Chapter 17

CHAPTER17

I must be going mad.

Julia had known since she was a young girl that young ladies on the lookout for a suitable match did not visit a gentleman’s townhouse unchaperoned for whatever reason, especially if the said gentleman was not their brother.

And most definitely not after dark.

Which was why she was feeling rather anxious when the carriage slowed to a stop before Andrew’s townhouse.

What if someone sees me?

For a moment, her thoughts veered towards telling the coach to turn around and take her back to Powell Estate, but Andrew had already pulled open the door and was extending his hand to help her down from the carriage.

Julia pulled the hood of her cloak tighter over her face. Even in the lamplight, all it would take was a single lock of her vivid red hair to peek out from beneath her cloak, and she would be instantly recognized. Word would spread all over London, and she would be ruined. Mary as well. The entire Lewis family would be ostracized in very much the same way as the Tremaines—

“Julia.”

She looked up, almost in a panic, to find Andrew looking at her with a clear gaze.

“I am right here,” he reassured as he would a spooked horse. “Nobody will see you. If they did…”

“If they did, then what?” she croaked.

“Then I have my ways of convincing them that they saw nothing.”

Julia managed to choke out a laugh. Perhaps he did have his ways of doing so. After all, he did manage to filter out the elusive Mr. Gardiner and expose his scam.

She took a deep breath and slid her trembling hand into his to help her out. The moment his much larger hand closed over her fingers, she released the breath she did not know she had been holding in.

Only to let out a soft shriek when Andrew pulled her close to his body.

She looked up to find him pressing a finger to his lips, urging her to be quiet. His dark eyes shone with mischief, his lips tilted in that half-smile she had always found somewhat irresistible.

“Stay close to me,” he told her softly.

She nodded, and he threw his arm over her shoulders, drawing her closer to him. Even through the layers of fabric that separated them, she was intensely aware of the warmth that radiated from him, and she briefly wondered if he could feel how warm she had gotten, too.

It was only after they had gotten past the door that she realized he had been shielding her with his body, obscuring anyone’s view of her until she was safely ensconced within the confines of his bachelor’s lodgings.

Relieved, she pushed back the hood of her cloak and shook out the wild curls that had managed to escape the pins that held most of her hair away from her face. Slyly, she smiled at Andrew, who was looking at her as if he was in a trance.

“There’s more of that under all this,” she told him, gesturing towards the rest of her body hidden under the voluminous folds of her velvet cloak.

He shook his head and muttered, “You are going to be the death of me.”

She simply laughed and shrugged off the rest of her cloak when he went to stand behind her and took it off of her shoulders.

“Come with me.” He took her by the hand and led her into the townhouse.

It was not as large as Trowbridge Estate or Powell Estate. After all, these were simply his lodgings in London when he came for business or some other matter, and he rarely entertained guests within its confines, if ever. Still, the entire residence was luxuriously appointed with upholstered velvet furniture and even a chandelier in the hall right above the staircase.

“So…” she teased, feeling her earlier anxiety coming back, “is this where you bring your mistresses?”

“Hardly,” he scoffed, his face softening as he pulled her up the stairs.

“And if you did, you would probably not tell me that anyway,” she remarked with a slight shake of her head.

They stopped before a door, and Andrew turned towards her with a strange look in his eyes. “Do you really think that of me?” he asked softly.

Julia shrugged. “Do not all gentlemen do that? Lie?”

“Perhaps.”

She did not know whether she should feel relieved for his honesty or sad that he was probably just like most of the other gentlemen of the ton.

“But I like to think I am far more sensible to not lie to you.”

She did not know why, but his words seemed to have released something in her chest, a heaviness she did not know that she had been burdened with for a long, long time.

She smiled back at him. “I do think you are far too sensible sometimes.”

“Come.” He beckoned her towards the door.

Perhaps she could trust him—not because he promised her things beyond what other gentlemen did, but because he gave her the raw, unvarnished truth.

Andrew had never lied to her or plied her with meaningless platitudes. She might even go so far as to say that he was brutally honest with her. And perhaps that was why she was so attracted to him.

With a soft smile, she stepped through the door.

Andrew had never seen Julia Lewis so hesitant before. In his mind, she had always been bold and audacious, shamelessly flirting with anything with two legs. He had even despised her for what he considered her wanton behavior.

And then there was that little remark of hers that she was not new to sneaking out.

It seemed that she was hellbent on inciting his fury with her sly smiles and barbed tongue.

But when he brought her over to his townhouse, he caught a glimpse of vulnerability in her eyes. He could sense it in the stiffness of her shoulders when he held her, the trembling of her hand when she slipped it into his.

Julia Lewis was nervous, and he found it rather endearing. It was also something he wished to overcome for what he had in mind for both of them that night.

When she stepped through the door to his rooms, he almost applauded her courage and determination, pride blooming in his chest for whatever strange reason he had long ago given up on comprehending.

All he knew was that she made him feel things he had never felt before.

“Let us sit down for a moment,” he told her gently, steering her towards the sofa.

He noted how she still seemed rather uncomfortable, so he poured them some of the wine he had prepared beforehand, hoping he did not seem too eager to be with her.

She shook her head as he handed her the glass. “I cannot,” she choked out.

“Why not?”

“I… cannot hold my liquor very well.”

Andrew found that almost laughable. “Red, you seem to have forgotten that I am the brother of your best friend.”

“So?”

“So,” he said with a smirk, “it means that I have seen you try to imbibe a goodly amount of spirits that would have put stronger men out of commission!”

She glared at him. “Has anyone ever told you that it is ungentlemanly to comment on such things regarding a lady?”

There were a good number of ungentlemanly things he wanted to do to her tonight, but he knew that if he told them to her outright, she might become even more uncomfortable in his presence.

So, Andrew chose to keep his silence as Julia gingerly sipped her wine.

“So…” He turned towards her with a smile on his face, hoping to put her at ease. “How about we play a little game?”

“A game?” she echoed.

He watched as her little tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip nervously, and he barely suppressed a guttural groan at the sight. Did she honestly have no idea the sort of effect she had on him?

Perhaps she did and she was teasing him.

Perhaps he liked being teased.

“I shall tell you something about yourself,” he told her softly. “And if it is true, then I win. If not, you do.”

“Hmm… we might have to play it a bit more, so I can better understand it.”

He smiled and sat down opposite her. “Well, for example, never have I ever used a kitten to repel someone.”

Julia gaped at him before bursting out laughing. “All right, all right! I am guilty of that.”

“That’s right. And you should be punished for it. For every loss, you must lose an article of clothing as well,” he added with a grin. “What do you say, Red?”

Her response was to bite the tip of her glove and pull it off with her teeth before throwing it at him. “I knew I should have kept my cloak, but bring it on, Walford!”

He laughed and caught the flying glove as it landed on his chest. “Your turn, Red.”

“Never have I ever set up my best friend with my sister!”

“False.” He grinned triumphantly at her. “I never intended for Selina and William to get married.”

“What? You cannot mean that!”

He scowled at that. “Well, if it was your sister, would you want her to fall in love with Barrington?”

“Well, no…”

“Neither did I,” he replied. “William might be my best friend, but that did not mean I wanted my sister to fall in love with him. I know him well enough to be afraid for her sake.”

“Could have fooled me,” Julia sulked, crossing her arms over her chest.

He laughed and held out his hand before her. “Your other glove if you please, My Lady.”

She threw it at him just as she had the previous one.

In the next half hour, they somehow managed to find themselves on the floor, deeply engrossed in their game. Andrew found himself surrounded by a pair of gloves, a pair of shoes, a handful of hair pins, and a silken stocking. Julia, meanwhile, was in possession of his coat, his cravat, and one of his shoes.

He caught a glimpse of her slender ankle, bare, and felt the blood rushing hotly in his veins at the sight of it, imagining how the rest of that leg was now just as bare. He would have her other stocking tonight—as well as the rest of her clothes if he had his way.

“All right,” he said, his voice decidedly lower. “Never have I ever kissed the brother of my best friend.”

Julia gaped at him, her cheeks flaming hotly. “That is not fair,” she grumbled. “You kissed me first!”

“But you kissed me back,” he pointed out, holding out his hand. “Your other stocking, My Lady.”

He watched as she turned away from him to take off her other stocking, easing it down her calf before tossing it at him.

“At this rate, I shall lose all of my clothing!” she hissed.

“I would think,” he said slowly, “that is our goal for tonight, my dear.” Julia seemed to stiffen as he reached out a hand towards her. “Come here, Red.”

He saw her waver for a moment before she walked over to him and slipped her hand into his. He smiled and pressed a sensual kiss to it, noting how her breath hitched in her throat as his lips met her bare skin.

He smiled as he looked up at her. “Your turn, Red.”

“Never have I ever…” she trailed off, biting her lower lip.

“Say it louder, Red. I didn’t hear you.”

She looked up at him, and he saw how her eyes had darkened with desire. “Never have I ever attempted to seduce my sister’s best friend.”

“Never,” he told her softly. “She seduced me.”

“Liar,” she taunted softly. “You are doing it right now.”

He smiled at her, pressing closer. “Am I?”

“Yes,” she murmured, holding her hand out to him. “I believe I shall have your shirt, My Lord.”

“Are you sure?” he teased. “I still have one shoe left on me.”

“Your shirt, please.”

Temptress. Devious, cunning temptress.

Andrew slowly unbuttoned his shirt, watching her gaze follow the line of exposed skin from his throat to his chest. He shrugged off the shirt and handed it over to her, her fingers reflexively curling over the fabric as she received it from him.

“Come here, Red,” he called out again.

She did not hesitate this time as she moved closer to him. His hand unerringly found its way to the back of her neck, and he began to pull her closer to him.

“Never have I ever kissed a shirtless man…”

She smiled tremulously up at him. “I cannot say I have done that.”

Andrew found himself pleasantly surprised at that. “Well…” He smiled back at her. “Perhaps it is time that we remedy that.”

He had been waiting to kiss her all night. From the moment he cornered her earlier that afternoon in Trowbridge Estate to the game they were currently playing, he had been living in a state of feverish desire for her.

But he did not want to force her into anything she did not truly want.

“Kiss me, Red,” he rasped.