Page 27 of The Lord's Icy Temptress
Tristan rolled his eyes at Michael’s nickname for Seraphina, trying to hide his true feelings. “You never let that go, do you?” he replied with a smirk, hoping to deflect the conversation away from Seraphina.
Michael chuckled. “Of course not. It is not every day I see my best friend so taken by a lady. You must admit, the pursuit of the unattainable has its charm,” he said, raising an eyebrow mischievously.
It was true. He had been charmed. She was all that he thought about. Tristan shrugged nonchalantly, though his thoughts were still fixed on Seraphina. “Perhaps. But it was all in good fun, you know. I never expected it to go anywhere.” Tristan sighed and took a long drink of his wine. The words were false on his tongue, and they both knew it. It did not matter what his intentions had been; he knew very well that feelings had developed, and strong ones at that.
Michael gave him a knowing look. He spoke in sing-song tones as he teased him. Michael’s finger pressed into his chest to further his point. “Is that so? I have a feeling you are not being entirely honest with yourself, Tristan. There is something about her that has captured your interest. I knew that you would never be able to resist the challenge.”
“You speak as if you knew how this would all end from the start.”
Michael winked. “Perhaps I did. Perhaps I know you better than you even know yourself at times.” He lowered his hand and finished off his drink. “Perhaps I knew your match before you could have even contemplated it. Now, we will all settle down as a quartet and venture into this new path of our lives together!”
“Is that right?”
“But of course!” Michael’s words might have been a touch slurred as he spoke, his lips still wet from wine, but his good humour never faltered. “All the pieces are falling directly into place as I have desired them to go! You have underestimated my mastermind abilities.”
“Says the man incapable of winning a game of chess,” Tristan answered.
Michael moved in close to where it was Tristan’s impulse to take a step back, but he did not have the space available. “Do not look now,” Michael whispered just a touch too loudly. “But it would appear that we have a shadow.”
Of course his impulse was to look, but he would know that pungent liquorice cologne anywhere. The man reeked of bad choices and cheap ale at all times. Miserable sod. He apparently did not know when to take ‘no’ for an answer. Tristan’s brows furrowed in annoyance, sensing the bitterness in Lord Blackwood’s demeanour as he eavesdropped on their conversation.
Michael tapped the side of his nose knowingly like he was using some secret signal to tell Tristan something, but he had not bothered to tell Tristan the cipher to whatever code he was using. Which left him floundering as his friend took the moment of silence to quickly excuse himself from Tristan’s company and started towards the two women that Tristan would much rather be speaking to.
It did not take long to figure out why.
The prick had abandoned him the moment he had seen the woman making her way over to him as if on a mission. His blood ran cold as a sense of foreboding came over him. What was she doing here? Evangeline ought to have slunk back to her country home in shame like she had the last time he had rejected her. Now, he was stuck between an eavesdropping fool and a viper on a mission to get him back for reasons he could not fathom.
“Hello lover,” Evangeline spoke too loudly. Had she no shame? That was hardly the sort of thing any proper lady would say out loud in such a public space!
“I told you not to call me that,” Tristan reprimanded her angrily.
Evangeline only smiled serenely. She stood too close to him as if attempting to box him into a conversation he did not wish. “Dance with me, lover.”
“Why would I do that?” Tristan reprimanded, looking around to ensure that no one would overhear their conversation. That was the last thing he needed. His courtship with Seraphina could be called into jeopardy if he did not get a hold of her.
Rumours would be poison to their budding romance. She would think that he had lied about his intentions and that the rakish rumours about him were all that he was. Gaining even the smallest bit of her trust had been difficult, and it meant the world to him. She was what mattered. Not Evangeline.
“Tell you what, I shall do as you ask, but only if you grant me a dance. Do you not think you owe me at least that much when I have come all this way just to see you?” Evangeline added sweetly, her voice like syrup.
“You have wasted your trip,” Tristan warned, but he knew that she was like a dog with a bone — she would not stop until she got what she wanted. It would be simplest to surrender to this simpler request before she became angry and started to either demand outlandish things or even worse, cause a scene.
The muscle in his jaw feathered. He could feel the strain from how tightly his teeth clenched as he stiffly offered his arm to appease her.
Evangeline’s pretty face turned positively radiant as she smiled. The force of her pleased laugh and excited, happy clapping drew the focus of those around them in a way that Tristan abhorred. How could he have ever found her appealing?
He could see now that her manipulations were so abundantly obvious, and her antics bordered on childishness. For far too long, she had skated by on her appealing looks and the fact that she could make people do what she wanted — it was part of the reason he had ended things with her in the first place.
He could only hope that Seraphina would not think anything of him dancing with her. He would go to her the moment he had removed the leech that was Evangeline and explain everything to her. Whatever end goal this parasitic woman was hoping to accomplish with her clinging, Tristan was going to make sure she did not get what she wanted. No matter what.
As they stepped onto the dance floor, Evangeline attempted to stand too close to him, the gesture overly intimate. Paired with the longing look on her face and her wide, doe eyes as she blinked up at him as if they were deeply in love … people were going to talk. Tristan tried his very best to avoid making eye contact with her as she placed her hand in his own. Even dancing with her made him feel dirty.
It was as if he could feel Seraphina’s eyes on him. He was nervous to look in her direction lest she take this casual and unwanted dance incorrectly. That was the very last thing he wanted. Evangeline’s hand moved to his shoulder as he took her other hand, and they fell into step. He ensured that he danced poorly, wishing her to take the hint that she seemed to want to refuse to do.
The song could not end quickly enough.
By the time he was brave enough to look in Seraphina’s direction, she was nowhere to be found. The song ended, and he turned in place, looking frantically for where she might have got off to. He caught only a glimpse of her as she hurried out of a side door without looking back.
Tristan’s feet automatically started to follow her, but Evangeline grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
