The Wolf's Pursuit(17)

He cleared his throat and regained his composure, but just by an inch. "You look beautiful."

"Well, thank you. I thought—"

"However," he interrupted, "you must change immediately."

"Pardon?"

"Did I speak too quietly? Perhaps I had a bit of a stutter? Or are you merely hard of hearing? Oh, I know!" He snapped his fingers and gave her a grin. "Were you so distracted by my appearance? Yes, I've had many a woman comment on that very thing. It's the eyes. I like to think of them as golden amber. You may refer to me as a god if you like. I won't mind." He stepped out of the shadows and peered down at her. "Regardless of how you address me, or your reason for not understanding, you still need to change."

"Absolutely not!" Gwen took a step back, but he snaked his arm around her and pulled her flush against his chest.

"I see you are going to be difficult." He smirked, quite enjoying the way her body felt in his arms. Curse the ball, he'd rather stay right where he was.

Her eyes narrowed as she pulled her head back so their foreheads wouldn't touch. "I'm not trying to be anything. I'm merely offended that you want me to change. I happen to like my gown."

"You and every other gentleman with a heartbeat. You cannot simply waltz into the ballroom dressed like a courtesan."

"But Hunter," she leaned in and whispered, so near his lips it was painful, "who said anything about waltzing?" In a flash, she maneuvered her way out of his hold and winked. "I plan on walking."

"Not like that." He pulled her arm again. This time she tried pinning him against the wall, but he beat her to the task, his legs straddling hers in a hold he was certain she wouldn't get out of. "Men will not take you seriously. You are supposed to be making a debut. You are husband-hunting, sweet." He ran his free hand down the side of her face. "And you look nothing like a dutiful wife."

"What do I look like?"

"A whore."

"Better a whore than a has-been."

Rage took over, pumping through his veins. "Did you just call me a has-been?"

"Did you just call me a whore?" she countered.

He loosened his hold on her, but her haughty eyebrow chose that exact moment to lift, as if announcing to the world that she had bested him.

"Let me see." His lips came crushing down on hers. He forced his tongue into her mouth, shamelessly ran his hands down her naked arms. She pushed him back, her face a mixture of hurt and anger. "That is why you cannot wear that dress."

"Why?" Her lower lip quivered.

"Because, my dear, a whore would never respond like you did. It would be a dangerous game to play. And you, love, would not be the victor."

He brushed his lips against her cheek and began walking away.

"Hunter." Her voice was hoarse and angry. "What was so bad about my response?"

He froze in his steps and turned around. "I don't recall saying it was bad." With a smirk he walked away, clenching his fists as hard as he could so he would not be tempted to run back to her. That would put an immediate stop to his mission.

That dress. Lust screamed at him to do something about that dress. Blast it all! The woman was going to get herself killed! Men were not as feeble as she would like to believe. One look from her, in that dress, and a man would move mountains for one night with her. Unfortunately, because of her reputation, they would merely attempt to steal her away into the dark gardens. The thought made anger anew flush through his system. He wasn't sure what made him feel so protective of her. He'd never worked with a woman before. It wasn't as if he'd never seen a woman either! He'd had his share of… excursions. Granted, none of them had her breasts or lips, or smile, for that matter. But he had always thought it easy — a simple transaction and they parted ways.

With Gwen, he had this insane desire to protect her. Yet what if he was the one who needed protection? If she wasn't who she said she was, if her loyalty had been bought? It was a dangerous game they were playing.

One thing was for certain, he didn't need to make the girl desirable. After tonight, she'd have every available gentleman prostrate at her feet. The rub, it seemed, was how he was going to discover if she was a double agent. And if not, what influential person was no longer loyal to the Crown?





****





That went well. He waited in the shadows while the Wolf stomped off in the opposite direction of the girl. Red put her hands on her hips and scowled after him. Yes, his partner was very correct in his assumption. The woman would be quite a tasty morsel for the Wolf. He would feast upon her until he was weak, both physically and emotionally, and in the end, he would sacrifice his soul to keep her alive. Even if it meant treason.