How to Steal a Thief's Heart - Bree Wolf Page 0,86

arm she’d seen him with in Hyde Park a little over a sennight ago.

Mumbling an excuse, Caroline fled inside, her heart hammering wildly and tears brimming in her eyes. Fortunately, she did not encounter anyone as hurried steps carried her onward, her heart desperate for a moment of reprieve. Of course, she’d known that he would attend this festivity; after all, he was Lord Pembroke’s friend. However, she had not been prepared to see him with another woman.

With the same woman as before.

Clearly, the dark-haired beauty meant something to him. Why else would he have invited her here today?

For what seemed like a small eternity, Caroline hid in the library, teetering between despair and heavy sobs rising in her chest and anger toward Pierce, toward herself, for hiding when she ought to stand tall and meet his gaze with unfailing strength. Only when her emotions were firmly back under control did she dare step outside into the hall before walking back toward the gardens from whence happy voices echoed to her ears.

Oh, if only she could go home!

As she crossed the entrance hall and moved past the staircase landing, though, her luck gave out.

With his shoulders drawn back and his features tense, Pierce walked into the hall. His dark gaze swept over the now deserted entrance before moving farther inward. When it reached the staircase landing and fell on her, his feet stilled and his jaw tensed further as his gaze locked on hers.

Caroline couldn’t breathe.

His chest moved as he drew in a long breath, his gaze not veering from hers. Then he moved, approaching with measured steps, each one a threat to her composure, to her heart, and the look in his eyes told her that he would not let her slip away.

Caroline reached out a trembling hand and grasped the banister, hoping its sturdy feel would somehow chase away the flutter in her stomach. She swallowed and raised her chin, regarding him with the same cold detachment she’d drawn upon during the earlier days of their acquaintance.

Before he had stolen her heart…

…and not offered his in return.

Pierce stopped only a few steps in front of her, his dark gaze firmly fixed on hers. “I’ve been looking for you,” he said, his jaw still tight and his voice sounding hoarse as though the words pained him.

Caroline cleared her throat, praying her voice would not waver. “I have a bit of a headache so I—”

“You’re lying!” he snapped, his lips thinning as he took a step closer, the look on his face daring her to do so again.

Caroline tensed, and her shoulders instantly drew back as anger began to pulse in her veins. Who was he to talk to her like this? “Think what you will,” she retorted with equal frankness. “It is none of my concern.”

As she made to walk past him, he stepped into her path, then lowered his head to hers. “What were you doing with him?” he snarled quietly. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he pressed his lips together, fighting for control.

Caroline frowned. “Him?” She knew well who he meant. However, she needed a moment to sort through the clutter in her head, not to mention the raging emotions in her heart. She took a step back and pushed her spectacles higher onto her nose, hoping that a distorted image of him would break the spell his presence always cast over her.

Oddly enough, a smile stole onto his face. Before she knew what was happening, he reached out and snatched the spectacles from her nose. “Will you forever wear a mask?” he asked, that teasing smirk she’d come to love curling up the corners of his mouth. “Will you never be you?”

Caroline swallowed, terrified of the sudden urge to smile with him. How could she when he had all but moved on? When all he was doing was simply a game to torment her? “That is none of your concern,” she snapped, stepping forward to retrieve her spectacles. Her hand, however, grasped nothing but air when he swiftly moved them out of her reach.

A low chuckle rumbled in his throat as he looked down at her. “You don’t need them,” he told her and his gaze sobered. “You don’t need to hide. You’re strong, and others will see it, too.”

Scoffing, Caroline shook her head. “You know nothing of what you speak.” Again, she lunged forward to retrieve her spectacles, pushing herself up onto the tips of her toes, when he suddenly took a step