Page 28 of Ruthless with a Rogue
Beautifully adorned people.Scantily clad people.Gone were the muted hues of London’s ballrooms; in their place, daring color and risqué fashions.Some women masked, some not.Even some men wore masks.A woman and gentleman walked past, the woman wearing an ebony silk mask.Heat hit Livy’s cheeks.The woman only wore a sheer slip of fabric—with nothing underneath.The two slipped through a door, the man’s hands already roving over the woman before the door even swung shut.Livy’s wide-eyed gaze found Lord Dunmore’s, and his wolfish grin was fully in place.
“Was she…?A…”—Livy leaned forward and lifted her brows meaningfully—“You know.”
Lord Dunmore’s grin grew wider, and he blinked innocently.“A what?”
Her expression went flat, and she glared at him.“You know what I’m referring to.”
He chuckled.“No, she’s not aprostitute.Just a woman who wants to have a good time.”
Livy eyed him, and the monstrous bed in his private chambers flitted through her mind.She wondered how often Lord Dunmore had agood timewith women here.She shook her head.No matter, that was no concern of hers.
“Shall we secure refreshments and settle at a card table?”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this.But that sounds like a lovely idea.”Livy headed in the direction of a card table that had a few empty seats.She looked back over her shoulder, her lips curving into a smirk.“Fetch me a whisky, will you?”
Lord Dunmore’s eyes widened, his mouth falling open slightly.She turned around to hide her chuckle and hurried to the table.She hadn’t known what to expect tonight, but thus far she was extremely happy with her decision to come.
Livy couldn’t stop smiling.And she couldn’t stop winning.There was a large pile of coins in front of her.In front of Lord Dunmore too.Lord Dunmore hadn’t seemed at all surprised by her success, and they’d quickly fallen into a competition of who could winthe most.Lord Dunmore’s pile was slightly larger.Livy peered discreetly at him from the corner of her eye.But she was gaining on him.
The dealer turned to her, her turn to hit or stay.She worried her lip and glanced down at her cards.A pair of tens.Her attention fell on Lord Dunmore’s cards.A four and a five.Livy didn’t know if it was the whisky, the heady excitement that was palpable in the gaming room, or if she was becoming addicted to taking risks, but she did something that anyone who knew the rules of Ving-et-Un would never do.
“Split them.”
The dealer’s eyes widened, and he glanced at Lord Dunmore.Like the man spoke for Livy.Livy’s brows snapped together.“I said, split them.”
She glanced at Lord Dunmore.His lips were tilted up in a soft half-smile, and he was shaking his head.He leaned over until his lips brushed her ear.“I know what you’re doing.Perhaps little mouse wasn’t right for you after all.Minx is much more fitting.”
Her heart stuttered, but she covered it up with a saccharine smile.“What exactly am I doing, my lord?”She fluttered her lashes innocently at him.
Those eyes were knowing as they caressed her features.“Stealing my face cards.Clever girl.”
She bit her lip, tried to keep her expression impassive, and tried to ignore the strange heat flooding her.He’d caught her.But she knew the deck was running rich with high cards.And while everyone at the table technically played against the dealer, who had an Ace showing, Livy had been secretly playing against Lord Dunmore as well.As in…she’d been tracking the deck, how many high and low cards had been dealt, and occasionally hitting or staying when it wasn’t recommended, just to try to steal a winning card from the man beside her.Apparently, he’d been keeping his own tally of the table.
A King was dealt on one of her tens, and her smile broke free.One more.Her knee bounced under the table as the dealer dealt the next card.She leaned forward…
An Ace!
She squealed and met Lord Dunmore’s gaze.His eyes, as green as the baize, glittered back at her.Amusement was a good look for him.
“And you, my lord?”the dealer asked of Lord Dunmore.
He swept his hand over his count of nine.“Hit me.”
Livy leaned forward at the same time Lord Dunmore did, and their shoulders met.Their heads tilted toward each other as they impatiently awaited the card.The dealer slid the card off the deck slowly, then paused.Dunmore grunted, and Livy wasn’t far from letting out her own growl of frustration.The dealer seemed to be having as much fun with this as they were.The man finally flipped the card over.A six.
A sound of glee erupted from Livy, and she clapped rapidly, bouncing in her seat.
Lord Dunmore let out an exaggerated sigh.He was sitting at fifteen.He had to hit again.
“Hit,” he said defeatedly.Like he knew, just as Livy did, how likely it was he was going to get a high card and bust.
The dealer slapped down a Jack.“Bust.”
Lord Dunmore flipped back a roguish wave with a flick of his head, his gaze sweeping over her.“Minx,” he mouthed.
Livy winked, and he barked out a laugh.
She swallowed hard.Maybe amusement wasn’t a good look for him.It was too dangerous.
