Page 14 of His Scandalous Viscountess
“Mr. Lucifer, if you please.” She plucked his hand from her person and stepped back. “I made it very clear I have no amorous intentions with regards to you.”
He frowned. “With regard to me? That suggests that there is someone youdohave such intentions with.”
Her cheeks heated, and she turned slightly away from him. “That is none of your concern. If you will excuse me, I believe I have a bit more gambling to do before I depart.”
He reached out and grazed her arm with his fingertips, halting her exodus. “Please forgive my persistence. I did not achieve all that you see before you by accepting no for an answer. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Julia smiled. “You are forgiven. But do not think I shall change my mind based on pressure. I have learned the very valuable lesson that giving in to someone else’s wishes, when counter to your own, is a path fraught with unhappiness.”
With an incline of her head, she sauntered off.
She crossed to the other room, which appeared to be dominated by card tables, and found a rousing game of high stakesVingt-Et-Un. Sitting down, she proceeded to gamble away the remainder of the money she had brought with her for the evening. Still sipping her one drink, she followed the game closely, ensuring she did her best to lose whenever possible, without hurting the table more than was required.
The evening progressed while her funds dwindled and the crowd grew, until she became aware of a particularly disturbing sensation. It was as though someone was boring a hole into the back of her head. Finally unnerved enough to turn and look, her gaze locked with a very angry pair of sapphire blue eyes. Her breath caught as Wolf wedged his way through the crowd and took up a position near her elbow.
What the devil is he doing here?
As the last card fell and she lost all she had left, she stood and excused herself from the table.
Wolf was on her heels, and then he took her arm in a solicitous fashion, with the exception of his firm grip and angry stare. “How much do you owe Lucifer? Do you have any idea what the man is like?”
Wolf was all but frog-marching her toward the door of Lucifer’s, when the man himself reappeared.
“Please excuse me, but it appears you are escorting an unwilling woman from my establishment. And I’m afraid I cannot allow such activity.”
Again, that predatory smile appeared.
“Stay out of this, Lucifer,” Wolf snarled as his eyes darted about the room, as though assessing who else might attempt to stop their progress.
Julia was still reeling from Wolf’s suggestion that she had borrowed money to lose. She wanted to smack herself in the forehead for not having realized she could have made the situation much, much worse by doing so. But then she decided to see how much Lucifer might wish to have his establishment linked to her infamy. Pulling out her most winsome smile, she hiccupped and leaned toward the dangerous man. “Do not worry, Mr. Lucifer. I shall pay the blunt I owe you. All thirty thousand pounds of it.”
She hiccupped again and winked at him.
“You will, I have no doubt. Because the punishment for non-payment would be a tragic result for a woman of your beauty.”
He remained stone-faced as the three of them stood there, and she thanked heaven the man was wily enough to play along with her ruse.
Wolf actually snarled after that exchange, and then dragged her to the exit. Linc stood there already, holding her cloak. With a drunken giggle and a finger wave, she allowed the blond man to help her before they all departed.
Outside, Wolf’s carriage stood waiting for them to climb in. As the three of them settled, Julia bit her lip and wondered if she had overplayed her hand. Wolf seemed even more angry than he originally was, but he was causing such a scene, it was an opportunity she could not pass up.
The silence stretched as her worry grew, until she felt compelled to speak. “Wolf, I—”
“Not a word, Julia. Not a single, solitary word.” His growl usually proved worse than his bite, but for the first time, she wasn’t so sure.
Chapter 6
Wolf sat next to Jules, and it was all he could do to restrain himself from turning her over his knee. She had always been high-spirited, game for whatever adventure he had imagined when they were children. But he would have expected that she’d outgrown such impulsiveness—though, apparently not.
Thank goodness Ros had sent him a note, alerting him to Jules’ plans for the evening. He’d been determined to stay away from her, but upon reading that she would be gambling heavily at Lucifer’s, he’d nearly tossed up the very fine meal he’d been sharing with Linc. After hearing what the note contained, his friend had insisted on accompanying him to the notorious gambling den to fetch Jules.
Now Linc sat across from them, quietly peering out of the carriage windows. But Wolf realized he needed to sort out this issue with Jules in private. “Linc, where can we drop you?”
“White’s will do, as long as you assure me you have no plans to throttle our fair Julia.”
Linc grinned at him, his irreverence on display, as always.
She snorted. “He wouldn’t dare.”
