When Strangers Marry (Vallerands #1)(86)

She had stung Max’s masculine pride, and she regretted that. Although he was an indulgent and understanding husband, he was also a Creole male, and she had gone against his express wishes. Frowning, she considered various ways to appease him.

Lysette heard footsteps, and saw a dark form approaching. “Max?” she asked, knowing that he had come to find her. The footsteps halted. She kept her gaze averted as she spoke. “Forgive me. I couldn’t bear to see Henriette and Alexandre so unhappy. But you were completely right, and I should have listened to you. Let me make amends, d’accord?” She approached him with a coaxing smile. “I want very much to please you, bien— aimé—“

She stopped with a sharp gasp as his face became visible. It was not Max. It was Etienne Sagesse.

There was a bright, glazed look in his eyes and she could smell the liquor on his breath. “What a tempting offer,” he murmured. “I can guess how you make amends, with your sweet mouth and your clever little hands. I envy your husband, Lysette… I’ve made no secret of that.”

Lysette’s skin crawled as she saw the expression on his fleshy face. He was very, very drunk. She tried to walk around him, but he moved to block her. “Let me pass,” she said in a low voice.

“Not yet. I want a little of what you give to your husband. You were mine first, after all. You should be in my bed each night. I should be the man rutting between your legs, not Vallerand.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Lysette said shortly, her thoughts racing. She couldn’t allow him to cause a scene. It would create a scandal, and another duel. She must get away from him quickly, before someone discovered them. “I didn’t want you then, and I certainly don’t now. Get out of my way, you drunken ass.”

He smiled, his lips gleaming wetly. “What fire and spirit you have. Perhaps you are not the most beautiful woman in New Orleans, but you know how to keep a man’s c**k satisfied, don’t you?” He lurched toward her. “Poor Lysette. You could have been my wife, and instead you share a bed with a murderer.”

“I think you killed her.”

Sagesse smiled. “No, it wasn’t I. Corinne was no threat to me. She had given me all I desired— more, actually. Aside from acute boredom, I had no reason to kill her.” His arms stretched out, and he flattened his hands against the wall above her head.

Lysette stared at him, transfixed by the expression on his face. “You know what happened to her, don’t you?” she asked softly.

His sour breath wafted against her face. “Oui.”

“Tell me.”

His gaze slid over her. “And if I do? What will you offer in return?”

As she remained silent, still staring at him, Sagesse reached for her breast and squeezed it roughly. Lysette struck him hard enough to turn his face to the side, then twisted past him. He caught her hair and pulled her back. She gave a muffled cry of pain and dug her nails into his hands, trying to pull her hair free.

His words struck her cheek in rapid bursts. “For once I’ll know what it is to hold you in my arms.”

“No—”

“You should have been mine.” He shoved a knee between her thighs, and his wet mouth and teeth grazed her cheek. A cry broke from her lips, and his hand covered her mouth while his other felt for her br**sts. Shuddering in revulsion, she bit his hand and screamed again.

Suddenly there was a furious shout from behind her, and Lysette was yanked away with a force that snapped her head back. She stumbled as she was released, and steadied herself against a narrow wooden column. Shivering, she watched Justin launch himself at Sagesse, going for his throat. As the pair fought, Lysette flinched at the sound of each blow.

“No, Justin!” Frantically she looked for help. The guests had noticed the disturbance and a crowd gathered around them. Someone pointed to her. She drew as far back into a shadow as possible, pushing back her tumbled hair, pulling up the front of her gown to cover her br**sts.

A man darted forward from the crowd and dragged Justin away from Sagesse. It was Bernard. “Calm down, you fool!” he muttered, struggling to restrain the writhing boy.

“Damn you!” Justin cursed. “Let go! I’ll tear him apart!”

Several Sagesse relatives appeared, among them Etienne’s brother-in-law, Severin Dubois. They gathered around Etienne, arguing fiercely as they began to drag him away to the garçonnière. Etienne’s behavior had disgraced the entire family. Humiliated, they wanted only to conceal him before more damage to their honor could be done.

Lysette shrank back in embarrassment as she felt a multitude of gazes upon her. She wished she could disappear. Did they think she had brought this on herself? That perhaps she had allowed Etienne to seduce her, as he had seduced Corinne? She started as she heard a voice close by her ear.

“Lysette?” Philippe was beside her, looking down at her with concerned blue eyes. He put an arm around her shoulders, as if he thought she might faint. She leaned against him, taking comfort in his presence. Philippe was so calm and steady… so unlike his hotheaded brother, who was still swearing and fighting to be free of Bernard’s grasp. Following her gaze, Philippe glanced at his red-faced brother. A faint smile touched his mouth. “He will never forgive Bernard for pulling him off Sagesse,” he commented.

“I agree,” Lysette said with a shaky laugh.