Page 36 of The Rakehell's Seduction
“And you and I both know you aren’t that good a man. You went out of curiosity, and you fell in love. There’s no shame in admitting that.” Vaughn crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes serious.
Ambrose struggled for words, but with a heaviness he realized it was true. He was in love with Alex, had been since the night they waltzed. There was no joy, no excitement at the revelation. Rather, his heart had begun to bleed as he faced the truth of the situation.
“She will never love me, not when she knows the truth that I was there to seduce her.”
“Yes, unfortunately, that’s true. She knows you signed your name in the book.”
Ambrose felt like he couldn’t breathe. The world was closing in around him, and he was choking to death on the inside. “You told her, didn’t you?”
“I did.” Vaughn didn’t deny it, but he also didn’t appear to be gleeful at his admission. “I didn’t know you loved her, not until you stormed in here and threw that punch.”
“What the bloody hell are we going to do?” Ambrose raked a hand through his hair.
“You are going upstairs to see lovely Lady Alexandra. Come clean about everything and convince her to let Langley see the two of you in bed. Once he is gone, you may take her home. I’ll lend you my coach.”
Ambrose stared at his old friend. “I’m tempted to hit you again, you know.”
Vaughn shrugged, his lips twitching slightly, although still swollen from the first punch. “You can later, but we need to be prepared. Langley will be here soon. She’s in the first room at the top of the stairs. The key is in the lock.”
Ambrose, who had started for the stairs, froze and then glared at him.
“You locked her inside?”
“She’s a strong-willed woman. I didn’t want her running out into the street half-clothed. They might fear she’s mad. Better to be safe.”
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Chapter 14
Alex was sitting in a chair by the unlit fire, staring at nothing. She was aware of shivering, but the sensation seemed so distant, as though her mind and her body had separated ways long ago.
Ambrose had come to Lothbrook to seduce her. She was nothing more than a wager to him, a five-thousand-pound challenge. He’d won far too easily.
First Marshall and now this…
She curled her arms around her chest and lowered her head, closing her eyes as tears leaked down her cheeks. How was she going to survive this? It was as though she’d been ripped away from the safety of her heart’s inner fortress and thrown naked on a flat field, unable to protect herself from the world. There was no going back, no way to rebuild those inner walls. It was too late because she’d fallen in love with Ambrose and he’d used her heart against her.
She stiffened her spine and tried to figure out what she was going to do. Any moment now the man who’d started the wager would arrive, and she’d be forced to confront him. What should she do? Fight off Vaughn if he tried to touch her? He’d promised he wouldn’t, but what if he changed his mind or Langley demanded he touch her? Yes, she would fight if it came to that. She’d never been a wilting flower, and she was not about to let any man change that about her. Even though her heart was shattered, her pride and righteous fury were making her strong enough to survive. Langley would regret making that bet and so would Darlington for bringing her here.
The sound of a key turning in the lock attracted her focus, and she tensed. Was now the time for Darlington to ruin her? The door opened, her lips parted in shock, and her heart jumped in a treacherous wave of relief. Ambrose stood there, his face pale and his eyes haunted with shadows.
“Ambrose?”
He closed the door and rushed over to her, taking her into his arms and seating himself in the chair with her on his lap. His quick actions surprised her, and she wasn’t ready to push him away even though half of her was struggling inside with her rage and hurt. The other half of her was relieved to be safe in his arms. But she knew she wasn’t safe, would never be safe again from heartache when it came to this man.
“You are all right, thank God,” he murmured, his arms banding tightly around her.
It would be so easy to give in, to let her heart surrender again and seek shelter and comfort in his embrace. If only he’d never agreed to take the wager to ruin her, she could have stayed here in his arms, feeling the warmth of his breath against her cheek and breathing in his scent of leather and sandalwood. Her eyes prickled with tears as reality crashed down around her, and she shoved at his chest. He was too startled to stop her as she climbed off his lap and darted away. She shouldn’t have let him touch her or hold her. It was too painful, even so much that it eclipsed her anger at him.
“Alex, I’m here to help.”
She put precious distance between them, pulling her dressing gown closed like a shield.
“Please, don’t touch me—don’t come any closer,” she whispered.
He stared at her, his eyes worried, his brow furrowed, and she realized he didn’t know why she was angry with him.
“I know about your involvement in the wager.” She paused, and the room grew deathly silent, like a tomb that had not been disturbed for centuries. He stared at her as he slowly stood from the chair. Lines of weariness carved paths around his mouth and eyes, which she’d once considered evidence of his love of laughter. When he didn’t speak, she continued.
