Page 24 of One Dangerous Desire
Lady Emily took the fabric and immediately grinned mischievously at each of them in turn. Devenham returned her grin, May shook her head as if to dissuade her friend, and Lady Caroline spoke up.
“I’ll take the blindfold, Em.” The earl’s sister cast Rex an inscrutable glance as she stepped toward Emily, who turned the slim blonde about and proceeded to tie the cloth around her head to cover her eyes.
“We should move,” May whispered.
Rex turned, thinking her words were for him. But, of course, they weren’t. She was facing Devenham. The man led her away to join the rest of the guests who’d spread out to form a haphazard circle around the edges of the room. Emily guided Caroline to the center of the carpet, and the young woman executed two full spins before stumbling forward, arms aloft.
When she veered toward her brother, he hopped back, just out of reach. Another gentleman edged forward, clearly eager to find himself in the lady’s grasp, but Caroline had already changed direction. She started toward a pair of sisters, who giggled and screeched before scattering, one to the right, the other to the left. Then Lady Caroline whirled on Rex, her arms pinwheeling out in front of her, until one hand gripped his lapel.
“I’ve got you,” Caroline crowed, and the other guests trilled with laughter.
Lady Stamford shushed them with a finger to her lips.
Rex sensed every gaze turned his way. He tensed, waiting, expecting the game to end. Apparently, it had just begun.
Caroline’s hands began to roam, stroking up his chest to rest on his shoulders.
“Broad shouldered,” she pronounced before leaning into him and reaching higher, skidding her fingers along his neck, up to the spot where his hair touched his collar. “Overlong hair.”
He’d never been touched by a woman so boldly in front of gasping onlookers. Never imagined May Sedgwick observing such a scene.
Rex sensed May to his right, smelled her rose scent and glimpsed her ruby gown out of the corner of his eye. Just as he turned his head to see if she looked as uncomfortable with the silly game as he was, Caroline gripped his face, curving cool fingers over his skin. She traced the line of his jaw until she reached his chin.
“Only one man in the room has this appealing cleft in his chin. Mr. Leighton?”
Before he could answer, Caroline whipped off the blindfold and offered him a dazzling smile. “I always intended to catch you.”
Party guests broke into applause, and Rex breathed a sigh of relief that the whole ordeal was over. Caroline Grisham was a lovely woman, but if she ever touched him again, he would much prefer it occur in private.
“Your turn.” She pressed the strip of cloth into his palm and winked before retreating a polite distance.
Looking around at the sea of unfamiliar faces, Rex’s gaze locked on May’s. She pressed her lips together as if resisting the urge to speak. Perhaps she was suppressing laughter. Heaven knew he felt like a fool.
He glanced down at the fabric crushed in his fist.
“Come, Leighton, one more round,” Devenham called out, an undercurrent of challenge in his tone. Rex preferred the notion of striding across the room and wrapping the blinder around the man’s scrawny neck.
Instead, he lifted the white cloth to his eyes and cinched a knot at the back of his head. He closed his eyes behind the fabric and clenched his fists. He hated being blind in a room full of strangers. Darkness left him vulnerable, exposed to their gaze as they assessed and judged him. Most were probably still wary of allowing him into their midst at all.
“You must turn around twice before the game begins.” May spoke quietly just over his right shoulder. There was a softness in her tone that made his throat ache. She sounded as if she knew how out of depth he was and wished to give him aid.
He longed to reach for her and end the pointless charade. But he’d come willingly to this damned party and had to play the game. He turned as Caroline had, with no notion of which direction he faced after the second revolution.
Darkness had been his ally in his thieving days. He could use it now too. Without his eyes to guide him, he focused on other senses. Over the sound of rustling clothes and breath caught in feminine throats, he heard the tinkling of jet beads. Through the stew of floral perfumes and spicy colognes, he smelled rosewater.
Even as the practical voice in his head reminded him why he’d come to the party, his body pivoted toward what he wanted. He should be seeking the tall figure of Lady Emily or the overeager Lady Caroline, but May’s familiar scent drew him like a beacon. After a few uncertain steps, he heard her telltale gasp. He’d caused that delicious little sound before, when pulling her close for a kiss.
Lifting a hand, his fingers tangled with her clinking beads, swept against the velvety softness of her gown, then up the smooth flesh of her arm. Gooseflesh pebbled under his palm, and he bit back a groan. Touching her, affecting her, lit an ember of warmth in his chest that eased the misery of being blind in a room full of gawking aristocrats.
“Miss Sedgwick, your beaded gown gives you away.” He tugged off the cloth and blinked against the brightness of Lady Stamford’s gaslights. They were nothing to the glow in May’s eyes. Pure ire poured from her gaze, fiery and sparking with heat. He was surprised he didn’t feel singed.
“Give me the blindfold,” she grumbled between clenched teeth.
He hesitated, and she shot a hand out to grip the end of the fabric. She tugged, but he couldn’t make himself let go. It was far too pleasurable to be so close to her, even when she glared at him.
“You’re causing a scene.” She narrowed her eyes and tugged harder.
“Is it worse than ladies and gentlemen groping each other while others watch?”
