Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Damn it all to bloody hell!

Daniel stumbled back like a drunken sailor, swiping a hand over his face as if it would erase what he had just done.

To Evie, of all people. The woman he was supposed to protect.

And a rather fine job you have been doing,a small voice taunted him.

He had been so bent on protecting her from all those bloody bastards that he had neglected to keep her from the biggest bastard of them all—himself.

“Damn,” he swore softly. “Damn it all!”

“Daniel—”

He held his hand up to cut her off.

What the hell was he thinking, kissing her like that in the gardens? Anyone could have walked in on them, and if they had been discovered, Evie would have been ruined.

Either that or she would have been forced to marry him.

Daniel could not think of a fate worse than that.

Oh, she might want him for now, but when the lust-filled haze dissipated, would she still look at him the same way?

It must have been this morning, he thought to himself with gritted teeth.

Ever since he had woken up to Evie’s sleepy touches, her luscious curves pressed against him, he had not been able to function well. She had managed to throw him completely off-balance—a most dangerous accomplishment if there ever was one.

“I apologize for that,” he muttered softly. “We should return before they notice our absence.”

He did not even wait for her reply. He simply turned on his heel like the coward that he was.

How he staggered back into the ballroom, he honestly could not recall.

All that he knew was that there was a thirst in him that no wine or liquor on this earth could quench. Still, he managed to grab a glass from a passing tray and managed to quickly finish it off.

“Good God, man!” he heard a familiar, jovial voice remark. “I have not seen you drink so much since that time we stumbled into that brothel in⁠—”

He turned around and glared coldly at Ethan Audley, the Duke of Sinclair, one of his supposedly closest friends. Right about now, he was not exactly acting like the true comrade-in-arms that Daniel had once thought him to be.

“What the hell happened to you?” his friend asked in a lower voice. “I have not seen you this flustered since—well, I must confess that I have never seen you agitated at all.”

Daniel set the glass down on a passing empty tray. “If you are going to aggravate me unnecessarily tonight, I suggest that you save your antics for another day,” he growled.

To his eternal vexation, Ethan merely laughed, his eyes twinkling merrily as he regarded him with a mischievous look.

“My, somebody is rather ill-tempered today.” He grinned. “You know what? Perhaps you should retire to bed and nurse your spirits—preferably with a nice lady to attend to your needs.”

If Ethan thought that his words of advice would help, then he was sorely mistaken.

No sooner had the words “bed” and “lady” left his lips than Daniel’s filthy mind immediately conjured up images of Evie writhing in his bed.

Naked.

“No,” he said curtly. “Not tonight.”

“Well, that’s too bad.” Ethan shrugged his broad shoulders. “The Marchioness is coming your way. Maybe she can help you with that foul mood of yours.”

He followed his friend’s gaze to a dark-haired lady dressed magnificently in deep red velvet. On others, that dress might have been considered rather scandalous, but the Marchioness of Cobham still managed to pull it off with great aplomb.

Except that Daniel did not find any of that appealing tonight. In fact, he had not found a woman appealing for quite some time.

Maybe Ethan is right. Maybe I should see to these needs before I make a bigger fool of myself.

Unfortunately, none of his usual preferences were interesting enough.

“You are on your own, my good man.” Ethan grinned at him, clapping a hand on his shoulder before walking away.

For a moment, Daniel looked on absently after his friend had left. Among their group, Ethan was considered the charming one, wooing ladies left and right and leaving a trail of broken hearts along the way.

Daniel, however, did not subscribe to the same philosophy that his friend did. He did not believe in fostering a relationship beyond that of the transactional kind that offered the physical release he sought.

There was nothing wrong with either of those.

Except when he saw Ethan casually approaching a small group consisting of two elderly women and two much younger ladies, he could not help but wonder if he should try his hand at it.

And when Evie looked up at Ethan, a soft smile playing over the lips he had kissed not more than an hour ago, he felt his hand clench into a fist at his side.

If it had been possible to die of mortification, Evie had no doubt that she would have fallen dead on the cool grass of the gardens the moment that Daniel left.

Unfortunately, life must go on, even though she had to stumble back to the ballroom on unsteady knees, rendered absurdly weak by the most scorching kiss known to mankind.

Of course, I might have been exaggerating it, since I hardly have any other experience to compare it to…

Still, she was fortunately able to make her way back before anyone noticed her absence, even managing to snag a glass of lemonade from the refreshments table and affecting a look of extreme boredom and nonchalance as she walked back to join Phoebe and her grandmother.

Her pride might have suffered a severe blow after the first gentleman that kissed her reacted as if it was the worst thing to ever happen to him, but if he was going to pretend like it had not happened, then she was not about to trumpet her devastation for all the world to see.

“Good evening, ladies.”

She angled her head slightly and saw Ethan, another one of Colin’s closest friends, smiling at them. When his gaze fell on Phoebe, it lingered for no longer than a breath, before he turned to the rest of the group.

“Your Grace, you are late again,” Lady Wellington admonished him.

He grinned boyishly at the Dowager Countess. “Of course, one must build up the anticipation prior to the arrival, My Lady.”

“Still as mischievous as always.” The Dowager Duchess of Ashton shook her head with a wry smile. “I, for one, am eagerly awaiting the day when you finally meet your match.”

“Do not hold your breath, Your Grace,” Evie told her with a conspiratorial smile. “Some gentlemen tend to avoid the subject of matrimony like the plague!”

The ladies burst into restrained laughter while Ethan protested his innocence.

It was so typical that she would have fallen into the same patterns as easily as a duck taking to the water if she had not been so distracted.

As she craned her neck subtly to cast her eyes around the ballroom, she was vaguely aware of Ethan launching into yet another of his outrageous tales. Evie was certain she had heard it once or twice before, but Phoebe hung on his every word.

Besides, Evie was much more interested in the events that unfolded before her eyes from across the room.

She watched with narrowed eyes as a magnificently dressed woman with dark hair and upturned dark eyes made her way over to Daniel, her hips swaying gracefully as she walked towards him. A smile that could only be described as sensual tilted the corners of her lips as she looked up at him. To her surprise, he did not push her away as he usually did.

Like the way he had pushed Evie away earlier in the gardens.

White-hot anger pierced through Evie as she looked on at the scene.

He has just walked out of the gardens after kissing me, and he has already moved on to his next prey. No wonder he is one of the Wolves.

When she saw the woman lean in to whisper something to him, she felt her insides roiling violently. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and it took all of her self-control to stop herself from shuddering violently.

Why am I feeling this way? He is only acting the way a rogue should act. Why should I be surprised?

From the very beginning, she had known who Daniel was. She was more than familiar with his reputation amongst the ladies. Even the gentlemen seemed to give him a wide berth—so much so that it sometimes seemed as if he was a world apart from them.

Why, then, should she be surprised that he acted the way he did in the gardens?

Maybe this is nothing more than my great disappointment in how my first kiss turned out.

That kiss had been everything she had ever dreamed it would be and more—until it was not.

Until everything came crashing down on her when Daniel looked at her as if he had made the biggest mistake of his life.

Perhaps he did. Perhaps she did, too.

“Evie?”

She was yanked out of her thoughts by that soft call. She turned her gaze back to Phoebe, who was looking at her wide-eyed, a trace of panic in her gaze.

Beside her, Ethan looked at her before his gaze flicked over to Daniel. When he looked at her again, there was a gleam of suspicion in his eyes.

Realization dawned on Evie, and her eyes widened in horror.

Have I… Have I said something I should not have?

Like divulging the details of her first kiss?

For the second time that night, she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

Ever since she had made her bow, Evie had behaved as perfectly as a well-bred young lady should. She had engaged in friendly conversation with everyone and never spoke a word out of turn. She had forced herself to be lively and charming, even when she wanted nothing more than to return home and enjoy the peace and solitude of her own company.

However, none of that mattered, for now she was making one blunder after another until she was more socially inept than the most hopeless wallflower.

All because of a man who probably never gave her as much time of the day as she dedicated to him!

“I could hardly blame you, My Lady,” Ethan sighed despondently, his voice louder than it usually was. “This ball lacks entertainment. Now, if Lady Wellington was to honor me with a turn about the dance floor, I might consider my night saved.”

Lady Wellington laughed and shook her head, teasingly chiding him for being a mischievous rascal before allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.

The other gentlemen, seeing Ethan taking to the dance floor once more, renewed their vigor as well and scurried off in search of dance partners, much to the pleasure of the young ladies.

As the Duke of Sinclair cheerfully exhorted the musicians to play a lively tune once more, Evie found her gaze straying back to the man across the ballroom.

This time, Daniel was alone. His broad shoulder was leaning against a column of polished marble, a glass of claret in his hands once more. His green eyes were dark as he gazed at the twirling couples on the dance floor.

Even then, as dark and foreboding as he looked, Evie could not help the familiar heat that pooled low in her belly at the sight of him. Nor could she stop the warmth that rose from her chest up to her cheeks.

“Damn him,” she muttered softly to herself.

Damn him, indeed, and all the knots he had managed to tie her in.