Wolfishly Yours (14 page)

Livi was almost within his grasp when Siddington claimed her for the first dance. She looked at Siddington and smiled, then dropped into a curtsy. It was half a smile, one of uncertainty. Gray wanted fiercely to take her in his own arms and count to her as he led her into the dance. She was probably feeling nervous, and the very thought of her being fearful tugged at his heart. He followed her with his eyes as she walked across the room on the man’s arm.

Dash coughed into his closed fist to draw his attention. “Eynsford,” he muttered with a casual nod of his head.

“Hadley,” Dash greeted him in response. “Behaving yourself?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

“See that you do.”

That would be harder than one might think.

Livi tried to count to herself and listen to Mr. Siddington’s questions at the same time. It was proving to be more than difficult. She wished absently that he would shut his mouth and just dance. But that didn’t seem to be in his plans.

“Do you think Her Grace will grow two heads and sprout a tail tonight? Or just purple scales?” Siddington asked.

Livi heard half of his question. “Purple scales?” she questioned, finally looking up at him.

“It’s easier if you don’t look down at your feet,” he whispered with what she assumed was a kindhearted smile.

“Easier for you,” Livi said. Then she trod upon his toe. He took it gracefully, with barely a wince. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s quite all right. I had no need of that toe,” he said with a smile. He could probably be quite charming, if he tried. She looked up into his blue eyes and couldn’t help but compare the depth and feeling she imagined within them to Gray’s.

“Toes are highly overrated, Mr. Siddington. I hear they’ll be out of fashion within the year.”

He arched a brow at her. “Is that so?”

“Thank you for sacrificing yourself so that I’ll have a dance partner,” she said with a mental wince. He had done it at Sophie’s request, she was well aware. Still, it was kind of him. “Sophie will owe you a favor.”

“I’ll ask her for something splendid. Do you have any requests? Suggestions, perhaps?”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something grand,” Livi stalled.

“I’ll save my favor for later. She’s had a tough enough time of it since her father died.” He turned her effortlessly about the floor. She wanted to question him about Sophie’s life, but doing so would probably be socially unacceptable. Even more so than she already was.

The music slowed and Siddington drew her to a halt. He offered his arm. “Shall we stroll about the room? Or shall I return you to Sophie?”

“You have done your job for the night, I’m sure. You can return me to Sophie and wash your hands of me.”

He grinned. There was a scoundrel lurking behind that exterior, she was certain. But he had done her a kindness, so she would attempt not to judge him.

“How many dances will you make Hadley wait before you grace him with your unwieldy feet? Three? Four?”

Livi hadn’t planned to dance with him at all. “He barely knows I’m here. I’m certain he has no plans to ask me to dance.” Hadn’t he told her that very thing?

“Do you like a good wager, Miss Mayeux?” he asked.

“Much more than a bad wager,” she tossed back with a laugh.

“Smart girl. If we were to wager on it, I’d bet he doesn’t let more than one more man sweep you into his arms before he does so himself. He’s nearly green with envy already. He’s looking positively reptilian.” He tilted his head toward the spot where Gray stood brooding alone in a corner. Gray’s left foot tapped an impatient rhythm, and he looked a bit like a caged tiger she’d once seen in a circus. “By the way, you look positively radiant tonight.” Then he shot her a wide grin, bowed in farewell, and left her standing beside Sophie.

“You did well,” Sophie whispered at her.

“Did I?” Livi breathed back. “I stomped the poor man’s toes so hard he’ll probably have to have them amputated to ease the pain.”

“It’s not the first time a lady has stepped on Henry’s toes, and I’m certain it won’t be the last,” Sophie assured her. “The next dance is a waltz and you’ll need an appropriate partner.” Sophie looked around the Assembly Room, mumbling to herself, “No, no, no, no, maybe… no, no,” as her gaze moved from one man to the next. “Oh, brace yourself,” Sophie whispered fiercely. “The Duchess of Hythe.”

The portly old woman stopped in front of Livi and looked at her from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet. Then her eyes swept back up. Livi told herself not to fidget. She told herself not to worry. But she assumed that having the duchess’ favor would give her entrance to almost any drawing room in Bath. So, she forced herself to curtsy.

“Oh, up with you, gel,” the duchess said as she took Livi’s elbow and forced her to rise. The duchess tapped her fan against her arm for a moment, gnawing on her bottom lip. Then she said, “You’re quite beautiful when you don’t have punch down the front of your dress.” She leaned closer. “And there’s many a man I’ve wanted to tell to
nique
ta
mère
, and you can wager I will do so if one ever gets so busy looking down my dress that he dumps punch in my face.”

Heat crept up Livi’s cheeks. “It was a horrible thing to say, Your Grace. And I am woefully sorry for my blunder.”

“Oh, stop the woeful comments. I think it’s wonderful. You’ve knocked the
ton
on its ear, and it’s about time someone did. Half the mothers in this room are trying to keep their sons from asking you to dance, and the other half are trying to talk them into it. You’ll be this season’s incomparable, my dear. Mark my words. With my help, you’ll be able to take your pick of eligible men at the end of your visit to Bath. If not by the end of the night.” She turned and snapped her fingers. Heads turned her way. “Miss Mayeux needs a partner for the waltz,” she said.

Four handsome, well-attired men stepped in Livi’s direction.

The duchess’ eyes widened a bit as her gaze settled on one of the fellows. “Nathaniel, what a surprise.” Then she turned her attention back to Livi. “My grandson, the Marquess of Lavendon,” She gestured to the gentleman in question. “You’ll find him quite an accomplished dance partner, my dear.”

Livi curtsied before the handsome man. “A pleasure, my lord.”

“Indeed,” Lord Lavendon replied smoothly. Then his gaze quickly flickered to Sophie before returning to Livi. “May I have this dance, Miss Mayeux?”

She didn’t really have a choice, did she? Livi smiled at the marquess. “I would be honored.”

Lord Lavendon offered Livi his arm and then swept her out into the middle of the ballroom. His green eyes sparkled with amusement. “You don’t know how lucky you are, Miss Mayeux.”

“
Non
?” she asked. With as much as her life had been turned upside down, she wouldn’t have thought herself lucky.

The first chords of the waltz echoed throughout the room, and Lord Lavendon bowed low before Livi. When he rose to his full height, he towed her into his arms and said, “My grandmother likes very few people. She seems to like you. I would say you are very lucky indeed.”

Well, that was fortunate. If the duchess could help Livi in society, perhaps Grandfather would never learn of the awful spectacle she’d caused the previous evening. “She seems delightful.”

Lavendon tipped back his head and laughed. “She’s a dragon.” Then he grinned down at her. “I should know. I’ve lived with her most of my life.”

What was Livi to say to that? Nothing if she wanted the duchess’ support. “I met your brother yesterday in the Pump Room,” she said instead of commenting about Her Grace.

The marquess winked at Livi. “My most heartfelt condolences in that case, Miss Mayeux.”

Livi couldn’t help but laugh. “What a horrible thing to say about one’s brother, my lord.”

“Do you have a brother?” he countered.

Livi nodded. “
Oui
, I have two brothers.”

“And are they scurrilous reprobates?”

“
Non
.” They were Lycans, which his lordship would probably find even worse.

“Well, then you see you are lucky. As I have but one brother and he most assuredly is a scurrilous reprobate.”

Livi laughed again. He really was rather charming for all that he wasn’t Gray.

“I understand Lady Sophia has taken an interest in you.”

Livi nodded. “Do you know the lady?”

“Indeed,” he replied and his eyes darted to where Sophie still stood with the duchess.

There was something in his gaze that caught Livi’s notice. A longing, she was certain. But an arrogant one, she was equally certain. “And would you rather be waltzing with her, my lord?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Lavendon’s green eyes focused on Livi and he frowned a tiny bit. “I would have asked her, had that been the case, Miss Mayeux. She is but a lady’s companion. Do you think your company lacks in comparison to hers?”

That wasn’t what Livi meant at all and she shook her head. “
Non
, my lord. It just seems as though your eyes can’t help but find her.”

“Beautiful and astute,” Lavendon replied as he led her in a turn. “Alas, the lady in question has always been able to keep her eyes from finding me.”

She had? Livi stared up at the marquess. Did he hold a
tendre
for Sophie? Might Lord Lavendon be Sophie’s escape from the world of poverty and work?

“But if we’re to talk about eyes,” Lavendon continued, “I should warn you—Grayson Hadley is staring daggers at me this very moment with his. Why do his eyes seek me out while Lady Sophia’s do not, I ask you?” He winked at Livi. “You see, I am not quite as lucky as you are this evening.”

Livi’s gaze flashed to where Gray still stood, apparently seething, in the corner. “Am I lucky to have Mr. Hadley’s attention?” And why did she have it now, when he’d avoided her all day?

“I suppose only you know the answer to that,” Lavendon remarked as he cocked his head to one side. “But I do feel I should warn you about Mr. Hadley’s character, as I seem to be warning you about things this evening.”

“His character?” Livi echoed. For all that she was annoyed with Gray, she hadn’t questioned his character. In fact, he’d been quite kind to her since they met, if one discounted his tossing a glass of punch on her in the middle of a musicale.

Lord Lavendon nodded morosely. “You see, his twin absconded with my sister. As the two of them share not only the same blood but occupied the same womb at one time, I can only imagine Grayson Hadley capable of a similar despicable act. So do take a care with the man, my dear, lest you find yourself muttering vows over a blacksmith’s anvil the way my sister did.”

Livi only nodded, because what else could she say?

***

Gray was going to rip Lavendon’s tongue from his head. The blackguard’s words of warning had reached Gray’s ears, just as they had Archer’s and Dash’s. But Gray was the one being maligned, if for no other reason than that Weston was his twin. Hardly sporting of Lavendon, especially as the man wanted to be a part of the Hadley brothers’ gaming venture and had come to ask Gray to support his suit. But that was neither here nor there. All that mattered was the way Livi had winced when she heard Lavendon’s warning. For planting those unfortunate seeds in her head, Gray should do more than rip the marquess’ tongue from his head. He should do much worse.

A fan touched Gray’s arm and he looked down at his sister-in-law, Caitrin, Marchioness of Eynsford, standing beside him. Gray scowled at her. “You should take care, Cait. I’m not my most jovial self at the moment.”

“Nay,” she agreed. “Ye are a rabid wolf if yer expression is ta be believed.”

He narrowed his eyes on his brother’s wife. “You’re not helping.”

She sighed and stared out at the sea of dancers before them. “Is it help ye want?”

“I’d like to be left alone,” he grumbled.

But Cait simply shook her head as though she had no plans to grant his wish. “Why dinna ye ask her ta dance yerself, Grayson?”

He scoffed. “Because she’s here to meet important men, powerful men.”

“Men like Nathaniel Hayburn?” Cait asked softly.

Gray could only growl low in his throat as he watched Lavendon lead Livi around the dance floor.

“Ye will be a powerful man yerself someday, Gray.”

She always spoke in absolutes, as though the future was set in stone. Gray scoffed. “I will never be a marquess.”

“Nay, ye willna be a marquess. Ye will be a wealthy self-made man with a sizable fortune at his disposal.”

“From your mouth…”

Cait gazed up at him, her blue eyes earnest as she said, “Americans prize men who are self-made, ye ken? What ye think of as a hindrance might be an asset in someone else’s eyes.” Then she turned her own gaze back to the pair who had Gray’s attention. “If ye willna ask her ta dance, then perhaps a turn about the room. I’d stay away from the refreshment table, if I were ye, however.”

Even Cait thought to poke fun at him? Gray ground his teeth together. “Hardly amusing.”

“I meant if ye’re walkin’ around the room, it’ll be harder for anyone else ta overhear yer conversation, Gray.”

Oh. Well, she was probably right about that. Still, Gray frowned again. “I haven’t spoken to her since last night.”

“Why no’?”

“I didn’t know what to say. I still don’t. I completely humiliated her at the musicale…” And then he’d been too dumbfounded to speak when he found himself in her bedchamber.

Just then the waltz ended and Lavendon bowed before Livi. He offered her his arm and then led her back to where Lady Sophia and the Duchess of Hythe still stood together.

“She seems ta have recovered rather well,” Cait said. “Go over and ask her ta walk with ye, Gray.”

Lavendon delivered Livi back to Sophie, where the duchess still lingered. When the old woman raised her head to look for another dance partner, four more well-dressed gentlemen stepped in her direction. “The Earl of Honeywell is on your left,” Sophie whispered.

He looked pleasant enough. Livi hadn’t heard the earl’s name or even a rumor associated with the man before now. He hadn’t made any promises as far as she knew of in regards to seeking her out the way Mr. Siddington did or as the Marquess of Lavendon seemed obligated to do. “Is he poor?” Livi muttered under her breath.

Sophie smiled at her. “So cynical already?” Then she shook her head. “Fortunes are easily won and lost, Livi. But I haven’t heard anything about Lord Honeywell in that regard.”

Then the man had no need of her dowry. It couldn’t be simply that he wanted to meet her, could it?

“The colonel, on the other hand,” Sophie continued in sotto voce, “has buried two wives and has eight children for whom he needs to find a mother.” That must be the rather tall man approaching on her right.

Livi pretended not to see him and turned her back. The Earl of Honeywell bowed before the duchess. “Would you be so kind, Your Grace, as to introduce me to the young lady?”

The Duchess of Hythe cleared her throat. “Honeywell, this is Miss Mayeux, Holmesfield’s granddaughter. Miss Mayeux, this is the Earl of Honeywell.”

“A pleasure,” Livi murmured.

“Indeed, it is mine.” He smiled. “If this dance is not taken…” he began.

“It is,” came a deep voice from behind her, and Livi spun around to find Grayson Hadley standing not a single pace from her.

“I’d prefer to hear it from the lady’s lips,” Honeywell clipped out. He regarded Livi with one raised brow and held out his open palm to her. She reached tentatively to take it. He had come to her, after all. And he had no ulterior motives, not that she knew of in any event.

“Honeysmell, if you want to keep that hand, I’d suggest you put it in your pocket,” Gray growled.

Livi didn’t miss the smear of the poor earl’s name. In fact, he did smell a bit wretched now that Gray mentioned it. Unfortunately, not a bit like honey at all. She swiped at her nose. “I believe Mr. Hadley is correct,” Livi said to break the heavy silence. “I nearly forgot. May I save a quadrille for you, my lord?”

The man gave one simple nod and glared at Gray, who glared back, a low growl emanating from his throat.

“You make me want to pop you on your nose,” Livi scolded as he took her hand and pulled it to rest in the crook of his arm. He led her around the edge of the room. “Where are we going?” she asked, as they skirted some potted palms and walked toward an open doorway.

“You need some air,” Gray informed her.

She attempted to jerk her arm back from him. “I most certainly do not.”

But he covered her hand with his and kept walking. “Do you want to cause a scene or do you want to come with me nicely?” he growled. “We can do it either way you like.”

Another scene was certainly not what she needed in that moment. She feigned a smile and said between her gritted teeth, “You will pay dearly for this, Grayson Hadley.” To all the world, she probably looked like she was flashing him a brilliant smile rather than threatening his life. The latter was much more accurate, however.

“Would you care for some punch?” Gray asked.

Certainly, he didn’t intend to get her punch. After last night, that was the most absurd thing she’d ever heard. She’d be wearing it within moments. “I believe I’ll pass. My dress is better green than red, I think. And it took forever to wash off that sticky punch.” But that thought only served to make her remember his visit to her room when she was still in the bath. Heat crept up her cheeks.

“That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Gray said as he walked with her through the double doors and into the garden. They weren’t the only ones in the garden, however. Other couples lingered in pairs, their heads pressed tightly together.

Livi took a step away from him, as she had no desire to make it appear as though they were intimates. But Gray didn’t seem to notice. He kept walking, leading her farther down the garden path.

“Sophie will wonder where I’ve gone,” Livi reminded him.

“She’ll know where you’ve gone. What she’ll wonder is how to decrease the damage it will do to your reputation.” With that, Gray grabbed her fingertips in his strong grip and tugged her into an alcove in the garden. It was dark, with shadows dancing through the tall shrubbery. A moon, three quarters full, gleamed from between the branches.

“You plan to do more damage than you already have?” Livi couldn’t believe the gall of him. She stomped her slipper-clad foot.

“The fault of last night’s calamity rests solely at my feet. I was in a bit of a state when I arrived at the musicale…” He let the last trail off, simply shaking his head at himself.

“You were foxed.” That was all she said, just
you
were
foxed
.

“Quite,” he clipped out. “Then I tripped over that damn cane. And all was lost. Will you accept my apology?” He gave her a battered puppy expression. It had never worked on her with her brothers, and it would not work for him.

“If you offered an apology, I might find it in my heart to accept it.”

He sighed heavily, blowing like the bellows the maids used to stoke the fire in the hearth of her bedchamber. “I just did,” he said, quirking his brows at her.

“This is how an apology should go, Grayson.” She shook a finger at him and hushed him when he began to sputter. “Repeat after me. ‘I, Grayson Hadley…’” She stopped and waited for him.

“I, Grayson Hadley.” He stopped and waited too, an amused look on his face.

“‘Do solemnly swear that I am the biggest idiot that ever walked the face of the earth,’” Livi continued. She tried not to smile as she said it.

“I’m not saying that,” he groused.

But she continued, “‘And since Miss Mayeux is gracious enough to forgive my drunkenness that could have ruined her place in society and any chance for a decent marriage…’” She stopped and waited again.

“You don’t want to marry,” he tossed in with a snort.

“You, sir, are positively wretched at apologies.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Did I really ruin your chances?” he asked softly. A slow grin tipped the corners of his lips, and Livi felt it in her belly when it flipped. Oh, goodness. What was that?

She tipped her nose in the air in the same way she’d seen Sophie do it. “You may have.”

“Well, in that case,” he said, then one hand shot out and caught her arm. He tugged her to him in one swift move. She fell hard against the wall of man that he was and braced herself with her hands against his chest.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“If your chances are already ruined, I’ll have no choice but to marry you. And if I have to do that, I want to take full advantage of my position.” He dropped his head toward hers. Livi was so startled that she didn’t even try to move away from him. His lips touched hers, soft and harsh at the very same time. She’d been kissed before but never with such intent. His lips slid silky and smooth against hers as he caught her gasp in his mouth.

A little noise escaped her throat as his hands skimmed her waist and slid down over her bottom. Gray’s tongue slid to tangle with hers in the most subtle of invasions, and Livi’s knees buckled slightly. But his hand on her arse kept her tight against him. Tight against all of him. And she could feel every inch of him against her belly.

Finally, Gray raised his head and let her breathe, which was kind of him, considering the fact that she was about to swoon. Her heart pounded so loudly in her chest that she could outdo the clip of a team of runaway horses. She drew in a deep breath and his mouth skittered across her jaw, leaving a silky trail in his wake. He kissed the area beneath her ear and let his lips trail down the side of her neck.

He stopped at that spot where her neck met her shoulder and nipped it lightly with his teeth. “I want to make you mine.” His voice rumbled right by her ear, making her quiver with… something. His tongue snaked out and licked across the spot he’d just abraded with his tongue. “Right here. Forever.”

Just then, Grayson sprang several steps away from her. Livi realized a moment later that heavy footsteps crunched down the gravel path toward them. Thank heavens he had excellent hearing. Sophie and Radbourne rounded the corner and stepped closer to them. Sophie’s hand was threaded through the crook of Radbourne’s arm in a most intimate manner. And Grayson focused his gaze on their joining. “Did I miss the announcement that the two of you have decided to call a truce?” he asked.

Sophie stepped away from the viscount in one quick motion, her look scathing. “Hardly.”

“And for a moment there, I thought you liked me,” Archer said to Sophie with a wolfish grin.

Sophie absently picked at a thread on her sleeve. “One must keep up appearances. Even when one detests the other party.”

“‘Detests’ is such a strong word.”

“Yet not quite adequate,” she sniped back. Then Sophie said loudly, “It is a bit stuffy in there. I’m so glad the four of us decided to take a walk in the garden.”

“So am I,” Radbourne agreed. “But I’m getting a bit chilled, and Miss Mayeux must be cold because her cheeks look all rosy.” He shot Grayson a telling glance, and Livi wanted to hide her head in shame. “Perhaps we should find our way back to the Assembly Room.”

“Of course,” Sophie agreed and she motioned Livi forward. The two of them walked together, arm in arm, and the brothers walked just behind them. But all the while, Livi’s mind was a muddled mess as she couldn’t get Gray’s kiss out of her thoughts.
Bon
Dieu
! The way he felt pressed against her, the way his masculine sandalwood scent enveloped her senses, the way his dark eyes seemed to penetrate her defenses and see who she truly was. She’d never felt that way in her life. What would have happened if Sophie and Lord Radbourne hadn’t stumbled upon them?

Just as Livi pondered that thought, she heard Grayson yelp quickly, and a short scuffle ensued behind him and Lord Radbourne. She didn’t think she could watch the scene, so she continued forward as though two grown Lycan men weren’t pummeling each other in the garden. As soon as she entered the Assembly Room with Sophie, both of them were immediately swept away at the same time. Siddington collected Sophie. And the Earl of Honeywell led Livi onto the floor. It wasn’t until he raised his arms during the quadrille that Livi remembered the nickname Gray had bestowed upon the earl. Honeysmell, indeed.

But all she could truly think about was Gray, who still hadn’t returned to the ballroom.

***

“You are a bloody idiot!” Archer hissed, shoving Gray’s chest.

Gray stumbled backward over a bench, and his head landed among the sculpted branches of a potted topiary. He rose back to his feet and brushed the dirt from his clothes, but it was no matter. His attire was ruined for the evening. He could never walk back into the Assembly Room with dark smears across his cravat. But since he was already filthy…

Gray lunged at Archer, knocking his brother against the stone facade of the building. “Go to the devil!” he snarled.

Archer bounded off the building, amber fire darting from his eyes. “Have you lost your mind?” he demanded, grabbing Gray’s jacket in his clutches. “Are you trying to ruin her? Did you not do a good enough job of that last night?”

“We were talking, Arch!” Gray growled. “No need for you to don a suit of armor to defend the lady’s honor.”

“Talking?” Archer scoffed. “And I’m Maria Fitzherbert.” Then he shoved his brother once more, but this time Gray sidestepped the bench and remained on his feet, and Archer stumbled forward.

Gray couldn’t help but laugh. “Indeed? And does the King know you’re masquerading around Bath, pretending to be my jackass brother, Mrs. Fitzherbert?”

Archer righted himself and narrowed his eyes on Gray. “Don’t be an imbecile. You weren’t
talking
and we both know it.” He swiped at his nose with one finger. “I have the same senses you do, don’t forget, brother mine.”

Gray shoved his brother’s shoulder. “And just what is that supposed to mean?”

“It means I can hear things. I can smell things…”

“Indeed?” Gray shook his head, more irritated than he could remember feeling in a very long time. “I’m surprised you could hear or smell anything with Sophia Cole hanging on your arm.”

Archer took a step backward, his mouth falling open in surprise. “We went in search of you, you dolt.”

Perhaps, but goading his brother suddenly made Gray feel so much better. “You seemed more chummy than that,” he taunted. “‘Besotted,’ I think, is the word I’m looking for.”

His brother’s face turned an enraged red. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Is it? Perhaps the gentleman doth protest too—”

Archer lunged for Gray, and both of them tumbled to the ground, pounding each other without restraint. One of Archer’s fists crashed into Gray’s nose and blood trickled down his face. They rolled a few feet across the garden path, knocking over topiaries and growling at each other like a pair of dogs fighting for dominance.

Gray was so intent on pummeling the life out of Archer that he barely heard a feminine scream or the sounds of several people gasping. He forgot completely where they even were until a large hand yanked him off the ground and he found himself staring into Dash’s furious amber eyes.

“Enough,” the alpha growled. He may as well have yelled “Heel!”

Gray felt like whimpering, but he lowered his head in shame instead. “I’m—” he began.

“Don’t say one word,” Dash ordered.

Archer rose to his feet, brushing dirt and leaves from his trousers and jacket. He glared at Gray but took a step backward when Dash turned his attention on Archer instead.

It was then that Gray realized half of the Assembly Room had poured out into the garden. How long had they been standing there? Cait pressed her way to the front of the group, and Gray dropped his gaze back to the ground to avoid the expression of disappointment he’d caught in her eyes.