Wolfishly Yours

by Lydia Dare

  He stopped in front of her door again and raised his knuckles to knock. Then he halted at the last moment. Was she sniffling inside her room? Certainly she wasn’t crying? He pressed one ear to the door, but the sound stopped. All he could hear was his own rapid heartbeat. He paced back down the length of the corridor. When he turned, he stumbled against a hard body.

  “Bloody hell, Grayson. Either go tumble the chit and get it over with, or go to bed,” Archer snarled at him.

  Not that the thought hadn’t crossed Gray’s mind, but Liviana Mayeux was not a woman who could be tumbled and then discarded. “What are you doing up here?” he grumbled back. They both had rooms in the opposite wing. There was no reason for Archer to be on this side of the house unless he was visiting someone. “You weren’t paying a visit to Livi, were you?” he asked, trying to keep from ripping his brother’s head from his shoulders at the very thought.

  “I came to save your hide, you bloody idiot. I could hear your pacing all the way in my chambers. If you’re caught pacing this corridor, there will be hell to pay.” He growled the words at Gray.

  If Gray wasn’t feeling quite so remorseful, he’d take a swing at his brother for good measure. But doing so would only cause a scene, a scene he’d do well to avoid. “I think she’s crying in there,” he blurted.

  Archer raised a brow at him. “What makes you think that?”

  “Because I’m the idiot who ruined her chance at making a good match,” Gray hissed back at him.

  “You didn’t put those crude words in her mouth,” Archer reminded him.

  That much was true. But still… “She would never have said such a thing if I hadn’t poured a vat of punch over her head,” Gray said, massaging his forehead again. There was a dull thump just behind his temples that was growing louder and louder.

  “It was hardly a vat,” Archer chided. “And you splashed her with it. You didn’t pour it on her.”

  “Same thing,” Gray grunted.

  Just then, Archer cocked his head to the side and stepped closer to Livi’s door. “Did you hear that?” he asked softly.

  Gray moved closer to him and listened intently. He didn’t hear anything. But then a muffled sob reached his ears. “Oh, dear God,” he groaned. “She is crying.” He reached for the door handle but Archer’s hand covered his.

  “Don’t do it,” his brother ordered.

  Archer could go to the devil. Gray wasn’t going to leave Livi behind a closed door where she was sobbing her eyes out. Not a chance in hell. Instead, he opened the door a crack and listened. Then he heard it again. One mournful sob. A piece of his heart must have broken in that moment, because that sob shook him to the core. He shoved Archer to the side with all his might and entered her chambers. Then he closed the door and shut his brother out of the room entirely. And shut himself inside with Livi.

  “You’re going to live to regret this,” Archer hissed through the door.

  He was probably right. Gray would live to regret this. He already did regret it. But he regretted being the cause of her scandal much more. He couldn’t stand on the other side of the door and listen to her sobbing. Not without going to her. He needed to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness.

  He stood completely still for a moment with his forehead against the door, taking deep breaths in and out through his nose, waiting for the moment to alert her to his presence. He finally turned slowly and came face to face with her bedchamber. Her room was nice and tidy, with a huge bed taking up much of the space. A wardrobe stood open in the corner of the room, her personal items there for him to see. Green garters. She wore green garters. Who the devil wore green garters? Evidently Liviana Mayeux did. And now, every time he looked at her, all he would be able to think about would be green garters hugging the sensitive skin of her upper thighs. He drew in a deep breath. Then he heard that gasping cry he’d heard earlier. A light shone on the other side of a silk screen in the corner of the room. She must be behind it.

  “Livi,” he said softly. But there was no sound in return. Dear God, what if she had done herself harm in her delicate state? What if he found something he wasn’t expecting behind the screen? “Livi,” he repeated. He took a few tentative steps closer to the screen. “Miss Mayeux,” he said. Then he heard that gasp again. And a sputter and a splash of water along with it. She was in her bath? “Livi,” he barked.

  “Who’s there?” came a watery response.

  “Livi, it’s me, Gray,” he said. He stepped closer to the screen when she didn’t reply. “Are you all right?” He peered around the corner of the screen. He would just take a quick peek to be sure she was well.

  “Don’t come any closer,” she screeched. He took a step back. Then another.

  She jumped from the tub, and Gray could hear water sloshing from the copper bath as she did so. The beeswax candle behind her limned her body in shadow. Bloody hell. She was naked behind that screen. And he could see every dip and curve of her body in the silhouette created by the light and the screen. The light, the screen, and her natural beauty. And there was a lot of it. In minute detail.

  She stood there frozen, and he couldn’t draw his gaze away. Her round bottom. Her pert little breasts. Her narrow waist. It was all outlined for him. Gray couldn’t have drawn a breath or spoken if he’d tried. All the blood in his body shot straight down to his manhood. He couldn’t have formed a cognizant thought if his life depended on it. All he could think was Livi, naked. Livi, beautiful. Livi, curvy where he hadn’t expected it. Livi. Dear God, he wanted Livi.

  “Why are you here, Gray?” she asked, crossing her arms across her breasts.

  He could do nothing more than grunt. He couldn’t put together an intelligent sound. Not on his life.

  “I beg your pardon?” she prodded. Then she sighed heavily. “I hope it’s you and not some prowler in the night,” she said.

  One slim arm sneaked out from behind the screen. It was naked all the way up to her shoulder. He followed the line of it, licking his lips as he went. If he moved one inch in her direction, he might even see the side of her breast. Suddenly, her fingers snapped, drawing him from his utmost desire.

  “Could you please pass me my wrapper?” she asked. When he didn’t move, she snapped those slim fingers again. He moved as though a gunshot had directed his actions.

  “Where?” he finally asked. Evidently, she’d reduced him to monosyllables.

  “On the bed?” she questioned. The bed. Oh, dear God, the bed. The bed was right there and Livi was naked.

  “Grayson?” she said.

  He picked up the wrapper and very nearly threw it at her. But that could be even more of a mess. Instead, he placed it in her hand. When she had it securely within her grasp, she jerked it behind the screen and shrugged into it. Her doing so made him physically ache, even more than he already was, to see her cover that beautiful body with a robe.

  Then she stepped from behind the screen as she pulled one edge of her wrapper to cover the other. She tied it around her waist with a sash. The silky material clung to her damp curves in all the right places.

  Gray wanted to grab her tightly and kiss her senseless. So she’d be half as senseless as he was. But with his manhood raging, there was no way he could touch her. “Bloody hell,” he breathed instead.

  The door cracked only slightly. “Miss Mayeux,” his brother called. “Are you decent?”

  Hell, no, she wasn’t decent. She was decadent. She was naked beneath that wrapper.

  “Decent as I can be, considering the situation,” she called back.

  The door opened wider and Archer stepped inside. He tried to bite back his grin, but it was nearly impossible. “It appears as though you’ve struck him dumb and speechless, Miss Mayeux,” Archer said. He smothered a chuckle inside a cough in his open fist. Damn him to hell. “It would be best if you called on Miss Mayeux at a more appropriate time, wouldn’t it, Grayson?” he asked. “And a more appropriate place.”

  Gray swallowed so har
d he could hear it. “Better. Yes, better,” he agreed with a nod.

  Archer took him by the shoulders and directed him toward the threshold. “Pardon the interruption, Miss Mayeux. Gray needs a moment to put himself back together.” His brother’s gaze dropped pointedly toward Gray’s trousers, where it must be quite obvious how Livi had affected him. Archer mumbled to him, “You had better put that thing away.”

  “I loathe you,” Gray muttered as he let Archer lead him from the room. He didn’t look back at Livi. He couldn’t. He couldn’t look at her at all.

  Archer closed the door softly behind him. “Will you ever learn to listen to me?”

  Probably not. But Gray wished he had.

  Lady Sophia’s door squeaked as it opened, and the lady poked her head into the corridor. “Lord Radbourne, Mr. Hadley.” She sighed. “I can’t imagine what would bring the two of you to my bedchamber at this hour.”

  Archer snorted. “We got lost.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Just find your way back to your own chambers.” Then she turned her glare on Gray. “And, you… Lady Radbourne would like an audience with you first thing in the morning.”

  Gray seemed to remember his mother saying something similar when they were at the Longboroughs’. He nodded once.

  “Now, sweetheart,” Archer slid closer to their tutor, “Gray got a little foxed. He’s terribly sorry about the entire affair. Lord Eynsford doesn’t really need to hear about this little incident, does he?”

  Lady Sophia shook her head. “Certainly you know better than to try to coerce me with your silver tongue, Archer Hadley.”

  “What will it take, then?” Archer growled.

  “Well, if I was less scrupulous, I might ask for the deed to Bindweed Cottage.” She stepped into the corridor, wrapping her robe tighter about herself. “But I genuinely care for Miss Mayeux and I wouldn’t put my own interests over hers. Besides, you’re wasting your breath.” She smiled like the cat that ate the cream. “I have no intention of writing to Lord Eynsford about this evening’s events.”

  Gray breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with Dash too.

  “Why not?” Archer narrowed his eyes on the lady. “Certainly it’s not out of the goodness of your heart.”

  Gray shoved his brother’s shoulder. Damned dolt. Was he trying to get Lady Sophia to change her mind?

  “Because there’s no reason to do so. The Eynsfords have arrived in Bath this very evening.” She looked supremely pleased with herself. “In fact, Lady Radbourne has already paid them a visit. She went as soon as she learned of their arrival, after we returned from the Longboroughs’.”

  Archer huffed in indignation. “You told them to come,” he accused.

  “Because I knew the two of you would create some scandal? Do you attribute me with a soothsayer’s ability now?” Lady Sophia shook her head. “On the contrary, Lady Eynsford simply wanted to partake of the waters in her delicate state. I had nothing to do with their western sojourn.”

  “Blast it to hell,” Archer grumbled, echoing Gray’s thoughts exactly.

  Twelve

  Livi stared up at the canopy over her head as the first rays of morning filtered into her chamber. She’d lain awake most of the night. First, wondering what had possessed Gray to enter her room like that. And then worrying over her future.

  What was she going to do? As soon as Grandfather broke his fast, he’d learn about what had happened at the Longboroughs’ the night before, what she’d said… And then what? Would she find herself in some Irish convent?

  She couldn’t end up in a convent. She just couldn’t. So she was left with a choice—successfully flee England or become the lady her grandfather wanted, assuming it wasn’t already too late for that. Neither option was particularly to her liking. But her choice would have to be made soon because she couldn’t imagine life behind a convent’s walls.

  A knock came at her door, and Livi blinked toward the sound. Wasn’t it too early for visitors? Then her mind flashed back to the strange visit Gray had paid her the night before. Had he come back? She pulled the counterpane up to her neck and called, “Come in.”

  Sophie stepped over the threshold and frowned. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  Relieved that it was her friend and not a hulking Lycan, Livi sat up in bed. “Come in, Sophie. I’m awake.”

  Sophie sighed warily and then closed the door behind her. “It’s the earl.” The tutor crossed the floor silently, but each step she took increased Livi’s anxiety tenfold.

  Bon Dieu! It was too late. “He wants to send me to Ireland?”

  Sophie shook her head. “No, no, not yet,” she said soothingly. Then she took Livi’s hand in hers. “Lord Holmesfield’s valet sought me out just a few minutes ago. His lordship is not faring well this morning. I know you’re not close to your grandfather, but I thought you might want to see him.”

  Livi’s mouth dropped open. Her grandfather had been sickly ever since she arrived in England, but he had a spine of steel. She couldn’t really imagine him not faring well. “My grandfather?” she asked.

  Sophie nodded. “I can’t imagine he’ll receive visitors other than you today.”

  “I can’t imagine he’d want to see me.” After all, he hadn’t wanted to spend any time with her since she’d arrived.

  But Sophie squeezed her hand. “You are his blood, Livi, no matter how much he blusters.”

  “All right,” Livi agreed. If Sophie thought it was necessary, Livi clearly needed to visit with the earl.

  ***

  Gray dropped into a seat at the breakfast table and frowned. Where was his mother? She had made it quite clear she wanted a word with him, and he’d already searched all the main rooms of the house.

  “Raw egg, sir?” a footman asked, biting back a smirk.

  Gray glowered at the servant. “Just coffee. Thank you.”

  The footman nodded dutifully. “As you wish.” He placed a cup and saucer in front of Gray before pouring a spot of coffee for him. “Cream? Sugar?”

  “Black will do.” Gray took a sip and then regarded the chatty servant. “Has Lady Radbourne come down for breakfast yet?”

  The footman shook his head. “I have not seen her ladyship this morning, sir. In fact, you are the first to break your fast.”

  “Grayson!” boomed a voice from the doorway.

  Gray almost swallowed his tongue in his haste to rise to his feet. “M-morning, Dash.”

  His half brother, Dashiel Thorpe, the Marquess of Eynsford, narrowed his golden eyes on Gray and heaved an indignant sigh. “What is to be done with you?”

  “Spoke to Mother, I take it?”

  Dash stepped into the breakfast room. “Violet stayed with us last night. It was too late for her to return after her visit.”

  “And she wanted to see the children,” Gray added.

  “Lia and Lucien do adore her.”

  Gray snorted. “Between your children and Wes’ marriage, she’s about to come out of her skin wanting more of both. Hordes of grandchildren and married sons.”

  With a wicked gleam in his eye, Dash said, “One tends to beget the other.” Then he shrugged. “Perhaps she’s on to something. Madeline has been quite the calming influence on Wes, and I’m certain Cait had the same effect on me. If you were married and bouncing a bundle on your knee, I’m not certain you’d have time to create havoc.”

  Gray’s mouth fell open. He couldn’t believe Dash could even suggest such a thing. “So, should I just rush for the border with the next chit I see, like Wes did? Would that make you happy?”

  His older brother cracked a smile, which was something of a rarity. “I suppose it depends on who the next chit you see is, and whether or not you’ve doused her with punch in front of all the ton.”

  A vision of Livi flashed in Gray’s mind, but he shook the thought away. She wasn’t for him. Her grandfather had great plans for her, and none of them included Gray. “That was an accident,” he growle
d. “And it wasn’t all of the ton.”

  Dash’s golden brow rose with mild amusement. “You know better than to take that tone with me.”

  Gray dropped his gaze to the cooling coffee before him. “The punch was an accident,” he repeated much more softly. Then he chanced a glance at his brother. “But I may have ruined her chances last night.”

  Dash turned his attention to the footman. “Leave us.” As soon as the servant was gone, and it was truly just the two of them, Dash leaned forward in his seat. “Your mother told me a very interesting story last night.”

  More than just the fact that Gray had dumped a vat of punch on Livi at the Longboroughs’? “Oh?” he asked, afraid of the answer he’d hear.

  “Your Miss Mayeux is half Lycan.”

  That was hardly news. She’d told him the very same thing almost within seconds of meeting her. “I wouldn’t call her mine,” he said.

  Dash chuckled. “If you truly did ruin her chances, I think that’s exactly what I’ll call her. I won’t have you ruin a young girl’s chances and walk away, Grayson.”

  Gray shook his head. “I can’t imagine Holmesfield would agree to any such alliance.”

  “Neither would Hythe, if he’d been given the choice,” Dash replied. “So Wes took matters into his own hands.”

  “Are you saying I should abduct Livi and elope?”

  Dash narrowed his eyes on Gray. “I’m saying we have to live by their rules most of the time, but we have our own we must adhere to, as well. That girl shares our lineage. She shares our mark, and I won’t see her hurt at your hands.”

  So now Gray was the villain in all of this. “I have no intention of harming her,” he growled, even though he’d already been warned against doing so.

  “No,” Dash agreed more amiably than was normal. “Cait seems to think your intentions are something else entirely.”

  Cait? What the devil did Cait have to do with any of this? “She’s never even met Livi. How could she possibly know anything about the situation?”