Lord of Fire (14 page)

“ ‘For thee,

He interrupted her with a chiding glance askance.

“ ‘thou needest no such deceit,

For thou thyself art thine own bait;

That fish that is not catched thereby,

Alas, is wiser far than I.’ ”

With a smile, she looked from the page to him and found him gazing at her, his gray eyes sparkling like the surface of a lake stirred by a breeze. She held his stare, heedless that she was standing much too close to him—so close that she could feel the vital warmth of his body and the full force of his overwhelming magnetism. So close that for a moment, she thought that he would lower his head and kiss her again. She had not realized she was holding her breath until he snapped the book of poetry shut, startling her with the noise.

He captured her hand, lifting it to place a debonair kiss on her knuckles.

“
Alice,” he said, with an easy, welcoming air. “I trust you rested peacefully.” Tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, he led her away from the window and toward the couch.

“Well enough, thank you.” She chastened herself mentally over her racing heartbeat and her vague disappointment that he had not made another improper advance on her. “And you, my lord?”

“Lucien,” he corrected her with an intimate little smile. “I trust we are past the formalities. Sit?”

“Thank you.” It did not seem worth the bother to point out that it was not at all proper for him to address her by her Christian name. She wasn’t staying long enough for it to matter, and God willing, she would never see him again.

The thought made her oddly desolate.

She lowered herself to perch nervously on the edge of the couch while he brushed out the tails of his morning coat and took his seat across from her. He leaned his head back wearily against the high leather back of his chair and studied her. She looked away, reminded anew that she was alone with a dangerous man—no chaperon, no maid, not even Caro to keep an eye out for her. In Town, girls had been ruined for less, but clearly, she was in Lucien’s world now, where the normal rules no longer applied.

“You wished to see me?” she attempted.

“Yes.” He rested his chin on his fist and smiled at her.

She waited primly for him to state the purpose of the meeting, but he just stared at her.

“Well?”

No answer. He merely smiled back at her, two fingers obscuring his beguiling mouth as he rested his elbow on the chair arm. His gaze unnerved her. She quickly looked away, her heart skipping a beat. What a rude beast he was.

“Ahem, very well.” Wringing her hands in her lap,
Alice tried to look interested in the elegantly appointed room. The library was long and narrow, with shelf-lined walls and windows that stretched nearly from floor to ceiling at regular intervals, deep window seats tucked behind the dark ruby curtains. The bronze busts atop the bookcases seemed to watch her and Lucien together like the spying gossips of the ton. She shrugged some of the tension out of her shoulders as her gaze wandered over the various oil paintings on the walls, over the tapestry and the linen-fold paneling; all the while, Lucien studied her. She regarded the chess table, where the ebony and ivory pieces had been abandoned midgame, then inspected the Paisley whorls of the carpet until she could no longer stand it. “My lord, you are staring.”

“Forgive me.” Languidly stretching his long legs out in front of him, he crossed his booted heels. “Somehow you are even more lusciously tempting than I remembered.”

She stiffened, her chin rising to a prim angle as a hot blush rushed into her cheeks. “What is it you wished to see me about, please? If you will forgive me, I am in a bit of a hurry.”

“I find myself curious about you, Alice. I am eager to further our acquaintance.”

Her heart quaked. She stared at him, then lowered her head. “Respectfully, sir, it is not possible.”

“Cruel lady!” he exclaimed mildly, sounding not the least bit surprised. “Why ever not?”

She gave him a quelling look. “Do you really have to ask?”

“Are you going to deny that we are extremely attracted to each other?”

His brazen question, so casually delivered, left her nigh speechless. “Do you really imagine you can succeed with me after you seduced my sister-in-law?”

“Do you really think you can resist?” he countered, his gray eyes flashing wickedly.

Her nostrils flaring with her sharp inhalation, she jumped to her feet intent on making a grand exit, but his hand shot out and captured her wrist. She turned to him in rebuke. “Let go of me! Just when I think you might be an agreeable man, you shock me again like a very lightning bolt! You, sir, are beyond the pale! The things you say—the way you choose to live your life—you are scandalous, outrageous and . . . bad!”

“I know, I know. Can’t you see I need help,
mon ange
? Clearly, it may take the strictest Goody Two-Shoes in the realm to reclaim me.”

“Reclaim yourself! If you brought me down here just to toy with me, allow me to inform you that I want nothing to do with you. Indeed—” She gave her hand a jerk, but the harder she tugged, the more tenaciously he clung on. “—if ever I have the misfortune to cross paths with you in public, I shall cut you entirely!”

“You threaten me with the severest of penalties,” he said gravely, his eyes sparkling like diamonds. “Clearly, I must reform, but how? Wait—I have an idea.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” she retorted.

He sat forward with an upward gaze of angelic sincerity. “Maybe your goodness could rub off on me. Maybe your influence could help me change. What was that you said last night? About love?”

“I should have known you would not be above throwing my own words in my face.”

“They were true, weren’t they? Don’t you want to save me,
Alice? Women are always trying to save me—of course, none of them have had much success so far. I was hoping you’d care to give it a go.”

She looked flatly at him. “That is some very fine and, might I add, original flattery, Lord Lucifer, but I am not a fool. You have no wish to change, and as for love, the swans on the lake and the wolves in the forest know more of it than you ever will, for all your cleverness. Now, if you will excuse me—”

“I would change for you, if you could make me believe, if you could show me the reason why to be good at all.” He pressed her hand to his clean-shaved cheek. “Teach me,
Alice. I have an open mind. Do you?”

She held his stare, wavering dangerously. “You are cruel to toy with me so,” she forced out.

“I am in earnest.” The intensity in his gaze was beginning to frighten her. She tried to pull her hand away, but his grip turned implacable. He turned his face just enough to press a kiss into her palm, closing his long-lashed eyes for a moment. “Do not think I come to you empty-handed. I so want to help you, Alice.” He opened his eyes and gazed tenderly at her. “You’re too young to realize it yet, but I know what is going to happen to you.”

“You do?” she whispered, staring uneasily into his deep, crystalline eyes.

“I’ve seen it a thousand times. They’re going to make you just like everybody else, but I can protect you, your bright, beautiful soul. You’re in a cage and you don’t even know it, but I can free you. Let me take you under my wing. I can teach you how to outwit them if you’ll let me. I won’t let them turn you into another pretty, empty shell in ribbons and French silk. You are too good for that fate.”

His softly uttered words staggered her. It was as though he had looked into her soul and read her very heart. She stared at him, mesmerized. “What do you want of me?”

“The same thing you want, sweet,” he said as he stroked her hand in gentle reassurance. “Both of us, we just want someone to accept us for who we really are.”

“Who
are
you, Lucien?” she asked in a trembling whisper.

“Stay with me and find out.”

“Well, I daresay!” a rude voice broke in on them from the doorway. “Are we announcing the banns? Have we picked out the flowers? The church?”

“Caro!”
Alice yanked her hand out of Lucien’s light grasp, feeling her cheeks fill with a scarlet blush. She glanced at him in chaos, her heart pounding.

He was watching her calmly.

“Oh, dear, I was summoned—but I do hope I’m not interrupting,” Caro said spitefully. Not a hair out of place, the baroness was perfectly coiffed and elegantly attired as she sauntered into the library. Her eyes, however, were bloodshot, and the excessive rouge on her cheeks could not conceal the pallor of her skin. “I would come back after you’ve finished your little tęte-ŕ-tęte, but my son is waiting.
Alice, are you ready to leave?”

“Coming—”

“Not so fast, my dear.” Lucien stood, the emotion in his face smoothly vanishing behind a mask of arrogance and worldly aplomb. His silver eyes became like mirrors, completely concealing his thoughts. “Lady Glenwood, come and sit down. I called you both here on a serious matter.”

He had indeed summoned Caro to the library as well?
Alice wondered, turning to watch him as he stalked past her to the baroness.

“Oh, yes, it looked terribly serious to me,” she muttered.

“You will keep a civil tongue in your head, madam.” He grasped the baroness’s elbow and propelled her over to a chair across from the couch.

As she sat down, Caro sent
Alice a haughty warning glance. She rested her elbow on the chair arm and braced her forehead with her fingertips, the very sketch of a person suffering the aftereffects of intemperance.
Serves you right,
Alice thought, sending her an answering look that flashed with rebellion.

“Miss Montague, please be seated.” Between them, Lucien stood tall, his shoulders squared, his chin high. “I am aware of the urgency of your departure. Thus, I will be brief.” Diabolical amusement danced on his lips. He turned away and sauntered idly to the nearby chess table. “I find myself in the mood for company of late,” he said. “I have considered the matter at some length and have arrived at a decision.”

Tilting his head, he studied the board, then moved the black knight, trouncing the white queen. He removed the ivory piece from the board, looked at Caro, then at
Alice, and said smoothly, “I am only letting one of you leave.”

Both women stared at him without comprehension.

“Pardon?” Caro drawled as though suddenly finding her voice.

Alice
sat stock-still, staring at him with a terrible premonition. “What do you mean, you are only letting one of us leave?”

He looked at her with bland cordiality, not batting an eye. “One may go; the other shall stay for a while as my companion, provide me with a pleasant diversion—it grows so dull here in the country, don’t you know, but I leave it to you to decide,
Alice. Who will go home to Harry and who will remain here at

The look on her face was priceless, but Lucien managed not to crack a smile. He kept his expression calm, his eyes unreadable, but God, he wanted her. He did not care that what he was doing was outrageous. He had made up his mind and was not backing down. He needed this too much.

Her lovely face had paled; she appeared to be in shock. Lucien suppressed a dark smile. The moment had come to find out if his good girl was really so noble and true. He knew exactly how to trap her—through her deathbed promise to her brother, which she had foolishly revealed to him last night, and her devotion to her nephew.