Chapter 30

CHAPTER30

I need to be better prepared for these things…

Andrew had arrived at the lavishly appointed ballroom with barely a moment to spare. He knew that he had promised Julia that he would be waiting for her there, but with his dilemma of choosing which jacket to wear and Selina’s unexpected visit to his rooms, he soon found himself almost late.

Fortunately, he made it to the ballroom before Julia and Mary. Heaven only knew what sort of revenge Julia would exact on him if he so much as broke his promise.

He smiled at a few acquaintances who greeted him and even talked to a few of the disappointed mamas with their equally frustrated daughters. Unlike before, they seemed unwilling to linger overlong in his presence, and in all honesty, he found that he was enjoying the little peace that being in a courtship afforded him.

It was just too bad that it was only meant to last until the end of the Season.

Of course, it does not have to be that way. We can always extend our arrangement to a reasonable degree…

His thoughts were interrupted when the butler of Colman Park announced the arrival of the Countess of Powell and her two daughters, Lady Julia and Lady Mary.

Almost instantly, a hush fell over the crowd as the three ladies entered the room. This time, Lady Powell allowed Julia to enter first while she and Mary flanked her on either side and just a little behind her. It was a show of support and solidarity amidst the upheaval that his previous declaration had wrought upon them all.

But it was not this show of familial strength that captured his attention. Rather, it was Julia, who was dressed in a gown of such deep burgundy that it made her alabaster skin almost glow under the harsh, unforgiving lights of the chandelier above them. Her vivid red hair was wound in intricate coils and studded with jeweled pins that winked and twinkled with her every moment.

But most beautiful of all were her eyes—those twin sapphires that gazed upon the ballroom as regally as any queen would regard her dominion. When her gaze met his, he saw the softening in her eyes right before he caught that same mischievous gleam that had his breath leaving his lungs in a sudden exhale.

“My God, she is magnificent!” he heard one of the gentlemen exclaim under his breath. When he shot him a withering glare, the gentleman immediately smiled sheepishly and added, “You are an extremely fortunate man, Lord Trowbridge.”

“Make sure you keep to gentlemanly conduct, Patterson,” Andrew warned. “Or I might be tempted to forget to keep to it as well.”

The threat was implicit in his very tone and the severity of his gaze. By the end of the night, he had no doubt that word would have spread that Lord Trowbridge would not tolerate the slightest insult to Lady Julia Lewis and that gentlemen were to conduct themselves appropriately in her presence.

He turned away from the startled baronet and strode away to meet Julia at the foot of the stairs with a smile. “You look absolutely radiant.”

“I know,” Julia whispered mischievously. “Mama insisted on the family diamonds as if she intends to make me into some sort of jewelry display.”

He let out a low chuckle. “The diamonds have their charm, but you outshine them.”

“My, you do have a silver tongue when you care to use it, My Lord,” she replied with a light swat on his arm.

Even as she coyly hid her face with her fan, he could see the faint blush that had crawled up her cheeks.

Let me see if I can make her blush harder…

“I have other uses for my tongue, too, you know,” he whispered in her ear, allowing his warm breath to gently caress the sensitive skin, noting with masculine pride her sharp intake of breath and the slight, nearly imperceptible shudder that ran through her.

“Rogue!” she hissed. “Will you never cease your antics?”

“Never,” he replied impenitently. “Because you enjoy it so much.”

He had meant to taunt her lightly, to match her mischief with his own. Yet, his plan backfired on him, for he was feeling the effects of his own teasing in the tightening of his breeches.

“Would you care to honor me with a dance, My Lady?” he asked her instead.

Dancing would at least clear his mind partially, or so he hoped. As it turned out, holding her so close without truly touching her in the ways he desired was a torment all on its own.

“My Lord, you seem rather displeased. Have I offended you somehow?” Julia asked, peering up at him with great curiosity.

Only your clothes. I want them off your beautiful body. And then, I want you in my arms, tangled up in the sheets of my bed…

He shook his head, suddenly alarmed at the direction his thoughts were taking in the middle of the damned ballroom.

“It is not you. I just do not like the way all these men are looking at you.”

She burst out laughing, and Andrew found himself severely tempted by the flawless column of her throat. Dear God in heaven, she was temptation in itself, and when she laughed, he could feel the tight reins of his control snapping.

He had never before thought the laughter of a woman so alluring, but with Julia, it was like the trill of seduction, a siren song that drove him mad with need.

“My Lord,” she asked, her purr going straight to his groin, “why are you so focused on all of them looking at me?”

Because if I focus on you, I would be dragging you away from this very ballroom and have you up against the wall of my rooms… moaning my name as I—

“I wish you would focus on me more,” she added with a pout.

His smile felt almost as strained as his breeches. “Little witch,” he growled in her ear, “you make it seem like you are asking for trouble.”

“What if I am?” she challenged with a raised eyebrow.

“Then I shall endeavor to fulfill your desires,” he replied, noting with satisfaction how her cheeks colored at the innuendo.

“You truly are a rogue,” she muttered. “You do not fight fair.”

He winked at her. “Touché, my dear. Neither do you.”

Julia shot him a smile so dazzling that it blinded him momentarily. “I hope I did not disappoint you, My Lord,” she murmured as she bowed before him.

The music had already ended.

How did I miss it? Why was it so damned short?

Once again, Andrew found himself at a loss, and he found that he did not really mind it. Not at all.