Chapter 5

CHAPTER5

Julia took a few tentative steps down the empty hallway, her slippers falling softly on the lush carpet as she went, her heart pounding crazily in her chest. It was not the first time she had been invited to rendezvous outside the ballroom.

It was, however, the first time that she dared to show up for it.

For all her audacity at disregarding the finer aspects of etiquette, she was not stupid enough to risk her reputation—and Mary’s by association—by meeting a gentleman unchaperoned. Besides, she had simply never felt inclined to do so with any of them.

Five years since she made her debut, and she was already quite familiar with the way men’s minds worked. If they ever showed particular attention to a lady, it was simply because she was in possession of something that they wanted for themselves—whether it be her dowry or her dignity—and they would do everything within their capacity to acquire it.

In essence, they were nothing more than beasts with the primal urge to capture their prey, and Julia was determined to never be caught by such a man.

But meeting with Andrew could hardly be considered the same thing. For one, he was Selina’s brother. Her best friend’s brother. He also was not interested in either her dowry or her dignity. He possessed such enviable fortune that any dowry a lady might bring to marriage with him would seem like but a paltry sum.

And really, he was simply the most infuriating gentleman in all of London. Lord Cosby might be boring, but Andrew seemed to have made it his life’s mission to antagonize her at every turn.

And how could I forget how he disapproved of me even before he met me?

For all his charm and good looks, Andrew Walford fell prey to the same prejudice as most men of his wealth and station—that no one else in this world was good enough for them. He had judged her merely from gossip of all things.

Well, Julia was not too pleased with him either. If it was not for the fact that he did help her with Lord Caraway, then she would not be risking everything by being caught in a seemingly scandalous position with a man that she had no desire to be stuck with for the rest of her life…

Even if he made her heart pound crazily in her chest with those wildly attractive smiles of his.

Julia shook her head.

This is preposterous! I really have no business being here.

She turned around to head back to the ballroom when she felt a large hand wrap around her upper arm, dragging her back. Before she could open her mouth to scream for help, another hand clamped over her mouth, effectively silencing her.

“Shh! You’re going to bring the whole household upon us!”

Her eyes widened when she realized who was holding her, his face a few scant inches from hers.

Andrew Walford.

Seeing her glare at him, he visibly relaxed his hold on her which allowed her to push away from him. Julia stumbled back, her heart still racing as she leveled what she hoped was her most severe glare on his smug face.

“Are you insane?” she hissed at him angrily. “I had thought you a gentleman, My Lord. But then well-bred gentlemen hardly pluck young ladies out of the hallway!”

Andrew grinned at her sheepishly. “I admit it was not the best way to go about it, but I was afraid you were going to scream.”

Well, she was about to scream, and she had every reason to do so after he hauled her off her feet like a bandit!

“I can see why you are yet to marry,” she muttered, smoothing her skirts and her hair. “You truly do not know how to treat a woman right beyond the confines of the ballroom.”

“I do know how to treat a lady right,” he argued. “Just because you have not been on the receiving end of it does not imply otherwise. There are many who would love for me to demonstrate just how well I can treat a lady.”

Julia should not have found his arrogance attractive, but heaven help her, she did. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that, however.

“Well, I do not see any evidence of that fact,” she shot back sarcastically. She slowly ran her eyes down his form and then back up, a wicked smile on her lips. “And truth be told, they are not exactly missing out on anything.”

It was a baldfaced lie, for Andrew Walford was a rather fine specimen of masculine beauty. He was even considered this Season’s best catch.

Tall with shoulders broad enough to carry the entire world on them, he usually stood head and shoulders above most of his peers in any ballroom. His wavy dark brown hair seemed made for a woman’s fingers to run through, and when he smiled that devastating smile of his, his green eyes would gleam with such mischief.

But right now, he was scowling most irritably at her.

“You are so infuriating!” he growled. “Do not forget that you still owe me.”

“How could I forget when you keep reminding me at every turn?” she flung back. “And I never told you to poke your nose where it does not belong, My Lord. You stepped in where your help was not necessary. I could have handled that man very well on my own, thank you very much—or did you think that I had never been alone with a man before?”

Julia had been so riled up that she failed to notice that Andrew had gone strangely silent. Or that their faces were so close that all it would take was for one of them to lean in just a little bit closer for their lips to touch.

“Who?”

She flicked her gaze at him and was surprised to find his vivid green eyes stormy with unmistakable fury. Julia had seen Andrew bored and irritated. She had seen his eyes glimmer with promise as he charmed many a young lady in the ballroom. But anger? That was something new.

“What do you mean who?” she muttered, averting her gaze.

“Who else have you been with?” he bit out.

There was a deadly edge to his voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“What does it matter?” She shrugged, trying her best to casually avert her gaze again. “You know that these things happen.”

For a moment, Andrew looked at her in shock. They both stood there, like two warriors staring at each other, neither one backing down before the brutal battle that lay before them.

“Julia.” His voice was low and edged with an anger that he seemed to be struggling to contain. “Do not say things like that.”

“Will my not saying these things make them stop?” She smiled bitterly. “Men have always done what they wanted, and I have learned to live with that. And what were you doing there, anyway, My Lord? Were you watching me?”

The unfortunate truth of the matter was that Lord Caraway was not the first man who tried to accost her, and he certainly would not be the last. From the moment she had made her debut, there seemed to be no end of supposedly well-bred gentlemen attempting to divest her of her clothes and reputation.

The first time a gentleman tried to force himself on her, she had been shocked. Since then, she vowed that she would never be caught on the back foot again. She had been well on her way to taking care of Lord Caraway when Andrew appeared like some sort of avenging angel.

Or a demon demanding retribution.

For all her flirtations and her audacious teasing, she had never found the desire to be with any other man before. No one had ever made her blood run hot in her veins or made her want to lose all control of herself.

It had always been her leading these men on a merry chase, dancing just out of reach before they could catch her.

But Andrew… he made her want to stop running and fall into his arms instead—and that made him far more dangerous than any of those brutes who tried to have their way with her.

She forced herself to smile up at him. It was much better to antagonize him. At least, his retaliation would be something predictable. Something she could steel herself against.

“So… you have been watching me,” she murmured, angling her gaze up at him. “Do you like what you see, then?”

She watched as his stormy gaze flickered, his nostrils flaring out ever so slightly.

She knew how much he hated it when she acted so flirtatiously. He probably felt like he was justified in warning his sister against being friends with her. Like he had judged her correctly.

“Stop it,” he warned.

She chuckled lowly. “So, you do like what you see.”

She was playing a dangerous game, taunting him in this manner. They had butted heads before and openly expressed their disdain towards each other. But this was uncharted waters for both of them. She had never tried teasing him like this before.

“Stop it, Julia.”

“Or what?” she taunted. “What will you do about it, Walford? You know you cannot possibly—”

The words died on her lips when his lips crashed onto hers. His large hand slipped to the back of her neck to anchor her to him as he all but devoured her where she stood.

Julia had never been kissed—well, not as thoroughly as Andrew was kissing her, anyway. There had been that one bumbling attempt with Sir Lawrence Delaney, and the experience had been so regrettable that she had never felt the desire to live it once more.

Sir Lawrence’s kiss had been merely a peck that did not set her mind reeling or threaten to set her very skin ablaze the way Andrew did now. She certainly did not feel that strange coiling feeling deep in her belly or the need to press herself ever closer.

Julia let out a soft whimper, and Andrew forged on, angling his mouth to probe deeper into her as if all the answers he had been searching for were within her all along.

He buried his fingers into her hair, sending one of her pins clattering onto the marble floor. His other hand ran across her chest, and she let out a sound that was quite strange to her ears. At that instant, her eyes flew open, and the realization of what they were doing—what she was allowing—hit her hard.

She pushed at his chest with all of her might, stumbling back as he looked at her with shock.

“Julia, I—”

She shook her head as she backed away from him. She could not bear it, could not bear to hear his apologies—or worse, his regret.

So, she turned on her heel and ran back to the ballroom. Back to sanity. Away from Andrew Walford and the lure of the forbidden.