Page 33 of Untaming Lady Violet
“Thank you for the collar.” Her tone rivaled the chill in the room. The bit of leather was placed on a marble-topped stand beside the door. “However, I stand by my decision that the wager is forgiven, so you don’t— “
Violet felt something soft brush against her ankles. It was gone in a flash, accompanied by the skitter of tiny nails seeking purchase upon hardwood floors.
“Oh!” Violet exclaimed as the kitten bolted between Tristan’s legs. “Don’t let him into the hall!”
Her momentum propelled her forward. Intent on following Carrot’s escape route, she dove between Tristan’s knees, then found herself trapped there. Now, her head was stuck in a very compromising position and her backside positioned even more so.
Tristan stumbled forward. Without thinking, he braced himself using both hands on Violet’s shoulder blades until their position resembled an odd childhood game of leapfrog.
“What the devil— “
“Don’t just stand there, Longleigh!” Violet swore. It seemed expedient she should scramble the rest of the way through the viscount’s widened stance rather than back out and start over.
Tristan grunted with exasperation, shoving himself away just as Violet squealed, “Help me catch him!”
She continued crawling on her hands and knees, finding it mildly satisfying when Tristan also dropped to the floor, reaching toward the animal with an extended hand.
Carrot was not impressed by their combined efforts at entrapment. Giving a ferocious hiss, he pressed forward in a renewed dash for freedom.
Tristan had him by the scruff of the neck before the kitten reached the shadowed underbelly of a carved walnut cabinet in the hallway.
“Aha! Caught you, you devil.”
Carrot snarled in a half-screech, half-growl, twisting wildly.
“Son of —!” Rising to his feet, Tristan held the kitten in one hand while tugging Violet up with the other. “Little bugger scratched me.”
“Let’s get him back inside my room.” Violet inhaled because Tristan’s hand, so hot and hard on the upper part of her arm, did dangerous things to her ability to breathe. “I’ll close the door so he cannot escape again.”
Tristan muttered something but followed her instructions.
The kitten scampered away the moment he was placed on the floor, and Violet turned her attention to the viscount.
“Let’s see the extent of the damage,” she said, taking his hand in hers and holding it so the morning light illuminated his fingers. The scratch to his forefinger’s cuticle was fairly deep. “Oh, you are bleeding.” The examination continued for a few moments longer, her fingers gliding over his, coasting gently across the wound.
His hand was so much larger than hers. So strong and calloused. The faintest aroma of linseed oil teased her nostrils, and Violet wondered if he had laid paint to canvas that very morning.
“It is nothing to be concerned over.”
Startled by the abruptness in his voice, Violet met Tristan’s dark gaze. “I just wish to—”
He pulled his hand away, retreating until his back hit the paneled wall beside the door.
“This seems to be a consistent occurrence. We find ourselves alone under various circumstances. And there’s little reluctance on your part to avoid said encounters.” His full lips quirked upward. “I think perhaps you enjoy my attention.”
“That’s preposterous,” Violet sputtered. “An inflated ego is a dangerous thing, my lord, and your theory is flawed.”
“If you say so.”
Violet’s eyes narrowed. “I only wanted to help you. You should leave now.”
Tristan’s eyes drifted over her form, touching on the spot where her robe gaped open. Acutely aware of the heated, longing in his gaze, Violet clutched the edges of the garment tighter until the material wrinkled in her grip.
The moment stretched out, tense and awkward, until he finally smiled.
“Of course,” he said. “No matter the innocence of the situation, it would mean ruin for us both if we are discovered.”
Discomfited by the husky note of his voice, which hinted at all things decidedly beyond innocence, Violet moved past him. Her fingers curved around the doorknob just as Tristan swept an arm around her waist. He hauled her back against him until their bodies were flush with each other.
