Page 49 of The Assassin and the Libertine
I scowled at him.
“She’s Artemis,mon cher,” Charlotte said, nudging him with her elbow. “See her bow and arrows?”
“Yes, of course,” Philippe said, though his mouth was twisted in confusion.
I sighed and sipped the champagne. I tried to avoid looking around the room nervously, but it was difficult considering the last several days had me in a tangle of raw nerves. Sleep had all but eluded me over the past week and I’d taken to prowling the moonlit halls of my château, gripping my pistol and a vial of holy water, waiting for Henri’s return. Add to that the simmering resentment I felt at Étienne’s abandonment, and it seemed thatit would be a long time yet until I could drift off in some sense of peace.
I had no idea if Étienne would be coming tonight, but I hoped not. I didn’t think I could restrain myself from issuing a very thorough dressing-down. I held onto the anger as best I could, mostly because it covered the hurt I couldn’t seem to overcome. Besides, if he was here, I’d end up thinking of his dreamy, golden eyes and his hard, muscled body, and I wouldn’t be able to properly focus on the task before Charlotte and I tonight.
If only I could focus now.
I’d thought of him ceaselessly since our night together and found myself squirming in bed, dreaming of his lips and hands on me. I reasoned that it was only natural, since the only physical love I’d ever known beyond my own explorations was with a man who couldn’t climax without the sight of blood. Of course I would feel some sentimental attachment to Étienne. I wasn’t made of stone.Regrettably, I thought.
“Might the humble Poseidon fill a slot on Aphrodite’s dance card?” A courtier in sea-green silk bowed before me. He stroked his trident pruriently and winked behind his mask. I looked around for Charlotte, but she had wandered off.
“Oh, well, I—” Panic had me stuttering and backing away from the unpleasant overture, until I came up against a solid wall of man. I shut my eyes. My body knew him immediately.
“I’m afraid the lady Artemis has a full dance card tonight, Monsieur.”
That voice—velvet across my skin. The smell of soap, cedar, and peppermint. Snow-covered pine trees. Cool, smooth skin and lean, hard muscle making me burn with desire.
Putain.
Poseidon prowled away, grumbling. I opened my eyes and spun around. For all the angry words I wished to lash against him, I was ill-prepared for the impact seeing him would haveupon me. He was clad in a suit of deep burgundy velvet and wore a leather mask topped with a small pair of black antlers. His sensuous lips curved up in the hint of a smile and his warm hazel gaze scorched me in its intensity.
“Étienne.” His name came out more breath than sound. Of its own volition, my body arched toward him, magnetically drawn to what it wanted most.
“Duchesse.” He took my hand and bowed over it, then turned it over and pressed a lingering kiss to my wrist. Lust blazed through me, wild and urgent. I stared—gaping like a ninny at his seductive beauty. Try as I might, I could not form the sharp retorts I’d been clinging to for the past days.
Étienne smirked. “Perhaps we should make our way to the dance floor? I’d hate to have Poseidon accuse me of lying. I believe that’s actually the Marquis de Balay beneath that hideous mask. I can’t believe he adorned his wig withrealseaweed. In an hour, this room is going to reek of low tide.”
Despite myself, I chuckled. Étienne’s hand found the small of my back, gently guiding me to the other dancing couples. I drew in a breath, fighting for calm—fighting to remember my anger and disappointment.
“I’m surprised you bothered,” I managed.
“Pardon?”
“What do you care if the Marquis de Balay asks me to dance? You made it abundantly clear you want nothing to do with me—aftereverything,” I sneered, hating the petulant tone of my voice and the undisguised hurt that bled through.
A look of pain flitted through his eyes but was gone quickly. He opened his mouth to reply, but the strains of anallemandebegan, and he grasped my hand to start the dance.
“Though I suppose you’re not here for me,” I goaded. “Probably just back to your regular hunting grounds now, eh? Isn’t that how it is for you, Étienne? Use one up, then move ontothe next—a little sex, a little blood, a little influence. The Order isn’t sending another agent after you because of my interference, so I suppose that’s all you needed from me, then.”
The dance swirled us away from each other for a moment, and when we came together, he was white lipped with anger. When we clasped hands again for a turn, his grip was rough.
“What do you want from me?” he hissed. “By your own admission, our alliance was only ever meant to be temporary.”
“That doesn’t mean I appreciate being cast aside like another one of your conquests! For a moment, I thought you were… I thought I was… I thoughtwewere—” I cut myself off, too afraid to say the words out loud.I thought you were different. I thought I was special. I thought we were…something.
Étienne paused, missing a step in the dance. He stared at me; his eyes unfathomable behind his demonic stag mask. Couples spun around us and I started to suffocate in the stifling room. I needed to get out and get some air.Breathe, Daphne.
Without another word to Étienne, I fled the room before the dance ended. I barreled through the other revelers, fighting my way to the doors that led out to the gardens. I was grateful for the sharp bite of late October chill. The bracing cold allowed me to regain the composure I seemed to misplace whenever Étienne was around. I stared out at the dark garden beyond, dotted with guttering torches. Had it only been five weeks since my encounter with him in the hedge maze? It felt like a lifetime ago.
“You never answered my question.”
The words at my ear made me jump. Once again, I marveled at his stealth. He came up to stand next to me, looking out into the inky blackness.
I blew out a breath and watched it condense in a cloud of frost before me.
