Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)(3)

“And this was after he made you care deeply about him?” Ruby’s eyes focused on hers.

How did Madame see so much so quickly? “A great deal. I thought we would be wed—and he let me believe it. I could imagine our lives together. I believed my dreams were finally coming true, that I had found my purpose for being.”

Ruby shook her head sadly. “A woman should never let a man be her purpose for being. It never ends well. Men can bring joy—and quality—to life, but one must never let them be its purpose.” She spoke as if lecturing a small child. “I find it almost intolerable that society encourages such belief. Ah well, you cannot help what you have been taught—and I daresay shown again and again by example.”

Angela had no reply to that. Wasn’t marriage and motherhood the desired purpose of any young lady’s life? Still, she did not wish to argue. She needed Ruby’s help.

Leaning forward again, Ruby questioned further. “And it was not his wealth and title that you desired, that you mourn?”

“I do not think so. No, I know it was not. I would not be so angry if it had been merely money and position. I admit that he seemed to be exactly the man I had been brought up to dream of, a wealthy earl, slightly older than myself. It was more than that, though. Other men have pursued me. I had three suitors last year and all of them were titled and wealthy, but none drew me the way Lord Colton did, none of them made me want the things he did.”

Ruby’s gaze stayed focused upon her face, her eyes direct and questioning. Angela could not be sure what Ruby looked for, but after a moment she seemed to find it.

Leaning back and making herself comfortable, Ruby settled in her chair. “Now, why don’t you begin at the beginning and tell me the whole dastardly tale, explain to me why you need vengeance, and then we will see if I can help you. Although I should warn you that after we talk you may decide that Lord Colton is not who you want, not what you want.”

“I never said I wanted him.” But even as she said the words, Angela knew she lied. She might not want to want Lord Colton; still, she knew that if she closed her eyes she would see his face bending toward her, feel the imagined softness of their only kiss. She shifted in her seat as now-forbidden longing filled her. “It is really a very simple tale. Boy and girl meet and begin to fall in love, or so girl believes. And then girl finds out that boy has another lover. Still she does not leave boy, because her love is true—but then boy turns on her and tells her she has never been worthy of his love, that none of it is real.”

“Well, that does not sound simple at all. And I do begin to understand your extreme emotion. Why don’t you give me the details and let me judge. I assume it all began with an invitation to tea with Lady Perse?”

“How did you…?”

Ruby just smiled. “It is how so many of these stories begin. Now, tell me everything, most especially about his betrayal. I must be able to judge for myself if Lord Colton deserves such a punishment.”

Angela’s lips parted, ready to begin, but her mind betrayed her, skipping not to Colton’s betrayal but rather to that kiss, that single wonderful kiss.

She’d stood outside the door to her parents’ parlor, only a few steps from the doors that led out to the garden. They’d just returned from the Strumbridges’ ball, and her mother had granted them a moment of privacy before Colton left. And it had been time; it had been past time. Colton smiled at her as only he could, his lips still while his dark eyes shone with enjoyment and life, those tiny lines forming at the corners. He lifted her hand to his lips, pressed his warm mouth to her chilled skin. She felt the heat of his breath, the moisture. And she wanted more. She needed more. Inching forward, she’d stared boldly at his mouth, licked her lips—and waited. His eyes had flickered down to her mouth, but he had taken no action. She’d moved her gaze back to his eyes, back to his lips, his eyes again. Her tongue darted out.

Still nothing.

She stepped forward.

Nothing.

She tilted her chin up. Another inch closer.

And then it happened. He stared at her, his eyes growing darker by the second.

He swore under his breath. She couldn’t hear the words, but his hands were on her shoulders, pulling her close, clasping her tight. And his lips, his lips were on hers, pressing so softly—and then not softly. His strong, hard body came into contact with hers; sensations she had only dreamed of filled her, far better than her wildest imagination.

And his lips. His lips.

Hot. Firm. Strong. How had she never known that lips could be strong? They moved over hers, awakening her when she hadn’t known she slept. She pressed back against him, trying to let him know all she felt, all she dreamed, trying to make him understand.

And he had; she’d been so sure of that—just as she had felt him, felt his affection, his passion, his need. Oh, the strength of that need.

Fire. Ice. More feelings than she could ever imagine. His lips pressing harder, beginning to part, the feel of his breath in her mouth, the taste of him, the…

“Miss Ripon. Miss Ripon.” Ruby’s voice filtered into her memory, forcing her back from the moment, forcing her to accept all that had come after that kiss, to accept that the kiss had been a lie.

She shook her head once, moving her thoughts away from that moment, away from that promise, pushing herself to remember the horror of the following day. And so she began, fighting to hold back emotion as she laid out her case and remembered all that had been—and had not been.