Tempted by a Rake’s Smile: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Meghan Sloan

  “I don’t care.” Cassandra lifted her chin, “I know what I want, and I want you.”

  “And I want you, more than you can imagine.” Gabriel trailed a finger down her cheek. “And not just for your body. I want this sharp mind of yours in my life. You are certainly a match for me.”

  Cassandra rolled her eyes.

  “Careful. You’re becoming soppy now.”

  “I am, aren’t I?” Gabriel grimaced. “Forgive me. So many emotions are going through me right now.”

  It wasn’t exactly something he was used to, confessing his love for a woman. Especially a special woman like Cassandra Seton. Who had been so responsive in his arms, and who had shown that she was even more beautiful than he imagined.

  “I’m sure we can figure this out,” Cassandra kissed him. “It’s nobody’s business but our own. We’re more than capable of sorting this out ourselves.”

  “Think you can manage being with me?”

  “I don’t care about money, or the lack of.” The look in her eyes said she meant it. “I care about you.”

  Gabriel couldn’t believe his luck. But he was also aware of the voice in the back of his mind telling him that he was taking himself down a path he wouldn’t be able to get off. Sooner or later, Cassandra was going to find out the truth, and then she would rethink her decision. He had just made a mess of it all.

  But he didn’t want to think about that right now. He wanted to taste more of her body. Then Gabriel remembered the other item in the package.

  “Emily gave you two French letters, didn’t she? She was expecting us to be doing something other than talking.”

  “I guess.” Cassandra shifted against him, tugging his head down. “She said she could give us an hour before she came for us. I’d say we’ve got plenty of time to use the other one.”

  Just hearing her talk like that had Gabriel’s erection flaring back to life. He liked the sound of that. Especially when he was sure that this might be the last time he got to have Cassandra to himself. He wanted that for himself, just for a little while longer.

  Before he mustered up the courage to tell her the truth.

  #

  Both of them were dressed and coming out of the room when Emily came looking for them. She had taken one look at both of them and smirked, her expression knowing. Gabriel wasn’t in the mood to quip back at her about what had or hadn’t happened. The chances were that Cassandra would be telling her at some point.

  He headed back home, giving Cassandra one last kiss before he left. He made it count, almost to the point that Gabriel wanted to drag her back. But he couldn’t. Tomorrow would be different.

  He couldn’t go on like this and lie to Cassandra about how they had ended up in this position. She deserved to know the truth. And Gabriel knew he couldn’t go through with the plan to distract her away from Seton Hall.

  The plan had gone wrong. Cassandra wasn’t the one distracted. He was.

  Gabriel headed home in a low mood. He couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, Gabriel saw Cassandra, naked in his bed. Their second time had been more frantic, like they couldn’t get enough of each other. Gabriel had wanted to get what he could out of this, and leave Cassandra with a final memory of them together.

  Promising her a future when he had lied to her had been stupid. Gabriel knew he was going to pay for it, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

  When daylight finally arrived, Gabriel rose with a heavy heart. He would give it a couple of days so he could get his speech in order. Get it ready so he could tell her the truth while softening the blow. How could you soften the blow that you were using someone to get one over the business they were a part of? That wasn’t exactly something that could be tiptoed around.

  Gabriel made his way through the morning like he was in a thick fog. He dressed himself, barely ate his breakfast, and then slumped out in the garden, staring at the mess of brambles and thorns he and Allen hadn’t been brave enough to tackle. Maybe he should do something to take his mind off what he had to do.

  It would serve him right if the brambles tore his hands up.

  “Mr. Tattershall?”

  Gabriel barely glanced up at his valet.

  “What is it, Allen? I’m busy.”

  “I can see that,” came the snide reply. “I thought you should know that Mr. Montgomery is here. He says you’re expecting him.”

  Montgomery? Oh. Norman. He was bringing the papers over so there could be an official signature. Then Gabriel would be in charge of Montgomery’s gambling hall, paying whatever he could to Norman as payment. What he had been hoping for since he first heard about Norman selling up.

  Only now, it didn’t seem to fill him with as much excitement as it had before.

  “Mr. Tattershall?”

  “Oh, show him out here.” Gabriel didn’t look around. “I’ll see him here.”

  “Very good, sir.”

  Allen disappeared, and then Norman was stepping out into the garden. His friend looked like he had slept well, freshly shaven and with his eyes bright as he practically pranced across the grass towards Gabriel.

  “Morning. I’ve got the papers all sorted out for you.” He brandished a slim folder held together with string. “Everything is as we agreed and looked over by my solicitor. You just need to sign on the dotted line and then I can leave and go back to what I call home.”

  Sign. Home. All that they had agreed on at the start. Gabriel had been determined to get what he could out of this. But now the thought of being a business owner didn’t fill him with joy and anticipation as it had before. Not when he knew it meant hurting someone he loved in the process.

  It didn’t feel like much when Gabriel was certain Cassandra was going to turn her back on him once she knew what her true role in his life was.

  “Gabriel?”

  Gabriel jumped as his shoulder was jostled. Norman was standing over him with a confused look on his face.

  “What’s the matter with you? You look like you’re away in your own world.”

  “I…”

  Gabriel knew he should be happy. This was a new step forward he was taking, and this was what he wanted. But now it was paling in comparison to what he really wanted. He wanted something a bit more substantial in his life.

  He wanted Cassandra. And once she found out he’d lied to her, he wouldn’t have her at all.

  “Gabe?”

  Gabriel buried his head in his hands.

  “My plan failed, Norman. It didn’t work.”

  “Your plan didn’t work?” Norman snorted. “You’re only just finding that out now?”

  “I’m not jesting, Norman.”

  “Neither am I.” Norman sighed and sat in the other chair, which creaked and wobbled under his eight. “I told you that it wouldn’t work because you can’t put one over on Cassie Seton. She’s far too clever. And trying to take out the competition so you can have increased profits to pay me back quicker? How was that going to work without you closing down their business?”

  Gabriel glared at him.

  “If you knew it wouldn’t work, why didn’t you tell me it wouldn’t at the beginning?”

  “I more than likely did, but you’re far too pig-headed. Although I was curious to see how you would go about it.” Norman sat back, looking slightly bemused, “It was...creative, let’s put it that way. There was always the worry that both Cassie and Percy would figure out what happened, but I’m guessing you were hoping by that time they would be married. You were arrogant enough to think that would really work.” He shook his head with a snort. “Distract a woman with a man. Not only did you insult Cassie’s intelligence, but you insulted your abilities to work the strings.”

  Gabriel wished he had been told this in the beginning. Because someone had got distracted throughout all this. And it wasn’t Cassandra.

  “I love her, Norman.” He looked up, “It wasn’t my intention, but it happened.”

  Norman stared. Then he threw back his he
ad and laughed. Gabriel scowled.

  “This is not amusing, Norman!”

  “I think it is. You fell in love with the woman you were planning to pair off with your brother. It would be typical of you to have that happen.”

  “You make it sound like I enjoy this,” Gabriel swallowed. “Cassie broke their courtship yesterday. She told me.”

  “And does she know you’re in love with her?”

  “I told her. The feeling’s mutual.” She loved him. And that didn’t make Gabriel feel any better. “I feel like such a fraud.”

  “Well, you are. You’re the one who tried to play her.”

  “That’s not helping, Norman.”

  “It wasn’t meant to be,” Norman shrugged. His fingers were absently tapping the papers on the table. “I’m giving it to you straight as a friend and someone who did warn you at the beginning that this was asking for trouble. Now you’ve got yourself stuck and you can’t see a way out.”

  “You’re going to pull this contract away?”

  “I didn’t say that. I still want to sell you Montgomery’s. But I’m not impressed about the way you went about getting out of the gate early.” Norman sighed, “You put yourself in this position because you were a fool. You got cocky and wanted everything immediately. Life doesn’t work like that. I would’ve been happy getting it in dribs and drabs for years to come because I knew you would be able to make it successful enough not to let it go to waste. However, you wanted more on the spot, and you were willing to find a way to get one over on your future business rivals so you could have a head start.”

  Gabriel grimaced.

  “Now you put it like that, I do sound like a cad.”

  “You were looking to buy something on credit. It’s not as easy as buying something outright,” Norman snorted. “As you’ve probably experienced just now, life has a tendency to come back and bite you if you don’t use it wisely.”

  Gabriel knew all about life coming back to bite him. He had been dealing with the fallout from being thrown out of the family. After everything he’d done, he knew he was extremely lucky to keep his valet and life on his father’s land. His plan to get back on his own feet to prove that he was fully capable on his own had looked good at the start, but now? Gabriel was beginning to realise that he was a fool to think a flimsy plan would work without getting someone hurt.

  That someone would be Cassie once she realised what he had really been up to. And she would be furious. If she didn’t want to see him again, Gabriel would understand. But the thought of not having her in his life made him feel nauseous. He stood and began to pace.

  “God, I don’t know what to do now.”

  “Does this mean you’re not signing this agreement?” Norman asked.

  “Oh, I’ll be signing it. I’m not about to turn this away now. Once we go inside, I’m putting my name on the dotted line. But will I be able to cope afterwards?”

  Norman’s expression softened. If anything, he looked pained.

  “You’re going to need to tell her the truth, Gabriel. Especially once you take ownership. She deserves to know from you, not from someone else.”

  “But I’ll lose her when I do that.”

  “You’ll lose her for certain if you lie to her any longer.”

  “My feelings for her aren’t a lie!” Gabriel snapped.

  “Cassie won’t see it like that, and you know it. She would prefer your honesty.” Norman sat forward, “Yes, she’ll be angry at what you did, but she’ll forgive you in time. Especially if you go to her first.”

  His friend was right. Gabriel needed to go to her first. Once he laid it all out for her, then Gabriel would let Cassandra decide what she wanted to do. It was up to her.

  He should have left well alone. Gabriel knew he had messed up, but his arrogance had got in the way. His previous attitude had made him think this would work. But real life never worked like that, and Gabriel was beginning to realise that too late.

  “I need to tell her.” He ran his hands through his hair, “I can’t keep doing this.”

  “Why not? You’ve been good at lying for years.”

  Gabriel spun around. His heart sank. Percy was standing there, staring at Gabriel with an outrage he had never seen before on his brother. His hands were clenched at his sides. How long had he been standing there?

  How much had he heard?

  Norman’s eyes widened. Gabriel gulped.

  “Percy. I wasn’t aware you had arrived.”

  “Absolutely,” Percy snorted. “Allen said you were out here, so I came looking for you.”

  This was not good. From the look on his face, he had heard more than enough to put the pieces together. Gabriel took a deep breath as he braced for impact.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I was coming to talk to you. Cassandra broke off our courtship, and I found out something very interesting about how we came to be introduced.” Percy arched an eyebrow, his whole body shaking. “Something about you telling each of us that the other wanted to meet even though we had no idea the other existed?”

  Norman winced and shifted in his chair. Gabriel had thought his brother and Cassandra would figure it out, but not this quickly. He started around the table.

  “Percy, I can explain…”

  Percy held up a hand and stepped away.

  “Don’t. I don’t want to hear your pitiful explanation.”

  “It’s the truth I’m about to tell you!”

  “Somehow, I don’t believe that.” Percy glared at him, and Gabriel could see the hurt in his eyes. “I thought we were family, Gabe. Brothers. I thought you would never lie to me. Guess I was wrong. You would happily trade anyone as long as you get what you want. Even me.”

  “It wasn’t my intention to do that to you, Percy.”

  “Wasn’t it? Then what were you planning on doing?” Percy glanced at Norman, who was keeping his mouth shut, looking like he would rather be anywhere but there right then. “Actually, I don’t need you to tell me. You want to buy Montgomery’s, don’t you? Seton’s, however, is doing very well. You see it as competition. And you want to get rid of that. By steering their best commodity in another direction.”

  Gabriel felt his face getting warm. Why did his brother have to make it sound even worse than it already was?

  “Cassie is not a commodity.”

  “She’s not. And she’s not a pawn you can move around whatever chessboard you’re using,” Percy shot back. He advanced on Gabriel and jabbed a finger into his chest. “You used her, Gabe. Were you also cavorting around with her while I was courting her as well?”

  “No! I would never do that to you.”

  “Why not? You’ve done it before.”

  Gabriel felt two inches tall. He didn’t want to be reminded about the times he had taken to bed women who had been courting his younger brother when he was a younger man. That was a part of his life he certainly didn’t want to revisit.

  “I don’t do that anymore.”