Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(36)

He needed a drink. Cognac. No, some of the good Highland whiskey his father had always stocked, distinctively pale, tasting of smoke and heather. He wanted something that would set his throat on fire, burn out the thoughts that were torturing him. Pulling on a quilted blue robe, Alex strode from the bedroom. He went through the columned hall that connected the east wing to the grand central staircase.

His steps slowed as he heard the betraying creak of one of the steps. He stopped and tilted his head, waiting in the darkness. Creak. There it was again. Someone was descending the stairs. He knew exactly who it was.

A grim smile crossed his face. Now was his opportunity to catch Lily in a clandestine meeting with one of the servants. He would use the excuse to throw her out of the house. With Lily gone, things would return to the way they had been before.

Stealthily Alex made his way to the side of the balustraded corridor. He caught a glimpse of Lily below in the domed central hall. The hem of her thin white nightgown trailed gently behind her as she drifted across the marble floor. She was going to meet a lover. Gracefully she wandered in what seemed to be a mood of dreamy anticipation. Alex was conscious of a bitter sensation seeping through him like poison. He tried to identify the feeling, but its precise nature was obscured in a mixture of anger and confusion. The thought of what Lily was about to do with another man made him want to punish her.

Alex went to the staircase and froze.

What was he doing? The earl of Raiford, renowned for his moderate, sensible ways, sneaking around his own house in the dark. Nearly wild with jealousy—yes, jealousy—over the antics of a little madcap and her midnight trysts.

How Caroline would have laughed.

To hell with Caroline. To hell with everything. He was going to stop Lily. He’d be damned if she was going to have her pleasure tonight. Purposefully he descended the stairs, and fumbled at the small porcelain and wood table in the entrance hall, where a lamp was always kept. Lighting the lamp, he turned it to a soft glow. He ventured in the direction Lily had gone, toward the ground-floor kitchen. As he passed the library, the sound of whispers floated through the door, which had been left ajar. Alex’s brows lowered in fury as he heard Lily murmuring something that sounded like “Nick…Nick…”

Alex flung the library door open wide. “What’s going on?” His gaze swept the room. All he could see was Lily’s small form curled in a chair. She had wrapped her arms around herself. “Miss Lawson?” He walked closer. The lamplight gleamed in Lily’s eyes and cast a golden shimmer on her skin, and revealed the shadows of her body beneath the gown. She was twitching and rocking, her lips forming silent words. There were furrows in her forehead, lines that seemed to have been carved from intense misery.

A sneer pulled at the corner of Alex’s mouth. She must have realized he was following her. “You little fraud,” he muttered. “This playacting is beneath even you.”

She pretended not to hear him. Her eyes were half-closed, as if she were caught in a mysterious trance.

“That’s enough,” Alex said, and set the lamp on a nearby table. With rising annoyance he realized that she intended to ignore him until he left her. “I’ll drag you out of here if necessary, Miss Lawson. Is that what you’re hoping for? A scene?” As she refused to even look at him, his endurance snapped. He seized her narrow shoulders, giving her a hard shake. “I said that’s enough—”

There was an explosion of movement that astonished Alex. Lily gave an animal cry and struck out blindly, springing from the chair. She stumbled back against the table and nearly overturned the lamp. In a quick reflex Alex kept her from falling as he reached out and grabbed her. Even then her panic didn’t cease. Alex jerked his head back to avoid the frantic swipe of fingers curled into claws. Although she was a small woman, her wild struggles were difficult to contain. Somehow he managed to crowd her against him, crushing her flailing arms between them. She flinched and went rigid, breathing in rapid pants. Alex slid his fingers through her thick curls and forced her head against his shoulder. He muttered a string of curses and tried to soothe her. “Christ. Lily, it’s all right. Lily. Relax…relax.”

The heat of his breath sank through her hair to her scalp. He kept his hold on her tight enough that only the slightest movement was possible. She was too disoriented to speak coherently. He tucked her head under his chin and began to rock her gently. “It’s me,” he murmured. “It’s Alex. Everything’s all right. Easy.”

Lily regained herself slowly, as if she were waking from a dream. The first thing she became aware of was being held in an inexorable grip. Her cheek and chin were pressed against the opening of a quilted robe, where the brush of wiry hair tickled her skin. A pleasant, masculine scent stirred her memory. It was Raiford, holding her in his arms. Her breath caught in amazement.

His hand moved in a slow stroke on her back. She wasn’t used to being touched so familiarly, not by anyone. Her first instinct was to wrench away from him. But the circling motion was gentle, softening the brittle tension of her body.

Alex felt the shift of Lily’s weight as she accepted his support. She was light and lithe against him, her small frame trembling with aftershocks. There was a tugging, twisting sensation inside him, alarming in its sweetness. The pronounced silence of the room seemed to enclose them.

“Raiford?”

“Easy. You’re not steady yet.”