Desire by Blood Read Free

He pitched his voice just loud enough for the
group to hear.
    She nodded, laying her hand on his arm. “I do thank you,
sir, for your help. Hurst is a nuisance, and I could have deflected him. Your
help just made it much easier.”
    He guided her over to a group of matrons. “I trust you will
be able to avoid him in the future.”
    It was not a question, but an order. Odd, because before
tonight, she had barely spoken to him. She sent him a sharp stare to tell the
man he had overstepped his bounds. Little shock that he ignored her.
    Instead, he bowed. “Thank you for the dance, Lady Cordelia.”
His voice was loud enough for the group of nearby matrons to hear.
    She had been in his company for the last five minutes and
had yet to ask him more than one question about his finances. As she stared at
him, that eyebrow of his rose again. Mr. Blackburn knew she had questions for
him…which was why he had avoided her for days. Now that he was dumping her with
the matrons, she had no way of asking anything else. She was stuck—and he knew
it.
    She offered him a smile she reserved for the most vapid of
young misses. “You are most welcome, Mr. Blackburn.”
    His lips twitched as if he repressed a smile. After a nod to
the matrons—watching the whole scene as if they were at the theater—he turned
and walked away.
    And Cordelia cursed herself again. She still didn’t know if
the man earned his money legally or not. She thought back to the dance, the way
his body pressed against hers, the heat she saw in his eyes, and sighed. She
had to learn how to keep her wits about her the next time she encountered Mr.
Blackburn.
    Her livelihood depended on it.

 
    *   *   *   *

 
    “You look ready to faint, Blackburn,” Grayson, Duke of
Queensbury, said, amusement threading his voice. “Done in by a little mouse of
a woman?”
    Nico threw him what he hoped was a nasty look and grabbed a
drink as a waiter passed by. Bloody hell, his hand was shaking. “You are
treading on thin ice.”
    “I've never known Lady Cordelia to have this effect on
anyone but Hurst, and seriously, I cannot understand why he is interested.”
    Without knowing or caring what the drink was, Nico tossed
back the contents in one huge gulp, wincing as the warm lemonade slid down his
throat. God, he needed to get out of there, find a woman. The moment he thought
it, he caught sight of Lady Cordelia. His body responded as if he’d been struck
by lightning.
    “So, tell me, how did Lady Cordelia ensnare you? Was it her
modest gown or her discussion on anything political?”
    How could he explain it? Not once in society had he come so
close to losing control. How could one petite, blue-eyed miss have brought him
so close to the edge? Even now he had to grind his teeth together to keep his
incisors from descending. He had been moments from taking her, and she would
not have resisted. It was in her makeup to respond to him—even if she did not
understand. His plan to divert her attention had gone horribly awry. He could
remember the feel of her hardened nipples as they lightly brushed his chest.
The need to drink from her had doubled.
    Damn! He pulled his attention away from Lady Cordelia and
back to Gray, who was now studying Nico with enjoyment.
    “She's a Carrier.”
    Gray's face lost all emotion, and his body turned to stone.
“You must be mistaken. I know every Born in the ton . She is not one.”
    Nico glanced around, looking to see if anyone had overheard.
He quickly realized that the only attention they had was from a crowd of
eligible young women across the floor. With a sigh, he motioned with his head
and turned, not even waiting to see if Gray followed. Nico knew the duke would.
He found the library easily and was relieved to discover it empty. Gray shut
the door quietly and leaned against it.
    “Do you really think she is a Carrier?”
    “I don't think. I know. At age five hundred, I think I know
the difference between a Carrier and a normal human