Page 4 of The No Good Irresistible Viscount Tipton
She wore no jewelry except for the gold link bracelets attached to her upper arms, worn just below her short puckered sleeves. The need to touch her made him reach out for an area that would least likely get him slapped for it. His knuckle caressed one of the gold bracelets on her arm. Who did it hurt if he slipped lower and stroked the small area of skin just above her elbow? It was just as he imagined. Her skin was softer than silk. She shuddered, and the temptation to do more than touch made him pull back.
“I know I’m not a gentleman, but what about you, Miss Bedegrayne? Breaking into a man’s town house doesn’t quite make you a lady, does it? Shall we test this speculation?” Rayne leaned toward her lips. Perhaps the pleasure was worth a slap.
“I won’t let you do it.”
He was close enough to feel her breath on his lips. “Do what?” Knowing full well what she meant.
“I will not allow you to insult me.”
She was not pouting anymore. In fact, she looked mad enough to sink her teeth into his lower lip and draw blood. Self-preservation made him straighten to full indignant height. “Kissing me is an insult?”
She waved away the question, ignorant of how enraged he was. “You were not planning to kiss me.”
“Wasn’t I?” he asked, with enough menace to have her stepping back.
“I should have anticipated it sooner. You are a true strategist, my lord.” Anger bringing her courage to the fore, she stepped up and poked him in the chest. “You block all my posts.” Poke. “Ignore society so I cannot seek you out in a more acceptable manner.” Poke. Poke. “You refuse all my calls, and when I finally confront you, you try to intimidate me by treating me like a courtesan!” She blew the errant curl out of her face. “By all rights, I should slap you so hard your teeth rattle and have both my brothers call you out. But you are Le Cadavre Raffiné, and no other man will do!”
***
“That little girl might be small, but that mouth of hers puts most hawkers to shame.”
Rayne grunted in agreement to Speck’s observation. Miss Bedegrayne and her harried servants had departed an hour ago, leaving the house disturbingly silent. He turned the tankard of ale in his hands, studying the dark brew as if it could divine answers to the more troubling questions of his life.
“An’ what’s this gargoyle nonsense she was muttering about? I never thought that man of hers was ever going to pry her fingers from the door frame.”
“I think you were her gargoyle, Speck. You know… stocky, ugly, vicious guardian of the door. You struck terror into their hearts.”
Speck smiled, showing his very pointed teeth. “You think? I kinda like that. Gargoyle, huh?”
Rayne swallowed his ale, trying to forget the look of despair he saw in Miss Bedegrayne’s eyes when Speck rushed into the room with her two servants practically hanging on to his coat. The moment had erupted into complete chaos with everyone yelling at Rayne at once. Deciding he had endured enough torment for one evening, he had ordered Speck to remove his uninvited guests from his home.
My lord, please allow me to tell you why I’ve come. Once you know my reasons, you will understand the urgency—
He never gave her a chance to explain. It appalled him all the more that he had felt the rising need to justify his reasons. She represented everything he had turned his back on fifteen years ago: the money, breeding, and hypocrisy of the class.
He had thought he had cut that part of himself out like some malignant growth. Although lately— He scowled. Just because you cannot see the seeds of disease did not mean the body was not fertile to grow them. It was as if all that absurd, feminine, outrageous poking had planted a restlessness deep within his chest.
It was strangling his resolve.
This would not do. He had been right to send the pretty Miss Bedegrayne on her way. He did not need to get involved in one of her absurd schemes. What did someone of her age and position know of hardship and dire consequences?
Nothing; he was certain of it.
He swallowed some more ale. Miss Bedegrayne would bother him no more; her parting glare said as much. Rayne reminded himself that he was glad he had seen the last of her. Partly because the lust simmering in his gut would wane, but also because he feared the next time they met he might be tempted to help her.
