Then Came You (The Gamblers of Craven's 1)

Lily paused in her squirming to stare at him in outrage. “I’ve never been struck before tonight,” she said in a muffled, accusing voice. “My father never dared—”

“He never gave a damn,” Alex replied curtly. “And he should be shot for that. You’ve needed someone to spank the hell out of you for years.”

“I—” Lily began hotly, but as she met his purposeful gaze, she closed her mouth with a snap, realizing he meant it. She concentrated on freeing herself from the confining cloak, but she was swaddled as tightly as a babe. Enraged, humiliated, a little frightened, she watched him in quivering silence. She’d thought that after last night she had nothing to fear from him. Now it seemed that nothing and no one would stop him from doing what he wanted with her.

He had destroyed her last chance of winning the money to pay Giuseppe. Lily blamed herself equally as much as she blamed him. If only she hadn’t meddled in his affairs! If she had sensibly refused Zachary’s plea for help and minded her own business, Alex would still be staying in the country with Penelope and the rest of the Lawsons, giving no thought to her existence. She thought of the way she had tied him up on her bed and a feeling of hopeless dread came over her. Alex would never forgive her for humiliating him. He would pay her back a hundredfold. He would devote himself to ruining her. She did not look at him directly, but she knew his pale silver eyes were fixed on her, and that the severe red garments he wore gave him a startling, beautiful, terrifying appearance. She doubted she could feel worse if she were trapped in a carriage with the devil himself.

Eventually the carriage lurched to a halt. One of the footmen opened the door. Scooping Lily into his arms, Alex took her from the carriage and started up the steps of Swan’s Court. The footman rushed ahead of them and knocked on the door. “Mrs. Hodges,” the man called urgently. “Mrs. Hodg—”

The door was opened, and the housekeeper regarded the scene before her with dawning surprise. “You’ve returned early, my lord. I…” Her eyes rounded as she saw the woman bundled in Alex’s arms. “Gracious heavens…Lord Raiford, is she injured?”

“Not yet,” Alex said grimly, and carried Lily into the mansion.

Lily twisted against him. “You can’t make me stay here,” she cried. “I’m going to leave as soon as you put me down!”

“Not until I make a few things clear.”

Rapidly Lily glanced at her surroundings as they went through an inner hall and up a gently curving staircase with an intricate wrought-iron balustrade. The house was cool and light, decorated in a gracious but uncluttered style. It was surprisingly modern, with large windows and expensive plasterwork. She realized Alex was looking down at her, as if gauging her reaction to the mansion. “If you intended to ruin my life,” she said in a low voice, “you’ve succeeded beyond your wildest ambition. You have no idea what you’ve done to me.”

“Taken you away from a game? Denied you the chance to flaunt your little body in front of the haut ton?”

“Do you think I actually enjoyed that?” she demanded, incensed beyond all caution. “Do you think I had a choice? If it weren’t for the—”

Horrified, she caught herself just in time, unable to believe what she had been about to say. He had made her so overwrought that her darkest secret was about to come spilling forth.

Alex pounced on her words immediately. “If it weren’t for what? Does this have to do with the five thousand pounds Craven mentioned? What do you need it for?”

Lily stared at him in frozen terror, her face turning ghastly white. “Derek told you about the five thousand?” she asked in a raw voice. She couldn’t believe it. Oh God, there was no one in the world she could trust! “I…I’ll kill him, the traitor—”

“It’s a gambling debt, isn’t it,” he said grimly. “What happened to the money you inherited from your aunt? You’ve squandered an entire fortune at the gaming tables, haven’t you? Apparently you’ve reduced yourself to a hand-to-mouth existence, supporting yourself through your winnings. Of all the irresponsible—” He broke off and gritted his teeth.

Lily turned her face away, biting her lip. She burned to tell him she had not been a spendthrift, nor had she foolishly gambled away the money. It had been drained away through blackmail and the expenses of a full-time investigator, all of it spent in the effort to regain her daughter. If not for Giuseppe’s treachery, she would have led a comfortable life. Given any choice, she’d never set foot near a hazard table again! But she could hardly let him know that.

As he stared at her stubbornly averted face, Alex longed to shake and kiss and punish her, all at once. He sensed the terrible conflict inside her. She was afraid of something…she was in some kind of trouble.

He carried her into a large bedroom and closed the door. Lily was absolutely still as he set her on her feet and began to unwrap the cloak from around her. She waited with unnatural patience, keeping herself under taut control. When he pulled the binding cloak away from her, she gave a sigh of relief and flexed her arms.

Alex tossed the cloak to a chair and turned back to her. Swiftly she lashed out with all her strength and slapped him across the face with a force that turned his head to the side. The ringing blow stung her palm. As she whirled around to leave, she felt his hand clench at the back of her costume.

“Not yet,” Alex muttered.

Lily wrenched away from him violently, and gasped in astonished fury as she felt the gossamer fabric of her gown ripping. The sheer material fell away from her, and she clutched at it in panic, backing up against a wall and covering her front with her arms. Alex approached her and braced his hands on the wall, leaning over her. It seemed as if he were three times her size. His searing eyes raked over her slim body, lingering on the pagan design of the serpent painted around her. The paint had been smeared in several places, leaving streaks of black, green, and blue across her white skin.

“Don’t touch me,” Lily said shakily. “Or…I’ll hit you again.”

“I’m not going to touch you,” he replied sardonically. “I’m going to wait here while you wash that…” he eyed the painted snake in disgust, “…thing off. There’s a dressing room over there, and a bathing room just beyond.”

She trembled with a mixture of fear and anger. “I have some revelations for you, my lord. I’m not going to take a bath. I’m not going to sleep in your bed tonight, and I’m not going to talk with you. I know everything you’re going to say. The answer is no.”

“Oh?” His eyes narrowed. “What am I going to say?”

“That you find me attractive, and you desire me, and therefore you want me to be your mistress, until you tire of me. Then I’ll receive a generous parting gift and be free to have a string of protectors, until my looks are faded.” Lily couldn’t bring herself to look at him as she finished. “You want an arrangement.”

“I want you to take a bath,” he said quietly.

Lily’s short laugh held a tinge of hysteria. “Let me go. I’ve ruined everything for you, and now you’ve ruined everything for me. The score is settled. Just let me—” Her words were smothered as Alex bent forward and kissed her. When he lifted his head, she tried to slap him again. He was prepared this time, his hand wrapping around her wrist before her palm reached his face.

They were both still. Lily felt the scraps of her costume drop away, leaving her na*ed except for the streaks of paint. She flushed wildly and tried to cover herself, but he wouldn’t let go of her arm. He kept it raised high, while his gaze wandered over her in a burning sweep. The pace of his breathing accelerated until it matched her own. He stepped forward, and she shrank back against the cool panelled wall, hypnotized by the silver fire of his eyes. She whispered a plea, a denial. He didn’t listen. She felt his gently marauding hands touch her shoulders, the shallow sides of her breasts, her ribs. His palms slid over her br**sts and cupped them, causing her to shiver as her ni**les hardened against the squeezing pressure. His face turned rigid with passion, his thick lashes lowering as he stared down at the slim body he was caressing.

Lily tried to feel nothing, to ignore the devastating pleasure that ignited wherever his hands touched. But her senses ached for another draught of the rapture he had given her last night. Remembering the feel of his hard body over hers, she began to tremble with a desire she couldn’t suppress. She flushed with shame. “What have you done to me?” she whispered unsteadily.

His hands slid over her skin, smearing the paint in paths of heat and color. Slowly his color-stained fingertips traced the round swell of her breast, and etched a bluish green line across her flat stomach. Lily put her hands against his chest, tensing slightly as if to push him away. But nothing would stop him from touching her, from working a pattern over her body like some erotic artist engrossed in a sensuous painting. His palm covered the serpent’s head at her shoulder and smudged it down her side in a vibrant emerald trail.

Making a last desperate attempt to escape, she tried to turn away, but the solid pressure of his body crowded closer, closer, and his hot, hungering mouth found hers. Urgently his hands clamped over her bare buttocks, lifting her to him, and he groaned against her soft mouth. The force of his desire burned out reason and resolution…she had no hold on her own self-restraint.

Shivering with helpless excitement, Lily lifted her arms to his broad shoulders, her fingers kneading and flexing into his coat. The feel of her na*ed body crushed against the linen and velvet smoothness of his clothes was new and startling. Roughly he tore his mouth away from hers and pressed his lips to the tops of her shoulders in biting kisses. She turned her face into his golden hair, her breath flowing against his ear. His tongue slid over her skin and found her pulse, lingering in the hollow of her throat with a tickling stroke.

Alex drew his head back, his gray eyes filled with an engrossed expression. She felt his fingers between their bodies, touching between her thighs, tugging at his breeches, until the hard, silken heat of him throbbed against her. With an eager whimper she pushed against the tantalizing pressure, craving him inside her. His hands returned to her buttocks, and with easy strength he lifted her against the wall. Lily made an anxious sound, her hands fluttering against his shoulders.

He spoke huskily, telling her what to do, his voice laced with tender violence. “Don’t be afraid…put your legs around me…that’s right.” She felt a heavy, invading pressure, her body stretching to accommodate his upward thrust. She drew in a sharp breath and clung to him, her legs locking around his waist while his powerful arms supported her.

Alex buried his face in her throat as he moved within her. She was making sobbing noises of pleasure…he felt the vibrations against his lips. Pushing steadily into her softness. Her lithe body arched, while her hands found the back of his neck and gripped hard. Understanding the silent message, he let her weight settle deeper on him, and he moved one hand to the triangle between her thighs. His fingertips searched gently through the soft curls. “As long as it takes,” he muttered against her flushed skin, increasing the pace of his thrusts. “I won’t stop, not until you come for me. I won’t stop.”

She gave a sharp cry, her body tightening around him, shuddering. Alex let himself go immediately, holding his breath as his body was shaken by powerful spasms of release. He let out a ragged sigh and pressed his forehead to hers. They rested against each other, their breath flowing together, their clenched muscles relaxing. Carefully Alex lowered Lily until her toes touched the floor. He kissed her with his hand at the nape of her neck, holding her steady. His mouth was hot and sweet, savoring the aftertaste of pleasure.

He let go of her and refastened his breeches. Lily remained propped against the wall. Slowly she brought her arms around herself, partially shielding her body from his gaze. She had the dazed expression of someone who had just endured some terrible calamity. Turning back to her, Alex frowned. “Lily…” Wanting to comfort her, he lifted his hand to her face, but she flinched away from his paint-stained ringers. With a wry smile, he regarded his colorful hand. “Does it wash off,” he asked gravely, “or should I begin thinking of explanations?”

Lily glanced down at the rainbow of hues covering her smooth body. “I don’t know.” She couldn’t seem to sort through her jumbled thoughts. Her heart was still clattering, as if she had dosed herself with an exhilarating, nerve-shattering drug. She felt crazy and unsteady, and ready to cry. “I’m going home,” she said. “If you have a shirt I could wear, a cloak—”

“No,” he said quietly.

“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. I’m going home.”

“Not when you look like that. No, I don’t mean the paint, I mean the look on your face. As if you’re going to do something drastic.”

“I always do something drastic,” she said coolly. “My life has been an unending series of predicaments, my lord, ever since I was a child. I’ve survived them all without your interference, and I’ll continue to do so.”

Alex put his hands on her body again, ignoring her reluctant protest. He toyed with her navel, the points of her hipbones, fondling her as if he were holding a priceless piece of sculpture. Lily’s composure—what there was of it—disappeared at his touch. Awkwardly she began to push his hands away, but her attention was distracted as he spoke calmly. “Is money the only problem?”

“I don’t want money from you,” she said, catching her breath as his fingers brushed the edge of the paint-gilded curls at the top of her thighs.

“Would five thousand be sufficient, or do you need more?”

“Why don’t you tell me precisely what obligations would come with it?” She glared at him and nodded, “Or is this by chance a gift with no strings attached?”

He held her gaze inflexibly. “There are strings.”

Lily laughed mirthlessly. “At least you’re honest.”

“More honest than you.”

“I don’t lie.”

“No, you just withhold the truth.”

She lowered her eyes, aware of the havoc his gentle stroking was causing within her. “That seems to be the only damned thing I’ve withheld from you,” she muttered, and her ears burned at the sound of his soft laughter.

Linking his fingers around her fragile wrist, he pulled her away from the wall and across the bedroom. Lily sputtered in indignation as she stumbled after him. “I haven’t agreed to anything!”