To Seduce a Bride

would have managed if you had not rescued me.”

“I cannot let you suffer, now can I?” he said with a caressing smile.

Although clenching her jaw, Lily had no choice but to comply with his request. By the time the maid Ellen came scurrying into the room, Heath had scooped Ada up in his arms and was smiling down into her eyes while she clung to his neck and gazed back up at him in adoration.

When he strode from the parlor with his feminine burden, Lily quickly gave instructions to Ellen, then snatched up Ada’s shoe and stocking and followed Heath up the front staircase.

Ada’s bedchamber was on the second floor at the rear of the corridor, and Lily managed to reach it before him, in time to open the door for him. He carried the courtesan inside and gently set her down on the bed. Ada kept her arms twined about his neck, though, while she whispered something in his ear that made him laugh softly.

Lily realized she was grinding her teeth, and she willingly admitted relief when Heath disengaged himself from the beauty’s hold and gallantly took his leave of her.

When he accompanied Lily out into the corridor, however, she was surprised that he took her elbow in a firm grasp. “Where may we be private, angel?” he asked in a deceptively pleasant tone.

Lily sent him a narrow glace. He almost sounded angry at her. “Will Fleur’s sitting room do?”

“Well enough,” he said tersely.

Wondering what had roused his wrath, Lily led the way. She felt herself tense when Heath shut the door sharply behind them. After last night, she most certainly didn’t want to be alone with him again.

Yet he obviously didn’t have in mind a repetition of last night’s lovemaking. His gaze pinned her for a long beat before he moved toward Lily, stopping barely a foot away. Despite his intimidating stance, her body’s response to his nearness was immediate: She found it difficult to breathe, let alone think, when he was that close.

“You endorsed Ada’s attempt at seduction, didn’t you?” Heath demanded in a curt tone. When she remained silent, a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Don’t bother to deny it, sweeting. Ada confessed your role.”

Lily’s eyes widened as comprehension dawned. “You persuaded her to tell you, didn’t you? You charmed a confession out of her.”

“Guilty as charged,” he shot back.

“How did you even guess?”

“I thought her behavior strangely forward, even for her. And I’ve learned to spot a ruse when I see it.”

“Oh, yes, I forget,” Lily rejoined. “Females have been throwing themselves at your feet for aeons. So that display of concern for her injury-your rubbing her ankle so tenderly-was all for show, for my benefit?”

“Indeed. Her ankle is perfectly sound.”

Lily felt her fingers curl into fists as she remembered her fierce feelings of jealousy a moment ago. And Heath had deliberately stoked them, pretending to be interested in the beautiful other woman.

Apparently he was not finished upbraiding her, though. “You admit that you approved Ada’s little scheme. What I want to know is why.”

“I should think it obvious,” Lily retorted, starting to feel uncomfortable with his piercing regard.

“According to Ada, you meant to prove that I am like your late father-eager to chase anything in skirts.”

“That is part of it, yes.”

Her answer made sparks flare in his eyes. “And you thought you could be rid of me by pawning me off on some other woman? Bloody hell, Lily.”

When she winced at his fury, Heath’s jaw locked with the visible effort to control his temper. “What the devil were you thinking? Did you actually believe she could succeed in enticing me? That I would ever want a woman like her when I could have you?”

Lily wrapped her arms around herself defensively. “Truthfully…yes. I thought that if she satisfied your carnal desires, you wouldn’t want me any longer.”

“Dammit, Lily…” In frustration, he raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t merely want sex with you. I want you for my wife. If fucking was all I wanted, I could find any number of willing women to indulge me.”

“I know,” Lily said in a small voice, feeling rather chastened by his argument.

“And I am perfectly capable of finding my own mistress if I want one. I do not need your assistance. And I most assuredly don’t appreciate your deceit or your plotting.”

Moving across to the sofa, she sank down. “I am sorry. I never should have allowed Ada to try and seduce you. Besides,” Lily added, biting her lower lip, “I never even considered the risk she was taking. She has a new patron, and it could have ruined her chances if he discovered she was dallying with you.”

To Lily’s relief, Heath’s tone was a trifle less harsh when he spoke. “Is that the reason you interrupted us? Because you worried she might spoil her chances with her new protector?”

“Ummm…not exactly.”

“Then what, exactly?”

Lily risked a glance at Heath. His jaw was still set in anger, she saw. “I…didn’t want you kissing her.”

He stared for a moment before the hard line of his mouth eased. “You were jealous.”

Feeling a betraying blush rise to her cheeks, Lily ducked her head. “Well…yes.”

Silence reigned for a time. Then Heath came to sit beside her on the sofa. “I suppose I should be flattered. And encouraged. I must be making progress in my courtship if you were roused to jealousy.”

The faint hint of humor in his tone made Lily stiffen. “Don’t raise your hopes too high, my lord. I still have no intention of marrying you.”

She felt his gaze intensify on her again. “You acknowledge your jealousy, but you won’t consider my proposal? That makes little sense. Why are you so damned set against marrying me, Lily?”

“I told you why.”

“Because your parents’ union was hostile. It doesn’t follow that ours will be so.”

Squaring her shoulders, Lily looked up. “If you had experienced their battles all during your childhood, you would not be so eager to wed, either.”

His gaze bored into hers. “So you believe our marriage would be a battleground, like theirs was.”

“I…don’t know,” Lily finally said. “But I am not willing to risk it. I don’t wish to be miserable for the rest of my life, the way my mother was.”

A muscle flexed in Heath’s jaw. “You are equating me with your father again.” When Lily refused to comment, he made a sound like a growl. “What did he do to your mother that was so terrible?”

Lily swallowed, her stomach clenching with the old, old pain. “I don’t wish to discuss it.”

“Damn and blast it, Lily! How can I defend myself as being different from your father if I haven’t a clue what he did?”

“Very well…” The pain welled up inside as she choked out the words. “If you must know…he struck her! He beat her with his fists and felled her to the floor and then kicked her till she screamed. And I couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t bear it! So I grabbed up a knife and told Papa to leave her alone or I would kill him. And I meant it. I would have killed him had he raised his fists against her again. Is that what you wished to hear?”

Her voice had risen practically to a shout, and when she ceased, her breath came in hoarse, uneven pants.

Heath stared at her, his expression arrested. Lily stared back, gritting her teeth fiercely, refusing to look away. But her chest felt hard and heavy and tight, while the back of her throat ached and her eyes stung with tears.

His expression softened then, and she read sympathy in the perceptive hazel depths.

Swallowing hard, Lily averted her gaze from Heath’s suddenly gentle one. She didn’t want his sympathy, his pity. She didn’t want his tender touch, either-yet she was given no choice. She felt the warm, sliding pressure of his fingers as they raised her chin, compelling her to regard him.

“So you were forced to protect your mother from your father’s violence,” he said, his tone very gentle.

Nodding, Lily sat there rigidly, struggling to hold on to her composure. Her voice was a tearful rasp when she finally spoke. “My greatest regret was that I couldn’t help her further. A year later Mama finally took a lover to allay her misery, and then she was banished from her home and even her country. You…you know about the resulting scandals.”

For a span of several heartbeats, Heath remained silent. Then he reached up to capture her face carefully