Scandalous Deception (Russian Connection 1)

Which meant it was precisely the sort of business that Brianna wanted to interrupt. Or more exactly, the sort she wanted to overhear.

Somehow, someway, she intended to discover Edmond’s secrets, and when she did, she would put an end to this ridiculous engagement and be safely on her way to Meadowland.

“Then he should not conduct his business in the midst of a soiree,” she quipped, turning and marching directly toward the door.

TOSSING ASIDE HIS CHEROOT, Edmond grasped the cold, damp stones of the balustrade, glaring into the dark shadows of the garden below.

Mon dieu.

Either Howard Summerville was the most cunning villain he had ever hunted, or he truly was the bumbling simpleton he appeared to be.

And the fact that he could not yet tell the truth of the matter was making Edmond damn well furious.

He had devoted years to exposing schemers, conspirators and outright traitors. He had forestalled countless plots against Alexander Pavlovich, simply because he could discern the most subtle warnings and sense when others were lying to him.

Now, when it was more important than ever, he found his instincts refusing to coope

rate.

Cursing beneath his breath, Edmond struggled to regain his badly strained composure when the door to the balcony was pushed open and the enticing scent of lavender filled the night air.

“Brianna.” He scowled in annoyance. “What the devil are you doing out here?”

She smiled with a blithe indifference at his blunt lack of welcome.

“I was in need of fresh air.” She turned to squarely face Howard Summerville who was hurriedly attempting to smooth his hair and tug down his wrinkled jacket. Howard might be a drunken sod, but even he responded to Brianna’s enticing beauty. “Am I interrupting?”

Before Howard could find his tongue, Edmond had moved to stand directly behind Brianna, his arms sliding around her waist so he could haul her against the hard planes of his body.

“As a matter of fact you are,” he drawled directly in her ear. “But then, that was your intention, was it not?”

She shivered, but with that courage he was beginning to recognize she refused to be quelled.

“Really, Stefan, you should not tease me in such a fashion,” she murmured, her hand shifting so she could covertly pinch his arm.

Ignoring the tiny pain, Edmond deliberately pressed his aching cock against her soft curves.

“No, I have far more pleasant means of teasing you, do I not?” he taunted.

She sucked in a sharp gasp before she was tugging away from his grasp and stepping toward the bemused Howard. With an inborn elegance, she offered a small curtsey.

“Mr. Summerville, this is a pleasure.” She held out a slender hand. “It has been far too long.”

“Indeed, it has.” Bending at the waist, Howard planted a kiss on her knuckles, unaware of the savage fury that lanced through Edmond at the mere sight of another man touching Brianna. “Who could have suspected you would grow into such a lovely woman?”

“I, for one,” Edmond snarled, encircling Brianna’s shoulders with a possessive arm.

Howard took a hasty step backward, male enough to sense Edmond’s prickling air of warning. That did not, however, halt him from attempting to try and take advantage of Brianna’s arrival. No doubt he hoped that she would be a far easier touch than Stefan or Edmond.

“And now that you are to be family, we must become better acquainted. Perhaps you would join my wife for—”

The slurred words came to an awkward halt as there was a muffled, but unmistakable sound of a shot being fired from the garden below. Edmond hissed in shock, spinning to the balustrade even as Howard gave a shout of alarm.

He was not certain what he intended to do. He could easily vault over the railing and land in the garden, but with the dark and fog he would be nearly blind. Hardly the best means to confront an armed assailant.

Still, he could not allow his attacker to vanish without even attempting to give chase.

“Brianna, go inside and do not leave until I return,” he commanded, his hands on the balustrade as he prepared to plunge into the thick shadows below.