Page 24 of From Duke Till Dawn
She sucked in a sharp breath. “I could say the night is black and you wouldn’t believe me,” she shot back. “So why should I tell you anything now?”
Why wasn’t she begging for his forgiveness? Her feral strength shocked him—and came as no surprise at all.
“Give me the truth,” he snarled.
“This city is full of thousands of women scrambling to keep alive. Survival by any means—that’s how we live. If that means picking a wealthy gent’s pocket, we’ll gladly do it.”
“You get a man to take off his clothes before picking his pocket, is that the way of it?”
Something bright and feverish smoldered in her eyes. “I only take what I’m given freely.” She firmed her jaw. “I am no thief. I might’ve been, when I was small, but Martin showed me there was another way. A better way. Where I was warm and fed and didn’t fear the noose.”
It was impossible to tear his gaze from her now. “Who are you, really?”
“Why should I tell you?”
He pointed toward the door and the gaming hell beyond it. “Because if you don’t, I’ll go out there and bellow that this place is marking cards and using weighted dice.”
A long pause followed his threat. Then, “Cassandra Blake.”
“There was no Mr. Blair.”
“I’ve never been married,” she admitted.
His head spun. He remembered so clearly the feel of her in bed, the honey-sweet sighs that feathered against his skin, the warm, delicious yield of her body. The press of her lips against his. And the words, so many words. Avowals of those who had wronged her, of her own respectability, herhonor.
Her dignity, her integrity, that beautiful, proud tilt of her chin—they were untrue, as false as the connection they’d shared. She’d looked at him and spoken to him with such candor, but that, too, was part of her trickery.
And the caring in her eyes, the gentleness of her touch, her understanding and compassion... that had been an illusion. One he’d fervently wanted to believe.
None of it was true. Everything he’d felt for her had been built upon lies. He thought he’d vomit.
“Goddamn you,” he rasped. He realized then that he still held her wrist. She felt fragile in his grip, but that was false, too. Nothing could break her. He let go, shoving her away.
She looked resigned. “I’ve seen the worst of the world. Been called every name, too. Your curses mean nothing.”
He took a step toward her. She backed up, putting protective distance between them. “Youswindledme. And God knows how many others.” Now he truly felt ill, thinking of himself as just one in an endless stream of gullible men beguiled by her. Who’d been entranced by her beauty, and lured into bed for her own gain. “You deceived forprofit.”
“To survive,” she said.
She was so lovely, so wicked and beautiful. His chest ached as he looked at her. But her beauty was just a lure. He’d thought her the loveliest thing he’d ever beheld, but that loveliness was an illusion. It was like drinking from a crystalline, pure lake, only to discover it full of poison.
He’d never felt himself a bigger fool, and he hated that she had made him feel that way. He’d been nothing to her but a means to gain five hundred pounds. That was the price of his heart. Five hundred goddamn pounds.
Alex had reached for love, thinking he’d finally found someone who truly cared for him. Yet that had been a Trojan horse of deceit. Now the enemy had swarmed in, laying waste.
If he survived this devastation, he would build a fortification around his damaged heart and never let anyone past its barrier.
“Was nothing between us real?” he snarled.
She did not answer, her gaze flitting to the side.
“I really should call the constabulary,” he said coldly, brutally. He wanted her afraid.
Her gaze flew back to him. “And have me arrested on what charge? You gave me money of your own volition. That’s no crime.”
He felt his cheeks burn as his blood turned to acid. “I am aduke. I can do whatever I damned well please.”
She went very still, like a cornered doe.
