Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Wasn't it the point of a sexual arrangement to be thoroughly swived ?

Because by God, Evangeline was ready for it. Ready for him . A week had gone by since the regatta, and he hadn't so much as touched her or seen through on any of his erotic promises. She was nearing her wit's end.

Then again, it wasn't as though she and Vale had the time to get away or any opportunity for actual privacy. Between the fight, Vale's injury, the regatta, and visits with Edward and Sarah at the shelter as well as with the RSPCA, the time had passed eventfully. Evangeline had ended up staying in London much longer than she'd planned, but the truth was, she was enjoying the bloody season, despite all her initial worries. Notwithstanding her secret liaison with Vale, Evangeline quite liked seeing him interact with her friends, and for the first time since that very first dismal season, she looked forward to going to the events that she used to loathe.

Take this ball, for instance. Laila had thrown it in honor of the Henley win, and Evangeline hadn't even balked at being ordered to attend. Normally by now, she would have been lodged behind her favorite potted fern, sipping awful ratafia, while counting the minutes until she could leave. Instead she stood with Viola near the refreshments table, her eyes locked on the ballroom floor where Vale was dancing with their hostess. She exhaled a breath and snapped open her fan.

Could a man get more handsome?

His dark auburn hair had grown longer, curling over his collar in thick waves, and his formal clothing fit his big body like a glove. Every step in the waltz was a study in grace, those long limbs of his moving with exceptional fluidity. Laila fairly floated in his arms. If Evangeline didn't know how besotted she was with the Marquess of Marsden, she would have felt jealous of how well they looked together. Green eyes met hers, catching her ogling, and a smirk that could melt undergarments broke over his sinful lips.

The man was driving her mad with his little flirtations and sultry stares, so much so that her body had become a coiled mess of want whenever he was near. Which was often. The Duke of Vale had been in attendance at nearly every event that she and Viola found themselves, including a musicale at Nève's before she'd departed for Paris, the opera, a garden party on the Serpentine, and this ball in his team's honor, yet he'd managed to stay a far step away.

Close enough to tease, far enough to make her lose her mind.

It was bloody torture.

What the devil was he up to?

She'd already broken two of her favorite fans from attempting to cool her overheated body. The delicate lace fabric of her newest splitting with a ripping sound when she snapped it open was the final straw. "Bloody hell!"

"Language, Effie. Fans are not meant to be wielded thus, you know," Viola scolded in an amused voice. "No wonder it's broken. You've been using that thing like a hammer."

"I'm hot," she groused.

Viola frowned, peering at her. "You do look feverish, though you appeared to be quite fine in the carriage on the way here."

"This. Ballroom. Is. Boiling." The words emerged in a panted staccato, as if the very air in her lungs were about to desert her.

Her sister sniffed. "Yes, I agree, but no need to be so aggressive about it. Go out onto the terrace for some fresh air then. I'm going to dance with William."

"He's here?" Evangeline asked in surprise. She didn't realize her friend was personally acquainted with the Marquess and Marchioness of Marsden. In hindsight, if her brain were in good working order and not besieged by thoughts of Vale, she probably should have invited him, but Evangeline was glad he was there nonetheless. For Viola's sake, at least. Perhaps Vesper had mentioned him to Laila. Evangeline would have to thank them later for being so considerate.

That was one thing to be pleased about at least. Viola seemed to have been avoiding Huntington since the regatta, much to his displeasure, but there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. He pretended to be unaffected by her behavior, but Evangeline caught sight of a few thunderous glares in her sister's direction whenever Huntington thought he wasn't being watched. The man did not like being snubbed by the jewel of the season.

Too damned bad.

When she saw her sister safely in the arms of the veterinarian, Evangeline exhaled with a soft smile. Then her eyes panned to where the Duke of Vale was now paired with Briar in a country dance, the two of them laughing and clearly enjoying each other's company. Her smile faded, her stomach turning slightly sour. She wasn't jealous! Like Laila, Briar was one of her best friends.

But the conversation at their weekly tea several days ago at Vesper's residence was seared into her brain. The three of them had been catching up when the ever-matchmaking Vesper had casually suggested the Duke of Vale as a potential match for Briar. If Evangeline hadn't seen the sly look that Vesper slid her way, she might have reacted quite differently. As it was, she'd barely been able to keep the possessiveness at bay.

Briar had stared at them, cup halfway to her lips, her eyes dancing with mischief. "You think Vale and I would make a good match?"

"Don't you?" Evangeline had replied coolly. "He's handsome, smart, and can handle someone as outspoken as you."

A devious Vesper had raised her brows. "You don't want to marry him, Effie dear?"

"I don't wish to wed, you both know that."

"And you think he and Briar would make a successful couple?" Vesper asked.

She had glared at her friends. "Why do you two keep asking me that?"

"Why are you keeping secrets from your best friends?" Briar tossed back. "Are you shagging the hot Scot or what?"

"What?! No!" Evangeline had spluttered, going crimson.

"I mean there's nothing wrong with a little fun, if both parties are consenting adults," she said with a wicked look at Vesper. "Just ask her. She and Greydon got quite naughty in the dovecote before they were wed."

"And the billiards room," a red-faced Vesper added with a chortle. "And at the Crystal Palace."

Evangeline's mouth dropped. "Vesper!"

"We won't judge you, that's what we mean to say," Vesper went on. "The Hellfire Kitties vault is a sanctum."

Evangeline had no idea why she hadn't confessed. Perhaps it was because she knew her friends would see right through her that she was starting to fall for the Duke of Vale. Or perhaps she'd already fallen so deeply that she was lying to herself that things were platonic. "No, Vale and I are just friends."

The girls had exchanged a knowing, amused look that had irritated Evangeline further, but it was by a miracle she'd kept her temper under wraps. After a beat, Briar had grinned. "Pity! Who wouldn't want a hot, ginger Highlander in their marriage bed?"

Evangeline positively did want a hot ginger Scot in her bed.

No marriage required!

She could not blame Briar for dancing with him, but watching them together was a hard pill to swallow. Her fists wound into her skirts, emotions curdling in her belly. She decided to take Viola's advice, because if she didn't get out of this ballroom, she was going to break more than a fan. But before she could do just that, she was stopped in her tracks.

"What is going on between you and Vale?" the Earl of Lushing demanded.

She blinked. "Nothing."

"He's not being untoward with you?"

Evangeline lifted a brow. "What do you mean?"

"You're a lady. I would not see you… dishonored."

" Dishonored? I am so sick of labels and the impractical expectations placed on women," she burst out. "We are quite capable of thinking sensibly without the constant surveillance of men, you do realize?" Vexation mounted, and her anger landed on an available target. "And I fail to see the difference between the two. You run a club of vice and sin, play at being a libertine, avoid the responsibilities of your future title and estate, and yet, you have the audacity to judge me?"

"I beg your pardon. You mistake me, Effie." He exhaled and spread his hands wide in supplication. "Surely you know that I only care about your welfare."

Seeing his regretful expression, she softened her voice. "While I appreciate your concern, my lord, I am a grown woman in full possession of all my wits and faculties. Trust that the Duke of Vale and I are not engaged in a sordid affair that will have the aristocracy's collective tongues wagging with the taste of gossip, if that is your worry."

Lie. She'd been well and truly in the altogether with His Grace, and the ton would absolutely salivate at a hint of such a scandal. Ruination would be the least of her worries. She would become completely and irrevocably shunned.

"And Lady Briar?" the earl asked, eyes flicking to the couple in question, a muscle flexing in his jaw as if it had pained him to ask.

She gave a small shrug. "I do not presume to know of Vale's intentions, my lord, when it comes to any woman in this hall or whom he seeks to court. Perhaps you should ask him."

With a forced smile, she moved past the earl, whose unguarded expression was painfully vulnerable, clearly at the sight of seeing a smiling, flirtatious Briar in Vale's embrace, only to be halted on her way out again. In a fit of frustration— couldn't she escape this ballroom for one sodding minute? —Evangeline opened her mouth and shut it when she realized who it was that had called her name.

"Huntington. What do you want?"

His dour face pinched at her waspish tone and the complete lack of the proper address. "What did you say to your sister about me?"

"I said nothing that hasn't already been said," she replied with narrowed eyes. She was not in the mood to deal with a scorned gentleman's childish tantrum over what he thought he deserved. "Viola is of her own mind."

Goodness, what was with men questioning women's abilities to think for themselves? If she had to listen to one more male denigrate female intelligence, she was going to punch them right in the nose!

"You had something to do with this change of heart, I know it."

She lifted a shoulder. "You give me too much credit, my lord. Is that legendary, self-professed charm failing you, perhaps?" Evangeline stared at him and then at her sister, who stood with William, a broad, genuine smile on her face as they conversed. "Or maybe you never had her heart to begin with."

"That mongrel is no one compared to me," he scoffed.

She laughed softly. "And yet he's the one waltzing with her. These are modern times, my lord. A man with a kind heart is superior to a selfish peer without one." Evangeline didn't hide one lick of her disdain. "Perhaps you should take a page from Mr. Dawson's book. Women are not playthings meant for cruel sport."

"Aren't they?" he asked with an unkind sneer. "I broke you, didn't I?"

"Alas, Lord Huntington, the only thing of mine you broke was the veil of ignorance I wore over my own eyes, so I thank you for that. You showed me the true nature of spoiled, indolent gentlemen who have little care for anyone beyond themselves. Viola was smart to finally see through you, and trust me, I had little to do with that. You did it all on your own." She drew in a breath, hands trembling with the force of her emotion. "But in case you did not get the message, stay away from my sister, you useless dunghill."

"How dare you insult me?" he spat. "Or give me orders? If I want her, I will have her. Your father would be a fool to refuse me."

"My father only wants for her happiness, and I doubt, sir, that you can ever provide that. Set your pitiful snares elsewhere and save yourself the trouble."

Evangeline left him spluttering and made her escape to the terrace, where she hauled great gulps of air into her aching lungs.

Finally.

Confronting Huntington had been long in coming. All of those emotions had been buried deep and brought close to the surface by one maddening duke whose motives she could not read.

A throat cleared behind her. Had Huntington followed her? Evangeline whirled, ready to give the odious lord another blistering setdown, and froze.

"Oh, it's you," she choked out.

"Indeed."

The Duke of Vale crowded the glass-paned door of the terrace, standing in a halo of light from the ballroom behind him. The glow made him seem like some warrior angel come down to earth to wreak vengeance. He wasn't an angel, however. He was a devil, toying with her like a dog's old chewed-up plaything, and she had had enough.

"Am I to be flattered that I seem to exist to you now?" she muttered.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder—"

A snarl broke from her. "Fuck your platitudes, Vale."

Green eyes widened and then darkened, his tongue slipping out to moisten his lips. She hated seeing the sight of it, so pink and glistening, and wanting it on her body. Between her lips. Between her legs . Evangeline gritted her teeth and turned away.

"You're not enjoying our game?" he asked.

She blinked, whirling toward him and misjudging how close he was when she nearly crashed into his huge chest. "Game? You think this is a game ?"

"Of course it is," he replied, a frown appearing on his broad brow. "You called it so yourself. I was simply playing along and following your lead after the regatta when you so sweetly sent me for an impromptu dousing in the very filthy Thames."

At a loss for words, she could only blink owlishly up at him. Devil take it, had she read things so incorrectly and let irrational jealousy ruin their whole tryst? Evangeline had no idea when it had ceased to be a game to her, only that it had. It was one thing to be possessive of Vale with a stranger like Minthe as she'd been at Lethe, but Evangeline knew he wasn't the sort to dally with others, much less her best friends. And yet… her illogical emotions had convinced her of his perfidy. What on earth was happening to her?

She glanced up, an ugly knot in her throat. "What about Briar?"

"What about her?" he asked, clearly confused by the question.

Evangeline sucked air through her teeth. "Do you… fancy her?"

His confusion vanished, and the twinkle that appeared in his eye was too much to bear. "You want to know what she said to me when I asked her to dance? She said she was happy to be the spare while her best friend got her head out of her arse ."

"I do not have my—" she began and then broke off. She tried to step back, but one long arm banded her waist, plastering her to him. "Why did you come out here?"

"I was attempting to protect you from Huntington." A chuckle reverberated between them. "Though you were hardly in need of protection, were you? That tongue of yours is as sharp as the most lethal of blades. The poor man didn't know if he was coming or going after you sliced him to sad little ribbons."

She was confused. Why would he hurry out to protect her when he'd been in the midst of a dance? "Weren't you dancing? Vale, you can't just leave a woman on the ballroom floor."

"Of course I can. I don't care about Lady Briar or anyone else."

"So what was the last ten days then, Gage?" she asked. "You were avoiding me on purpose?"

His voice was pure smoky honey. "God, I love when you say my name. I wanted you liquid with desire, Evangeline." His nose grazed her temple, and her pulse tripled. "Tell me that your skin feels like it's on fire and that your heart is trying to pound its way out of your body." His fingers moved toward her ribs, grazing the side of one breast. "That my touch makes your nipples bead and ache for my tongue."

"You're a cruel man to do this here," she whimpered, knees going weak at his lewd talk.

"My carriage is ready to depart whenever you are," he whispered.

"Now. I'm ready now." She paused, reason filtering through the lust. "Just let me find one of the girls and see if they can make sure Viola gets home. I wouldn't want her to worry."

"It's already been arranged," the duke said. "With your friend, Mr. Dawson. I did invite him here, after all."

Evangeline faltered. It hadn't been Vesper or Laila?

"Wait," she said. "That was your doing?"

"Dawson is a good man, and he's in love with your sister," he said. "It doesn't hurt for him to be seen in powerful circles. He and Marsden have quite a lot in common as it turns out."

"You—" she broke off, unable to find the words. "Why?"

"Must you ask," he whispered softly. "I did it for you, Evangeline. Because her happiness is important to you, and yours is… important to me."

This man . She pushed up onto her toes and kissed him, right there outside the ballroom, reputation and discovery be damned. "Take me away, Your Grace, before I scandalize the denizens of the peerage and ruin us both."

Gage didn't waste any time sinking to his knees before her in the carriage. If she thought the last ten days had been torture, then she had no idea of what he'd put himself through. Cold baths had done little to reduce the excruciatingly keen edge of arousal, but he had refused to pleasure himself, refused to accept anything but her hands, mouth, and sex on him.

Now, he grasped her ankles, spreading her legs wide beneath her skirts. Her gasp was loud in the confined space. "Did you touch yourself, Evangeline?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"Like you showed me in your chamber?" he rumbled, both hands sliding up the backs of her stockinged calves to the bend of her knees. "With your toy?"

"No. I didn't use it. Only my fingers." She moaned when he flipped her skirts and petticoats upward to reveal the lace edges of her drawers. "I was waiting for you."

He skated his fingertips up her thighs, the heat of her almost scalding when he met the tops of her garters and a tantalizing sliver of bare skin. Palms outward, he parted her legs wider so that he could fit his broad shoulders between them. The brisk movement made the delicate seam of her silk drawers split farther apart, exposing her glistening sex, and he could not help himself. He leaned in for a hungry lick. And fuck if she wasn't as sweet as he'd imagined. Better, even. Salt and honey on his tongue, and his mouth watered for more.

She whimpered, a hand tangling in his hair. "Gage."

"Say it again," he ordered, peering up at her. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips parted with pleasure. Evangeline in all her forms was beautiful, but like this , on the cusp of release, she was magnificent. A goddess of unguarded passion.

"Gage, Gage, Gage." Her head lolled back on the squabs. "Don't make me beg."

"What if I want you to?" He blew on her tender folds, feeling her thighs shiver beneath his palms.

A whisper of laughter on the heels of a moan met his ears. "Dreadful man."

He bent just as the carriage flew over a bump, lodging his mouth right where it needed to be, and Gage needed no more incentive. Hell, the flavor of her was beyond sublime. He went to work, lapping and sucking, memorizing what made her writhe, what made her whimper, and what made her pretty skin flush darkly with arousal.

"Gage, please," she begged willingly now.

Loving how responsive she was, he rewarded her and sucked hard, tongue sinking into her in a carnal way that had them both moaning. Her body locked and shivered as it undulated around his tongue, her sweet cries of release like music to his ears. He kissed her mound when her body finally settled. "You are beautiful."

A soft giggle erupted above him. "Are you talking to my vulva or to me?"

Gage grinned at the anatomical terminology. "Both. She's a needy little thing."

Evangeline laughed again, a beautiful flush filling her cheeks, eyes silvery and sated. "That is all your doing, Your Grace. You only have yourself to blame for any neediness you may find down there."

"It is part of my nefarious plan to keep you thus in a constant state of wanting." He pulled down her skirts with some regret, but he knew it wouldn't be long before they arrived at his residence. His coachman had taken the long way around at his instruction, and his carriage for the evening was plain and unmarked. It was a risk, but she would be cloaked and covered. He could not chance going to her home or visiting a public hotel. At least at his house, he could ensure discretion and safety.

"And you," she whispered. "What of your state?"

He rose, one hand braced on the velvet cushion behind her head, and took her palm to place it on his distended groin. "A constant burden, I'm afraid."

Her lip disappeared between her teeth. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I've ached for you from the first moment we met."

Something indefinable flickered in her eyes, a mirrored sentiment perhaps, but then her gaze shifted to amusement. "Covered in kittens in the middle of my shelter? I hardly see how that was any inducement for seduction." She ran her knuckles along his abdomen, his muscles flexing at her light touch. "Though I must confess, I was intrigued by what I grasped."

One finger teased over his hard groin, and the corner of his mouth kicked up, as if he recalled her untimely handful. "Were you?"

She nodded. "In fact, I was also rather envious. Of Buttercup, in particular."

"Of poor Beasty?" he asked, incredulous.

Evangeline rolled her lips inward, hiding a smile. "She treated you like her own personal mountain. I suppose I wanted to do the same." Blushing, she cleared her throat. "Climb you, I mean."

"Why do you think I am stealing you away to my house, free of felines and canines for that matter? You can climb me to your heart's delight." He tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear and winked. "Besides, I'd rather not have any furry or feathery audiences undermine my performance this evening. I intend to dazzle you senseless."

"Come now, Your Grace." She giggled. "Surely you know that you have nothing to be ashamed of? My cats adore you."

He took her hand and grazed his lips over her knuckles. "I'm only interested in being esteemed by one beautiful creature, and she is sitting right in front of me. I expect to have your full and complete dedication this evening, my lady. My teeth and claws will be the only ones you have to worry about." He raked his fingers along the inside of her bare wrist, making her beautiful body quiver.

"Is that so?" she whispered.

"Yes," he promised with a grin that turned wolfish.

Gage did not miss the way her eyes dilated or the way her palms fisted into her skirts. It looked like Lady Evangeline was intensely curious about what that eroticism might be, especially if it involved teeth and claws .

He smiled. By the end of the evening, he would know exactly what made her scream.