The Price of Temptation

by Williams, Harmony

  “No.” He made a choked sound and stepped around her without looking her in the eye. “I meant we can’t do this at all.”

  Lily felt as though the overcast sky had opened up upon her. “Because of our agreement? Adam, I thought I made it clear that I was seducing you. This is my choice.”

  “It isn’t my choice.”

  As Lily gasped for the breath to answer, he strode stiffly away, leaving her to find her own way home. He didn’t look back.

  She curled her fists against the torrent of conflicting emotions. That rotter.

  …

  Adam lingered as he slid the shawl off of Lily’s shoulders. Her breath quickened, a counterpoint to her stiffening shoulders. She hadn’t spoken to him since he’d left her in Hyde Park more than a week ago. If his name hadn’t been etched into the invitation to tonight’s dinner party, she would have attended without him.

  She needed him.

  Or, perhaps more accurately, he needed her.

  Her passionate kiss, the feel of her body against his, drove him mad. Day after day, he struggled with what would become of him once this endeavor reached its inevitable conclusion. At best, he would have to leave London again to avoid Chatterley’s blackmail. And Lily… She’d already made it clear that she wouldn’t consider leaving the city.

  Chatterley held Adam’s life in his hands and had already proven that he cared so little about Lily that he would use her however he saw fit. Tonight, they took one step closer to accomplishing Chatterley’s goal, and Adam had yet to wiggle out from under his thumb.

  It wasn’t for lack of trying. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to find any skeletons in the man’s cupboard darker than this planned heist. If he could have, Adam would have turned the clock back four years and never bamboozled the Chatterleys out of their money. Not out of regret for the act—a man who used others as the senior Mr. Chatterley had, as if it were his due, had no business profiting from their labor. But it would have saved him and Lily a world of pain.

  Or would it have? Chatterley had never approved of Adam’s pursuit of Lily. Perhaps he would have made trouble for them either way.

  In this case, Adam’s predicament was of his own making. But even if it caused her to push him away, putting a stop to their interlude had been the right thing to do. When he inevitably had to leave her, she would thank him. Or, at the very least, not curse his name as loudly. Stopping their kiss had been the most difficult thing he’d ever done.

  And yet, what had it earned him? He might as well have been a fixture on the wall, for all the attention she paid him. She gave a saucier smile to the footman.

  “Thank you, Geoffrey,” she said as the man whisked away her shawl and Adam’s hat.

  “You’re most welcome, Mrs. Darling. And this would be?”

  “My husband. Mr. Darling.”

  Nodding, the man turned away to stash their garments and lead them down the corridor. Lily lowered her voice, but not enough to shield it from prying ears.

  “If you can call him my husband when he refuses to warm my bed.”

  Adam gritted his teeth to keep from groaning. “You’re angry with me.”

  She rounded on him, eyes snapping. “What gave you that impression?”

  “It certainly wasn’t the passion in your kiss.”

  Her cheeks flushed hot and she turned away again, refusing to meet his gaze. His triumph was sour as he led her down the corridor by the arm. She didn’t look at him. What thoughts did she hide behind that placid expression?

  He pulled her to a stop, letting the footman step out of earshot. When they were alone, he leaned closer and whispered into her ear, “I liked our kiss very much.”

  Her lips parted, her exhale teasing his cheek. Her eyes were dark, unfathomable. Her chest swelled with a breath as she visibly donned her armor, shutting him out.

  “Tell me again why we aren’t finishing it tonight?”

  The footman, who had turned back to collect them, paused on his periphery with a raised eyebrow. No doubt the buffoon thought she was talking about him taking her to bed again. It would have been a far more congenial topic, if a tad uncouth to be discussing in another man’s house.

  “We’re here to enjoy ourselves,” he reminded her, emphasizing his words. “You wished to see Granby’s collection.”

  In other words, they had to complete their research. Tonight was about one thing only—ensuring that the armband that Chatterley had described and drawn for them was in fact in Lord Granby’s possession. They weren’t prepared to take it. Once they confirmed its existence, they could take the next step of their plan.

  He offered his arm to her again. “Shall we, darling?”

  Lily slipped her hand onto his arm without looking at him. He took a steadying breath, preparing himself for an agonizing evening.

  …

  Despite the fact that she derived her rank from his, as husband and wife, Lily and Adam were placed apart at the dinner table. To Lily, the arrangement was ideal. However, the longer Adam smiled and charmed the women on either side of him, the more her mood soured.

  How dare he join her this evening, pretending they were a happily married couple when mere days ago he had walked away from her yet again? Ever since he had barged back into her life, he had made it clear with heated looks and teasing touches that he still desired her. Yet when she had offered him the relief they both wanted, he had pushed her away.

  After the way he’d hurt her, she should have walked away from him. Had all that flirtation been for no more than to enter into her good graces? If so, to what end? Perhaps his attraction to her had been as pretend as the persona he showed the rest of the world.

  It didn’t matter. Unless she intended to go through the scandal of a divorce or the headache of an annulment, their marriage was for life. He could find her the most revolting woman in the world and he had no choice but to keep her company. As did she. Particularly because their ruse demanded it.

  As dinner concluded, the hostess stood with a winsome smile. “Ladies, let’s leave the men to their cigars and port. Come with me and we’ll retire to the drawing room for a sip of sherry.”

  What if Lord Granby paraded his collection while Lily was away? This wasn’t the first time tonight that she’d been overlooked in favor of her husband. She had been placed higher up the table, yet Adam seemed to be the person upon whom everyone’s attention and goodwill was bestowed.

  How had she thought she could do this on her own?

  Miss Granby appeared to be faring no better. After following Lily’s advice to the letter, she had worn a dress that emphasized her bosom and spent the evening curling her hair around her finger and batting her eyelashes at a stoic young man whom Lord Granby had introduced as Mr. Peabody, his assistant. The gentleman in question had not appeared to notice her blatant efforts, but everyone else at the table had.

  Lily did not look forward to being trapped in a room with her and a table full of tittering gossips. Particularly not if they intended to simper and inform Lily of how lucky she was to have caught a man like Adam. The notion turned her stomach.

  Nevertheless, she had to stand. She did so stiffly and followed the hostess. The moment she reached the corridor, she made her excuses and found a different sitting room. The hearth was cold, the summer air drifting in from open windows. The whisper of a breeze carried the gentle fragrance of the garden. Lily crossed to the window, leaning her hands against it and breathing in the summer air as she strived for equanimity.

  “You aren’t playing the part.”

  Adam. She rounded on him. “And you’re playing it too damned well.”

  He hesitated in the threshold of the room, sneaking a glance down the corridor before he joined her. A candle on the mantel lit the expanse in a cheery orange glow, but the light didn’t lift her spirits. With him so close, she balled her fists, stifling
the urge to pound them against his chest, to make him see reason. To punish him for rejecting her the moment she realized she still craved him in her life.

  He approached cautiously. “Lily, stop this nonsense.”

  “No. You should have to answer for your crimes.”

  He caught her arm before she knew she intended to raise it. Holding it aloft between them, he forced her fingers open and placed her palm on his heart. The strong beat beneath the cloth of his jacket and waistcoat steadied her.

  It shouldn’t. She shouldn’t rely on him for anything.

  “I’m paying,” he said softly. “Your hatred, your enmity is my penance. But if you let your anger control you tonight, you’ll butcher this. You only have to last a little while longer.”

  She cocked an eyebrow, shielding her fragile heart behind sarcasm. “I only have to pretend to be your lawfully wedded wife for a while longer?”

  Expressions flickered across his face, the emotions too quick and fleeting to name. He pulled her closer against him, rough. The feel of his hips against hers, her breasts against his chest, stole her breath. And when he kissed her, she went weak in the knees.

  This was not a man who thought her revolting. This was a man determined to prove something to her. But what that something was, she couldn’t tell, not with her head spinning.

  When she started to melt against him, she fought free. She stumbled back, pressing her hand to her tingling mouth. Other places tingled, other places craving his hands and lips and tongue. She swallowed hard, trying to gather herself. “You don’t have the right to kiss me.”

  He groaned, looking heavenward as if for guidance. “Lily, I don’t know what you want from me…”

  They both silenced as footsteps neared. He stepped forward, shielding her from view with his body.

  “Mr. Darling?”

  He turned at Lord Granby’s voice. Defiant, Lily stepped around him, determined to be seen for once this evening. To her consternation, he barely appeared to notice her in Adam’s shadow.

  “I just sent for a footman to bring my collection to the dining room for everyone to see.”

  The dining room? Lily’s stomach curdled. “What of the women?”

  The old lord flapped his hand. “Oh, they would have no interest in these old trifles.”

  Was he barring her from the room as well? “I think you underestimate your guests, my lord. Your daughter, for one, would certainly find this interesting.”

  Lord Granby chuffed. “Matilda can examine them any time she pleases. They’re hardly novelties for her. I assure you, she would rather entertain herself with the rest of the guests.”

  Did he know his daughter so little? Lily had spent no more than an afternoon with her and felt better acquainted.

  “But you might find this of interest, Mrs. Darling. Would you care to join us?”

  The lone woman in a room full of men? Lily raised her chin. “It would be my pleasure.”

  When she stepped past Adam, he dropped his hand to the small of her back, staking a claim on her that she felt to the soles of her feet. Pressing her lips together, she attempted to ignore the warmth blooming from his touch. She didn’t understand him. She shouldn’t want him, but the simple touch of his palm unraveled her in ways she dared not communicate.

  In the corridor, Lord Granby hailed the same liveried footman who had opened the door. “Geoffrey, good! Did you bring everything?”

  The footman obediently opened the lid of the case he was holding to display the contents inside, each reverently tucked between pillows of dark velvet. In the right-hand corner nestled a golden armband etched with sigils and dotted with jewels, including an enormous scarab beetle in lapis lazuli in the center. Lord Granby still possessed the artifact, after all.

  “Brilliant,” Lord Granby said as the footman snapped the lid closed. “Let’s not keep the guests waiting. Shall we?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Later that evening, the hackney cab slowed outside of Lily’s townhouse, the wheels rattling on the street cobbles. With a casual toss of his wrist, Adam scattered bright coins on the cushion, the metal of which glinted in the light of a streetlamp filtering through the open window. Lily pressed her lips together, her stomach turning at the expense.

  “I still say we ought to have walked.”

  The driver opened the door, having turned down the steps. Adam paused on the edge of his seat, paying her half a glance. “You have a persona to maintain. And besides, it’s been a long night.”

  That was an understatement. And to think, Lily would have to suffer through at least one more such dinner party when she and Adam returned to Lord Granby’s house to actually steal the artifact. At least now she had held it in her palm, measured the weight and dimensions of it for herself.

  Although she still seethed with irritation toward him, the bulk of her anger had burned away during the course of their research. Not to mention their second kiss. Did he want her or didn’t he? Adam was so difficult to read.

  “Thank you for your help tonight.” She was surprised to find how much she meant those words. He never diminished her contribution, never treated her as if she were somehow capable of less than he. When they were together, she felt as if no barrier was insurmountable.

  That attitude and the way he made her feel was what had drawn her to him years ago. Yet, he was a different man today, less willing to pander to those around him and seek out their goodwill. The only opinion he seemed to care about was Lily’s. It was as though he had learned to find happiness in a simpler way of life.

  Had he ever found that coastal cottage, where no one in the world could have interfered with them? If he had, he had used her dowry to purchase it.

  And like tinder to a flame, the anger flared to life again.

  Adam caught her hand and kissed her knuckles, his mouth warm. “I will always help where I can, Lily. We’re partners.”

  She melted again. This battle of emotions was exhausting.

  Sighing deeply, Lily waited for Adam to disembark and she accepted his help when he offered. She tugged her shawl higher to ward away the cool evening. As the wheels of the hack rattled on the cobblestones, announcing its departure, Lily wearily turned toward her door. She wanted nothing more than to fall into an exhausted sleep.

  A shadow separated from the corner of the house. Reid, his face a forbidding mask.

  “Leave us.”

  Adam’s muscles bunched beneath Lily’s hand. His body all but sang with the urge to do violence. Adam was not a man one ordered to do anything. He commanded every room.

  “Reid…”

  Despite the difference in size, Reid stormed closer, never once lifting his gaze from Adam. “Leave. I must talk with Lily alone.”

  Lily’s stomach shriveled like a prune. Tentatively, she removed her hand from Adam’s arm and cast a wary glance at his expression. It gave nothing away, as calm and composed as her elder sister. He stared Reid down a moment more, flexing his hand at his side. When he turned to Lily, his eyes crackled with promise.

  “Do you wish to speak to him alone, darling?”

  He emphasized their surname, the bond between them.

  “Yes, of course, don’t be daft. Reid is my friend.”

  She’d spoken those words to him a time or two before. This time, he took them with much less aplomb. His jaw cracked with the force of his grinding teeth. Without a word, he turned on his heel. He paused, laying his hand at the small of her back once more. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle.

  “I’ll await you inside.”

  What was that supposed to mean? His voice, too soft to give away his emotion, reminded her of the stolen kiss in Lord Granby’s drawing room. Did he mean to continue it? Her toes curled. A few days ago, he had pushed her away. Now, he was near to groveling at her feet. It made her feel powerful. She nodded, cur
t, and returned her attention to Reid.

  Her childhood friend stared over her shoulder, not lifting his gaze from Adam until the door shut. The click of the latch rang with finality. Despite the public location, Reid’s company suddenly felt terribly intimate.

  He didn’t look to be in a convivial mood.

  Without preamble, he held out his hand, palm up. “I’ll take it now and your deal will be settled.”

  Lily frowned. “Take what?”

  “The artifact.”

  “I…I don’t have it.”

  He bristled. “You failed?”

  His tone raised her hackles. “I told you we were invited to the dinner party because you insisted upon being apprised of my progress. I didn’t intend to steal it this evening, which you would have known had you asked. Tonight, I only meant to confirm that the armband is still in Lord Granby’s possession.”

  Reid took a step forward, looming over her. She had never considered him to be a forbidding man, but he used his height and the deepening shadows to his advantage. When he stood over her like that, he might as well have been a monster. She pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders, suppressing a shiver.

  “I asked you to do a task. You assured me you could do it.”

  “And I will. I need time to do it properly.”

  “I gave you two weeks,” he snapped. “And you’ve gone over that as it is. How much more time do you want?”

  Her voice fled. He’d never shouted at her before, never raised his voice to anyone. Was this really the man she’d once known?

  “I don’t know how much time. Adam and I need to discuss our next move—”

  He took another, brutal step closer, crowding her. “I’ve given you leeway with him. If he doesn’t deliver soon…”

  “You’ll do what?”

  A black expression crossed his face. “You don’t want to know.”

  Her mouth dried. “Don’t be absurd.”

  He laughed darkly. “I assure you, I am perfectly serious. He doesn’t deserve to be in your life. He is a soulless thief.”