Dancing With A Devil Read Free

Audrey.”
    Trent’s silken voice washed over her while he took her hand. She whipped her head up. Was that confusion on his face? Before she could decide, the look was gone. He pressed her hand to his lips. “I am sorry.”
    How horribly humiliating. She had wanted his affection and eventually his love, and instead she had his pity. She shrugged. “I’m perfectly fine. We should return to the others.” She tugged her hand away and went to turn toward the door, but Trent caught her arm.
    “ Can we still be friends?”
    His suggestion startled her and left her unable to immediately reply. Her aunt and uncle had been friends before they married. And her mother had believed men and women could be friends. Audrey frowned. She had always thought it rather preposterous that most people considered it impossible, yet she had never suspected Trent might think so as well. This was not exactly what she had hoped for, but maybe―“I suppose,” she forced out, her voice wobbling even though she tried to make it steady.
    “ Good.”
    What sounded like regret filled his voice. Her heart skipped a beat. Heavens, no doubt she was hearing what she wished. “We should leave,” she said, determined not to make a further fool of herself.
    “ Yes,” he agreed but did not release her arm.
    She glanced pointedly at his hand. When she looked up, her stomach flipped at the intensity of his stare. “Trent?”
    He refocused on her. “Do you not think some ideas people hold to be antiquated?”
    This had to be about being friends! Her jaw parted. She clamped it shut and prayed he would say more.
    He increased his hold on her arm with gentle pressure before speaking. “We’ll show them all men and women can be friends.”
    He released her arm and she swiveled quickly toward the door to hide her grin. He may have vowed he wanted only to be friends, but the hunger in his eyes told another story. As friends for now, she would continue to see him socially. Now all she had to do was be so irresistible that he would not be able to help falling in love with her and forgetting his ridiculous objection to getting married.

One week later
    London, England
    Inside the gaming halls of Wolverton’s Den

    Trent stared at the cards in his hands, but they blurred, refusing to fight for his attention. In all his years of playing Vingt-et-un he had never lost a game, unless purposely in order to obtain information, but he was about five seconds away from losing.
    From across the table, his cousin Whitney’s betrothed, Drake Sutherland, glanced up from his cards and smirked, causing fine lines of amusement to appear around his keen brown eyes.
    “ I seem to be winning,” he drawled, his American accent making the words sound slower than they ought to.
    Trent narrowed his eyes, refusing to bandy words, though given this last week it was unlikely a simple look would stop Sutherland from prying. The previous seven rude warnings had not deterred the man. Irritating as it was, Trent had to forgive him. Sutherland was only following the well-intended, though misguided, directives of Whitney. Since she was his favorite cousin, by nature of their similar personalities, Trent forgave her too, but when he saw her next, he was going to have to set her straight on meddling in his life. He refocused on his cards, hoping Sutherland’s attempt was over.
    “ Say, Dinnisfree, do you not think Davenport has been rather preoccupied this last week?” Sutherland boomed. Trent snapped his head up and shot Justin Holleman, the Duke of Dinnisfree, a warning look.
    The duke flicked his red hair out of his eyes and acknowledged Trent’s look by tapping his right index finger on the table, a signal no one but one of the prince regent’s spies―or retired spies in Trent’s case―would understand. Sometimes using one of the old secret signals would twist his gut with regret and make him question whether giving his resignation to the prince had been the right decision. Then