muscled frame. Broad shoulders, lean waist, corded thighs—Alexa was acutely aware of his overpowering masculinity. The scent of brandy and bay rum filled her lungs, and the rasp of his stubbled jaw was like a lick of fire against her cheek.
She knew that she should push him away. Bite, scratch, scream for help.
And yet. And yet…
And yet, as his hands moved boldly over her bodice and cupped her breasts, she could not resist threading her fingers through his silky gray-threaded hair. Like the rest of him, the sensation was sinfully sensuous.
A moment later—or was it far, far longer?—the Wolfhound finally ceased his shameless embrace and leaned back.
“A man could do far worse on the marriage mart than to choose you,” he said softly. “For at least he will likely not be bored in bed. Indeed, I might even be tempted to swive you myself, if innocence was at all to my taste.”
The crude comment finally roused Alexa from the seductive spell that had held her in thrall. Gasping through kiss-swollen lips, she jerked free of his hold and all of her wordless, nameless, girlish longings took force in a lashing slap. It connected with a resounding crack.
His head snapped back, the angry red imprint of her palm quickly darkening his cheek.
“That was for such an unspeakably rude insult.” She raised her hand again. “And this, you arrogant hellhound, is for—”
He caught her wrist. “Is for what? The fact that for the first—and likely only—time in your life, you have tasted a bit of real passion?”
She went very still. “Do you really take pleasure in causing pain?”
The Wolfhound allowed her hand to fall away, and then turned from the light, his austere profile unreadable in the flicker of the oil lamps. “Most people think so,” he said evenly as he moved noiselessly to the sideboard.
“I—I don’t understand,” she began.
“Don’t bother trying,” he snapped. “All that should matter to you is the fact that I am a man of my word. You paid your forfeit, so in answer to your other question, your brother is not at present in The Wolf’s Lair. And if he were, it would not be for the usual reasons that gentlemen come here.” Glass clinked against glass. “Like you, he is seeking information and I’ve heard word that he thinks I may be able to help him. Should he come by tonight, I will inform him of your quest, and how desperate you are to find him.”
Alexa turned for the door, yet hesitated, awkward, unsure.
Taking up one of the bottles, the Wolfhound poured himself some brandy and tossed it back in one gulp. “Now get out of here, before one of my patrons recognizes you. Trust me, the tabbies of this Town are quick to pounce on any transgression. And their claws are far sharper than mine.”
“Th-thank you,” she said, hoping to show that her pride, if not her dignity, was still intact. “For showing a shred of decency in honoring our bargain.”
“Don’t wager on it happening again.”
Alexa stiffened her spine. “I am not afraid to take a gamble when the stakes are high.” She could not resist a parting shot. “And I’ll have you know, I am very good at cards.”
“Here at Wolf’s Lair, we play a far different game than drawing room whist. You have tempted the odds once—I would advise you not to do it again.”
“How very kind of you to offer more counsel.”
The Wolfhound’s laugh was a brandy-roughened growl. “You mistake my sentiments, Lady Alexa. I am not being kind. I am simply trying to stack the deck in my favor. If I am lucky, the cards will fall in a way to ensure that our paths never cross again.”
THE DISH
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Jane Graves
Dear Reader,
Have you ever visited one website, seen an interesting link to another website, and clicked it? Probably. But have you ever done that about fifty times and ended up in a place you never intended to? As a writer, I’m already on a “what if” journey inside my own head, so web hopping is just one more flight of fancy that’s so easy to get caught up in.
For instance, while researching a scene for BLACK TIES AND LULLABIES that takes place in a childbirth class, I saw a link for “hypnosis during birth.” Of course I had to click that, right? From there I ended up on a site where people post their birth stories. And then…