who had always driven her desires and after nearly losing her, it was clear that Phillip Warrick was not going to relinquish the reins again.

“Oh, my!” she sighed as he finally released her. “Phillip, this is a dangerous devotion. Tell me you realize this.”

“I love you, Raven Wells. I love you, Serena Wellcott. I love every incarnation of you, light and dark. It is all I can do. Am I overjoyed that you place yourself in harm’s way to help others or that you trust at a glacial pace? No. Am I going to be prone to forbidding us to so much as play cards so that we can avoid any reference to someone winning or losing? Yes. Am I going to run at the first flash of those elegant claws? No. Never again. So name your terms, woman.”

She took a deep breath. “I will not abandon the Black Rose.”

He nodded. “So be it.”

“I will never marry.”

He didn’t flinch. “We’ll set aside that debate for another day. So long as I alone have you, for I will not share you with another man.”

“If only you knew how truly selfish I have been with this heart, sir. Apparently once given, I lacked a single thread of human charity that would have compelled me to offer any other living soul a slice of it.” She sighed. “Even when I hated you, Phillip Warrick, I was yours. Entirely yours.”

“I will make no effort to reform you on that point.”

Serena tipped her head to one side. “I assume your fidelity is also part of this arrangement?”

“Without question.” He began to relax, the heat between them igniting again. “Anything else?”

“I am going to destroy Trent. It is time.”

“Raven,” he started to protest, the heat dying in an icy flare inside his chest. “Please, my darling. Let’s let it go. The earl is the devil himself. Let Hell sort him out.”

“No.” She shook her head and pulled her hands away to stand. “My resources are in place. I have cooled my heels long enough to give him the illusion of my disinterest. I am going to destroy Trent, on my own terms and in my own way. And what I require is not your approval or complicity, but your strength to stand aside.”

He came to his feet without effort. “To stand aside?”

“I will not ask for your help in this enterprise. There must be no hint of your involvement or he will sense it like a fox downwind of the hounds and I will lose him.” She reached up to stroke his face, the soothing trail of her fingertips calming his brow. “My skills are unparalleled but even I cannot risk arousing his old obsessions when it comes to you, Phillip.”

He shook his head. “I don’t care what you claim. Your confidence had to have suffered a blow at Southgate and these ‘skills’ that put you in harm’s way will not shield you from Trent’s madness.”

“I’ll make no inventory to you of recent lessons I’ve learned, Phillip.” Her hands fisted at her hips. “I have named my terms, sir.”

“He’s more dangerous than you imagine.”

“I know that even better than you.”

Phillip shook his head. “What self-respecting gentleman could agree to this? What kind of man steps back and lets the woman he loves face a demon like that alone?”

“I won’t be alone. I have the Black Rose and I have you to return to each night and to encourage me.” Raven leaned in to kiss him softly. “Give me the greatest gift I could ask for, Phillip.”

“And what gift is that?” He tasted the silk of her lips before she leaned back to look into his eyes. “My trust?”

Her eyes misted with emotion and at last, she gave them voice. “Revenge.”