Page 58 of Heart of Iron
She forced a smile.“A crude habit I’m trying to break him of.Really…” She gave a brittle laugh.“Accusing me of such a thing.You know I prefer the finer things in life.Something…sophisticated.”
“Mmm.”His eyes narrowed.“I’m not entirely certain you’ve convinced me.”
With a sharp move, he grabbed her and spun her toward the rail, pressing her hard against it.Her slippers teetered against the ground, and she clutched at the rail with a scream.The cobbles below seemed miles away.
“Twenty-four people have gone over this rail,” he whispered in her ear.“With you sipping champagne all night, it would be terribly easy to convince everyone you’d slipped.”
Grabbing her by the bustle, he shoved her inexorably forward.He’d let go of the back of her head for the moment and with an instinct she didn’t know she possessed, she slammed her head back.
A deafening crack sounded in her ear and Colchester screamed.The pressure at her back was gone and she tumbled against the rail.So close.Too close… Colchester cupped his face, blood pouring between his fingers.He caught a glimpse of her and murder gleamed in his eyes.
Lena darted for the door.A slashing pain caught her across the upper arm and blood spattered across the glass.He’d drawn his blade, the little one he used for bloodletting.Avoiding his grasping hand, she yanked the door open and shoved into the room.
Cavendish staggered out of her way, surprise widening his eyes.Heads turned and Lena pasted a smile on her lips, her teeth clenched together.The room swam in her panic, gems and faces and dresses leeching into one another.Clapping a hand to her arm, she pushed through the whispering crowd.
He wouldn’t dare attack her here.Not with a broken nose.No blue blood would live down the indignity of being outmaneuvered by a simple human girl.
The heartbeat that threatened to choke her began to slow.All she had to do was find Leo or Will.Safe.She was safe now.
But she didn’t feel it.Blood dripped between her gloved fingers as she made her way through the crowd of blue bloods.They eyed her with far too much interest for her comfort.The music grated harshly on her nerves.
A gap opened up and suddenly she was staring at Will.His gaze flickered over her, then narrowed on her bleeding arm.The room might as well have gone quiet.No change to his expression, nothing to indicate his mood, but suddenly she realized just how dangerous he was.
Bright copper glowed in his eyes.The woman at his side asked him a question, gently stroking his sleeve.He pushed away from the table he’d been leaning against, ignoring her completely.Lena couldn’t make her feet move.All she could do was stare at him and silently will him not to make a scene.
Behind her she heard Cavendish’s voice, growing nearer as he looked for her.Will heard it too, his head shooting in that direction with a murderous gleam in his eyes.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
But it was too late.He turned toward Cavendish, his fists tightening.Striding carelessly into the path of a pair of dancers, he stopped the entire waltz.
If she didn’t do something he’d kill Cavendish.Then they’d have no choice but to execute him.Suddenly she could move again.Cutting him off halfway, she grabbed his sleeve.
“Stop,” she hissed.“Don’t you dare!”
No man looked out at her through those burning coppery eyes.She’d been so certain he’d never, ever hurt her, yet for a moment even she froze at the fury that looked back at her.The wild within.
“Will.”There was only one way to stop him in this mood, only one thing that could distract him.“Will, I’m bleeding.I need to go home, to have my arm seen to.I don’t feel very well.”She made her knees soften, her weight leaning into him.
He caught her, as she knew he would.Blade had once said that Will was the most dangerous man he’d ever met, but his protective instincts overrode his violent ones.A wolf to the core.
As he swept her up in his arms, Lena buried her face against his shoulder.This was it.The end of any chance she had with the Echelon.She might be able to walk its verge, but she would never be a part of it again.Whispers followed them as Will strode from the room.
One last glance over his shoulder as they passed through the doors.The gowns, the jewels, the fancy ladies in all their finery.Gone.Her chance at this was gone the instant she curled into his arms.And strangely enough a weight lifted from her shoulders.
Lena turned her face into his neck, breathing in the masculine scent of his skin.She didn’t know what she would do.There was nothing for her in the rookery, nothing for her in the Echelon.Her fingers curled against his collar.Only one thing that she had always wanted and he had not wanted her back.
Butdidyoufighthardenough?
She buried her face in his coat, too afraid to look at the answer to that question.She hadn’t fought, hadn’t told him how she felt.Too afraid to have her heart dashed to pieces, and so she’d never dared display it.
He would never know how much her games with him were all she would risk.
“Where?”he asked.
She glanced at the enormous circular staircase that spiraled through the heart of the Ivory Tower.A thousand steps, some said, though she’d never bothered to count them.
“The elevation chamber.I want some privacy.”
