Taming the Rake Read online

  Gina breathed a heavy sigh of relief. At last she’d caught sight of him. In the vestibule. Shifting impatiently near the door like a man bursting to escape. A footman approached with his cloak. Her heart skipped. He was leaving. Didn’t he intend to speak with her? She’d held on to Augusta’s words like a precious lifeline. One that was quickly sinking beneath the crushing waves of reality.

  She couldn’t let him leave without having the opportunity to explain. She quickened her step, pushing through the crowd, hastening toward him.

  Something about his stance gave her pause. The wispy hairs on her arms flared. He seemed different. Dangerous. Radiating hostility. As if every muscle in his body strained to tell her not to approach.

  It was a warning she chose not to heed.

  He turned and caught her eye. At first she didn’t think he’d seen her. He held his expression impassive, without a flicker of recollection in the fathomless cerulean sea of his gaze. She held up her hand. Pointedly, he turned back toward the door.

  Gina felt the cut direct deep in her soul. For the first time, she truly realized that she might have misjudged his intentions. “Lord Coventry,” she called out.

  His back stiffened. Slowly, reluctantly, he turned around.

  “You’re here,” she said dumbly, stating the obvious.

  “Briefly,” he replied. “As you can see, I’m leaving. I have a meeting to attend.”

  She twisted her brisé fan in her fists so tightly, the delicately carved sticks of horn crunched. “But”—she hesitated, looking around and noticing only a few footmen—“Augusta said you intended to speak to me tonight?”

  His eyes bore into her like hot coals. “Augusta was mistaken. I have nothing to say to you.”

  His animosity took her aback. “But your promise?”

  His lips curled in a harsh semblance of a smile. “Did I promise you something?” A devious twist curled his lip at her sudden gasp. “Oh, yes. Now I recall. Our little agreement.” His eyes slithered down the length of her, with all the emotion of a cobra. “I’m afraid we won’t suit,” he said flatly. “Once, I’ve decided, was quite enough.”

  His words hit like tiny arrows in her heart. This cold, uncompromising man wasn’t the same person to whom she’d given her body and soul. This was the man she’d heard about. The ruthless man who ruined ladies for sport. Ladies like Lady Alice. And me, a tiny voice whispered.

  Where was the man she’d fallen in love with? The Coventry she loved had withdrawn to the point where she wondered if he’d ever really existed.

  She refused to believe that this cold, emotionless stranger was the man who’d made love to her with such wild, uncontrollable passion. He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t mean it. He was angry, coiled, and ready to strike.

  “You must forgive me. I never intended to put Augusta in any danger. Please,” she begged. “I love you.”

  Her plea seemed to only further infuriate him. “That, I’m afraid, is your misfortune.”

  The sharp pang in her chest would not go away. “You can’t be so dishonorable!”

  He held her gaze. “Dishonorable? I hardly think you are in any position to discuss the vagaries of honor, Lady Georgina. Is my conduct any less honorable than coercing an offer of marriage with every intention of refusing?”

  The blood drained from her face. Her heart stopped short.

  He noticed. “You’re shocked? Yes, I heard about your little game and I decided to teach you a lesson.”

  No. He couldn’t have found out. They’d been so careful. “My game?” she croaked.

  He laughed, a harsh sound that sent icy shards of fear shooting through her. “What do you call yourselves? The Rake Slayers?” He looked down his nose at her in that arrogant way she remembered. The arrogance and disdain that had always made him seem so distant and untouchable. “Quaint,” he continued. “But did you and your friends really think you had any chance of bringing experienced, sophisticated men up to scratch? An army of inexperienced, silly girls is hardly very threatening.” A devious grin turned his lips. “Though, I admit inexperience has its benefits.”

  Her chest squeezed so tight with fear and horror, she could barely find her voice. “You know?”

  His jaw locked. “Of course. You didn’t think I truly cared?” He studied her stricken expression. “Oh, I see you did.”

  Gina couldn’t believe this was happening. Had he known all along? It wasn’t possible. He did care for her. She couldn’t have been so horribly wrong. “When?”

  He shrugged, as if it held no importance. “Some time ago. I wanted to see how far you would go to win. You were laced up so tight, so nauseatingly prim and proper, the challenge to make you succumb was irresistible. I was pleased when my initial estimation of you proved true. You’re so certain of your own opinion you’ll risk everything just to prove you are right—even your so-called virtue. But when I think of what your inflated sense of your judgment nearly cost my sister…” His voice dropped off menacingly. “A silly, puffed-up-with-your-own-importance chit like you could never hold my interest.”

  Her voice strangled in her throat. She felt beaten. Stunned into rare silence by his cruel rejoinder.

  Their eyes met. Donning his hat and cloak, he held her gaze as he delivered his parting blow. “What do you really have to offer a man, Lady Georgina, except for the prize between your legs?” He laughed harshly. “But now you don’t even have that, do you?”

  And with that harsh reminder, he was gone.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  His cruelty took her breath away, leaving her sputtering with slack-jawed disbelief. Gina felt as if he’d struck her. How could he speak to her so crudely? He’d seduced her for game? Her heart squeezed. He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t mean it.

  But if he didn’t, why did his words sting with the cruel edge of truth?

  Yes, she’d lost her “prize” virginity to him, but not her virtue. She’d given herself to a man she loved. What could be sinful about that?

  Reality lodged in her gut. Everything.

  Love wouldn’t matter. To society, she was ruined. A fallen woman.

  A woman without worth.

  Still, stubbornly, perhaps illogically, she would not concede his point. She was worth far more than her virginity, even if society did not agree.

  Yet, beyond the superficial taunt, his words held a far deeper element of truth that cut her to the core. As he knew it would. What indeed did she have to offer?

  What did a sheltered lady of the ton have to interest a self-indulgent rake? Why would he fall in love with her? She must seem naïvely silly to him. Her accomplishments narrow. She’d tried so hard to prove her worth to him, but nothing had worked out the way she’d planned. He’d taunted her with the truth from the beginning. She could help run an estate and sing passably well, but he could hire someone for the former and buy a ticket for the latter.

  She had nothing to commend her that couldn’t be replaced—hadn’t her stepmother proved that?

  No! The vehemence of the reaction took her aback. She couldn’t accept that she was as valueless as society believed, no matter what he said. She had so much to offer. If only he would give her a chance.

  But the frustrating man wouldn’t even allow her to speak in her own defense. He was judge, jury, and executioner all rolled together in one arrogant package. After all that they’d shared, to spew his venom and simply walk away without giving her a chance to explain! Her temper flared. It was simply unconscionable.

  Uncaring of her surroundings, or how she might appear to the footmen or anyone else passing by, she started to pace.

  How like him to give her no opportunity to explain before taking aim with his well-placed insults. Her hands went to her hips. Well, he wouldn’t walk away from her. She wouldn’t allow him to treat her the way he did everyone else in his life. She’d track him down and make him see the truth. If only she knew where the blasted man was going.

  She squared her shoulders and marched