Angel in Scarlet: A Bound and Determined Novel by Lavinia Kent

that she had no desire to continue this game. It was not suitable for a young lady of her position. He did not want to be responsible for the ruin of anyone, and certainly not of a woman he had once, if mistakenly, thought he felt strong emotion for.
    No. He needed to be sure she fled this place, never to return, and that she never played these games again—not with anyone.
    It was the decision he had reached soon after he told her to meet him here. Somehow he had to push her so far that she could not continue. She had said she would do anything, and he would see if she meant it.
    She took a step closer. He could smell her perfume: roses and spice. When he had been courting her, she had always smelled of lily of the valley. Somehow the scent demonstrated a change far greater than he wanted to think about. He had to succeed. He had to send her running back to her parents and the safety of society.
    “What would you like me to do?” Her voice whispered about him. Her gaze had dropped to his mouth.
    The arousal he’d been fighting sprang into action. The problem was that he could think of more than a few things that he’d like her to do—and not a single one of them was decent. His hand itched with the urge to touch, to stroke her pale flesh, to teach her exactly what it was he’d really like.
    No.
    Although that would surely send her running back to safety.
    No.
    He only indulged himself with willing, knowledgeable partners, and while she might pretend to willingness, she couldn’t understand what it was he wished of her. He could not believe that Ruby had truly told her everything. Well, Granderson would be a test of that.
    “Are you going to speak, my lord? I cannot do what you wish if you do not tell me. Tell me what you want. What should I do?” Another half step forward. If she took a deep breath, the tips of her breasts would brush his chest.
    It was all he could do not to step forward himself, not to bring them into contact.
    There was something so different about her from the quiet woman he had come to know in the end, something so like the fiery girl who had drawn his attention. But was it real or an act? Could one person change so much?
    “What I want is for you to be quiet. I will tell you when we are ready to proceed.” His own frustration made him brusque.
    She blinked at his harsh tone. “I don’t understand.”
    “I don’t need you to understand. I need you to do as I say. That is what you said you were here for, is it not?”
    “But…”
    He turned from her and walked to take a seat before the empty hearth.
    He heard her move to take the seat across from him. No words passed her lips.
    Where was Granderson? He had hoped the man would be here before her. It would have been good to have the time to reassure himself that Granderson fully understood the game that they played. And if the two of them had greeted her together, she might have turned on her heels before she even came through the door. Even Ruby had made it clear she found his plans unacceptable; how much more so would Miss Ripon?
    Her toe began to tap. His sweet lamb was not the patient type. He stared into the fire and did not look at her.
    The pace of the tapping increased.
    It was difficult not to show his own impatience.
    A rap at the door.
    He glanced over in time to watch her head turn.
    The door opened and Granderson entered, his polished black boots sounding a tattoo of their own. “Forgive my tardiness. I am glad to see you waited.”
    Her mouth dropped slightly, and he could see the thoughts racing behind her eyes.
    “Don’t worry. We would never start without you,” he replied.
    —
    What was going on? Angela could only stare at the strange man. He was blond and tall, although a few inches shorter than Colton and slightly broader. A smattering of gray marked the sides of his head. She half-recognized him, had probably been introduced at some point, but she could not truly place him. And what was he doing here? What if he