Page 7 of Seducing the Knave

A more disparate family couldn’t be found.

In the beginning, Max had thought it a lark to dress the part of a wealthy lord’s bastard, polish his speech a bit, and attend some of the family gatherings with an eye always open to any opportunities that might arise which he could exploit to his benefit.

But in the last six years, he’d developed a loyalty to his siblings that wasn’t unlike that which he held for his first family. And that meant he’d do whatever necessary to protect them, even if it was from himself and the life he’d created in St. Giles. None of them would ever understand the things he had to do on a daily basis to survive the world he’d been born into. And he wouldn’t want them to. Just as he could never allow his adversaries—or his allies—to know anything of his connections beyond the rookery.

The two worlds had to remain separate.

And right now, the troubles brewing back home in St. Giles commanded his attention. But he hadn’t gotten to where he was now by ignoring unexpected opportunities. Quite the opposite. He’d discovered a knack in himself early on for being able to see the potential for gold when others saw tarnished brass. So, when priceless jewels in antique filigree were literally tossed at him, it seemed a sure sign of good things to come.

Even if they were in the form of a pampered female on the run from who in hell knows what.

As though sensing the direction of his thoughts, the woman across from him leaned closer to the window, angling her gaze as though trying to see the road behind them.

“No one’s following,” he assured. “Not yet.”

Her spine visibly stiffened. “But they will,” she noted quietly. Confidently.

There was no fear in her voice. It was more like impatience with a healthy dose of that desperation she’d displayed earlier. Along with something else...

“Who are they?”

The hood of her cloak slid back a bit. Just enough for him to glimpse a pert little chin.

“Nobody.”

Defiance. That’s what he heard in her tone.

Max had always appreciated a good rebellious streak.

“And who’re ye?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Nobody.”

His laugh was genuine as he adjusted himself to sit more comfortably on the lush seat, resting his ankle atop the opposite knee as he spread his arms across the top edge of the backrest.

“A nobody in silk and velvet who tosses rubies at strangers.” He gave a dismissive gesture with his hands. “If that’s how ye wanna play it, princess, fine by me.”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped.

He peered into the shadow of her hood. “Then give me something else to call ye.”

A stubborn silence followed his words. And though he couldn’t look into her eyes, he knew she was staring intently back at him. He felt it. In tiny pinpricks of sensation across his skin and a tingling breath on his nape. She was assessing him, just as he’d assessed her.

She’d done it earlier at the inn and he’d experienced the same acute reaction. A tickling awareness along his nerves. A sharp icy point of forewarning in the centers of his palms.

Such warning signs often indicated inevitable danger. In his youth, he’d rebelliously ignored the intuitive signals and more than not had ended up in some life-threatening peril. But he couldn’t afford to allow such warnings to hinder him. Danger and risk were inherent to his life. If he allowed himself to be scared off so easily, he’d never have gotten to where he is now.

So, he’d learned to use the flashes of intuition to his benefit. And if he managed to manipulate the situation properly, he always ended up with a reward that was more than worthy of the risk.

That the woman seated across from him had managed to detect that about him in her first glance was...unfortunate, since it weakened his advantage. But not by much and sure as hell not enough to deter him from a profitable purse.

Not much was.

As the silence lengthened and their mutual staring continued, he was surprised to find himself wondering what she might be seeing as she gazed silently through the darkness.

#

SHE’D SPENT BARELY fifteen minutes in this man’s company and she already absolutely abhorred that smirk of his.

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