Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)(21)

“What would you like me to do?” Her voice whispered about him. Her gaze had dropped to his mouth.

The arousal he’d been fighting sprang into action. The problem was that he could think of more than a few things that he’d like her to do—and not a single one of them was decent. His hand itched with the urge to touch, to stroke her pale flesh, to teach her exactly what it was he’d really like.

No.

Although that would surely send her running back to safety.

No.

He only indulged himself with willing, knowledgeable partners, and while she might pretend to willingness, she couldn’t understand what it was he wished of her. He could not believe that Ruby had truly told her everything. Well, Granderson would be a test of that.

“Are you going to speak, my lord? I cannot do what you wish if you do not tell me. Tell me what you want. What should I do?” Another half step forward. If she took a deep breath, the tips of her breasts would brush his chest.

It was all he could do not to step forward himself, not to bring them into contact.

There was something so different about her from the quiet woman he had come to know in the end, something so like the fiery girl who had drawn his attention. But was it real or an act? Could one person change so much?

“What I want is for you to be quiet. I will tell you when we are ready to proceed.” His own frustration made him brusque.

She blinked at his harsh tone. “I don’t understand.”

“I don’t need you to understand. I need you to do as I say. That is what you said you were here for, is it not?”

“But…”

He turned from her and walked to take a seat before the empty hearth.

He heard her move to take the seat across from him. No words passed her lips.

Where was Granderson? He had hoped the man would be here before her. It would have been good to have the time to reassure himself that Granderson fully understood the game that they played. And if the two of them had greeted her together, she might have turned on her heels before she even came through the door. Even Ruby had made it clear she found his plans unacceptable; how much more so would Miss Ripon?

Her toe began to tap. His sweet lamb was not the patient type. He stared into the fire and did not look at her.

The pace of the tapping increased.

It was difficult not to show his own impatience.

A rap at the door.

He glanced over in time to watch her head turn.

The door opened and Granderson entered, his polished black boots sounding a tattoo of their own. “Forgive my tardiness. I am glad to see you waited.”

Her mouth dropped slightly, and he could see the thoughts racing behind her eyes.

“Don’t worry. We would never start without you,” he replied.

—

What was going on? Angela could only stare at the strange man. He was blond and tall, although a few inches shorter than Colton and slightly broader. A smattering of gray marked the sides of his head. She half-recognized him, had probably been introduced at some point, but she could not truly place him. And what was he doing here? What if he recognized her? She might be willing to take more risks than she ought, but that didn’t mean she actually wanted to be ruined. Why was he here?

She started to ask but caught herself. She would follow Colton’s directions for a few moments more. For now she would trust, hard as that was.

The two men embraced once, slapping each other on the back, and then they both turned to consider her. The stranger’s eyes felt most appraising, particularly as they stopped upon her bosom. Her hands started to rise to fold across her chest, but she restrained them. She could not suppress the shudder that took her, however.

What was happening? What exactly did Colton have planned?

Forcing her eyes back to Colton, she concentrated on his face and nothing else. His eyes were cold, but as she kept her gaze on his face she detected a subtle change, something hard to measure.

She closed her eyes for the barest of seconds and tried to find that belief in herself that Ruby had spoken of. If she could pretend even for a few moments that all was as she wanted, this just might work. All she had to do was believe.

She pulled in a deep breath, remembered her cause. She could do this.

She opened her eyes and met Colton’s gaze. For a second she felt that he saw nothing but her, and something warm flickered in her belly. When he looked at her like that, it was much easier to pretend she would do anything for him. A hesitant smile formed upon her reluctant lips.

She could do anything—at least for a few minutes at a time. And that was how she would do this, minute by minute.

And then his face changed again; a flicker of doubt and then ice entered his eyes. His gaze moved to the other man. “Granderson, have you had the pleasure of meeting, Angela, my angel?”

Her momentary warmth fled.

He was using her name? Somehow she’d thought they’d cling to anonymity here at Madame Rouge’s, even if it was only a pretense. And Lord Granderson: She did know him—not well, but when she’d first come out, a few years ago, he’d occasionally hung about the edge of the ballroom before heading off to the card room. She should have recognized him immediately.

Granderson stepped forward and placed a finger beneath her chin, turning her face to his. He looked her straight in the eyes, his dark-brown ones gleaming in the candlelight. “Yes, I do believe we have been introduced,” he said. “Although I do not remember her being such a beauty.”