AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With practiced charm, he maintained eye contact with her the entire time. He knew he was encouraging an infatuation, but it didn’t matter. She’d soon be swamped by fascinated men and forget all about him. It was his way of repaying her for helping to remove an obstacle between himself and Mélisande.
THE ART OF WAR
MÉLISANDE SMILED BRIGHTLY as she approached the cluster of gentlemen. David did not smile back. In fact, he didn’t even acknowledge her presence at all.
How rude.
Herrington was among those in the gathering. The man glared at her with chilly disdain, and Mélisande matched his cool appraisal, making it obvious she found him somehow lacking. She smiled in satisfaction when he finally excused himself and stalked away.
When the group broke, David offered his arm without a word and began leading her toward the outer hall.
His pace was leisurely, but Mélisande wasn’t fooled. He was furious, probably over her partnering with Orsini—Gravina, she reminded herself—for the waltz. That was unfortunate, because she really needed his help. There was no way she could do this alone; she simply didn’t have the knowledge.
But he did. And knowing David as she did, she also knew there was no point in trying to sweeten the reality. With him, the direct approach was always best. David ushered her to the nearest door, checking first to be sure the room was unoccupied before unceremoniously shoving her in.
His eyes when he turned to face her were two chips of ice. She’d seen the look before, although never directed at her. It was the look he wore when facing his father.
A tiny twinge of fear stabbed through her.
He stared her down, his lips thinning to a slash as he waited.
“I want him,” she stated, her chin lifting in defiance. “I’ve wanted him since the day I met him. And I shall have him.” She moved to a large gilt mirror on the wall and began adjusting her hair, glancing at him in its reflection.
He lifted a brow.
“It’s pointless to argue,” she continued, growing cross at his continued silence. “I’ve no desire for a husband, as you well know, and therefore have no need to preserve my virginity. To even imagine that I would remain pristine until I reach my grave is purely ridiculous.” She let out an unladylike snort. “Let us be realistic. It has to happen someday, and now is as good a time as any.”
“I will not allow it, Melly. I forbid it.”
Mélisande straightened her spine and glared at him in the mirror. “Not allow? Forbid?” Her voice rang off the walls as she turned to face him. “You, sirrah, shall forbid me nothing! You are neither my guardian nor my keeper!”
David’s dark brows collided.
“I never took you for a hypocrite, but now I begin to wonder,” she threw at him, working her way up to a full rant. “That you of all people, a complete degenerate, would think to teach me morality is a bloody laugh. If I—”
“I don’t propose to teach you anything!” he shot back at her. “That would be impossible, wouldn’t it? And even if I did make the attempt, it would be a case of the blind leading the blind, and well I know it. I’m only trying to save you from yourself, damn you!”
“I don’t want to be saved!” she hissed. “I know exactly what I do want, however, and it isn’t a lecture from you! What I want is out there now, awaiting my return.”
“Oh, yes.” David nodded, his tone sarcastic. “I can well imagine. He waits for you like a fox waits for a trusting bird to fly into its open jaws! Do you really think you’re a match for a seducer like him just because your mother was a courtesan? I can tell you right now, you’re not. Choose someone else to practice on, anyone else, but not him.”
“The decision has been made,” she breezed, ignoring his upset. “I intend to take him to my bed tonight.”
He strode over to stand only inches away from her, wrath evident in his every movement. But where many men would have backed away, Mélisande stood her ground.
“I’ll kill him first.”
His voice was chill, like something straight out of a grave. He meant it, she knew. But this was what she wanted, and she’d be damned if anyone, even her dearest friend, would stand in her way.
“Do so, and I shall never forgive you or speak to you again,” she vowed just as coldly.
“You are impassioned, Melly. You don’t know what—”
“And about bloody time, wouldn’t you say? I’ve only waited five years for this to happen!”
“Your judgment is clouded by desire, your logic impaired,” he said. “I beg you to rethink this.”
She forced herself to respond in a calm, reasonable manner. “I’m thinking clearly for the first time in my life. I know what I want and I will have it. And not you, nor anyone or anything else is going to stop me. Now, you can either help me, or you can damn well get out of my way.”
