floor. He was no longer his charming, congenial self. Instead, his eyes had gone flat, his shoulders bunched. An air of anger and resentment had clung to him like an overcoat.
When they reached the street, he gestured toward his brougham lingering at the curb. “Come along,” he said. “We’ll drop you wherever you’re headed.”
She didn’t argue. A ride to the train would be faster than walking. Also, she was curious as to what had caused the shift in his personality. Perhaps she could drag it out of him on the ride.
“Afternoon, miss.” Rye tipped his hat as they approached. “Where are you headed?”
“I suppose I’m done for the day. The elevated station will do.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Mulligan said as he handed her up. “We’ll take her uptown, Rye.”
“I couldn’t ask that.” She settled into the seat and watched as he smoothly folded his lanky frame into the tiny interior. “You must have other more pressing things to do than to take me all the way home.”
“Of course, but that is the best part of being me. I may do whatever I wish, whenever I wish.”
She chuckled. There was a bit of his old spark. He removed his derby and rapped on the side. The wheels began to turn, leading them away from the World Poolroom.
He was quiet, which only confirmed her suspicions that something was off. But she was distracted, as well. His large thigh pressed against her leg, their shoulders locked tight. Everywhere they touched now prickled, like ants were crawling over her skin. Why was there no air in this dashed carriage?
She dug for her fan and tried to cool herself. “Tell me why you were so uncomfortable up there.”
“What do you mean?”
“At first I thought you were worried about my safety or reputation. But the longer we stayed I realized it was something else.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“Hardly. I know you well enough by now to see a difference in your moods.”
He shifted, his body crowding hers in the most delicious way. “I hadn’t realized we were so intimate, mon ange.”
“And you’re attempting to deflect my question with flirtation.” Her heart thumped in her chest, the strings on her corset growing tighter by the second. She tried to breathe deeply, keep the blood flowing to her brain.
“Is it working?”
“No,” she lied and pushed at his chest with her palms. “Stay to your side, Mulligan.”
He sighed dramatically but allowed her to put distance between them. “It’s decidedly less fun on my side, though. Are you certain I cannot crawl onto yours?”
Goodness, he was alluring, always knowing just what to say to draw a smile out of her. But she would not be distracted. “Tell me. Please.”
“Haven’t I done enough for you today? Now I must bare my soul, as well? We haven’t even discussed my repayment.”
Oh, that. She’d nearly forgotten about their wager. They had been a formidable team this afternoon, investigating side by side to find Mr. von Briesen. It had been nice. For a brief moment, she’d almost believed he acted out of a sense of responsibility toward her. Perhaps even a touch of affection.
I am a man who deals in favors.
Idiot. How could she have believed his actions were anything other than a way to gain control over her? That was Mulligan’s modus operandi. He did nothing out of the kindness of his heart.
And that made her realize something else. “I didn’t really win that fifty dollars, did I?”
Surprise flashed across his features before he masked it. “Your horse came in first, didn’t it?”
His reaction confirmed it. Somehow Mulligan had rigged that race. “Was the scene outside the poolroom also your doing?” He’d arrived quite quickly, after all.
“Why would I do such a thing?”
“To gain another favor from me. You were so eager to suggest the wager.”
“Because it was impossible I’d lose. And I like having you in my debt.”
“Why?”
His expression turned positively predatory, like he was ready to devour her. She shivered under his hot blue stare, unable to look away. “Isn’t it obvious?” he said. “You’re a beautiful and charismatic woman. What man wouldn’t angle to have you at his mercy?”
The memory of his tongue on her skin caused goose bumps to travel all over her body. She felt off balance, like she’d been thrown into the deep part of the lake without learning how to swim first. There was no pamphlet or guidebook for what was happening. No map or report. Merely these huge, impossible feelings inside her, ones much too big for her flesh