The Seduction of Lady X by Julia London

Court, hoping for just a glimpse of them? To see the depth of her sorrow was as hopelessly frustrating as when he’d been a boy, unable to help his mother. He wanted to touch Lady Carey, to hold her and soothe her. To stroke her hair.
    Lady Carey said, “I beg your pardon. I have made you uncomfortable with my woes.”
    “Not at all,” he said, but it was true that he felt anxious, as if he had skated onto a newly frozen lake, uncertain of where the ice was thin. Yet he couldn’t keep himself from skating farther and farther away from his shore. He’d held himself back for so long, had kept his true feelings so deeply buried under duty and honor. He wanted her to know happiness, to understand how a man could feel about a woman.
    Harrison hardly realized what he was doing as he put his fingers under her chin, turning her face so that he could see the bruise. “The truth is, madam, that you deserve a kingdom and more,” he murmured, and lightly passed his thumb over the bruise. “You do not deserve this.”
    Lady Carey’s breath caught. Her eyes widened with surprise. But she did not move away from him. Bold desire swelled in Harrison. He gently touched the bruise again, wishing he could erase it.
    Lady Carey’s eyes shut. “You have always been so very kind to me, Mr. Tolly. What would I do without you?”
    The words wrapped like a tendril around his heart. If only she knew, if only she understood how his heart called to her, had sought her from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her.
    “I pray that neither of us must ever know the answer to that,” he murmured. “We shall find a solution, madam. I give you my word.”
    She opened her eyes, and Harrison felt something. It was small, but fierce, like the flutter of a hummingbird’s wings between them.
    The sound of the door opening startled them both, and Harrison quickly dropped his hand.
    “What is happening here?” Miss Hastings demanded.

CHAPTER EIGHT

     
    A lexa, for heaven’s sake,” Olivia said. She was shaking. It had taken every bit of strength she had to move away from Mr. Tolly—she’d been one breath away from falling into his arms. His arms! What was she thinking? Was there anything that could possibly make her existence worse than it was? Was there anything more dangerous ?
    “What?” Alexa demanded.
    “We are speaking of your predicament, naturally, for there is nothing quite as urgent to occupy our thoughts,” Olivia said as she moved across the room.
    Alexa looked curiously at her. Then at Mr. Tolly.
    Olivia’s heart had begun to beat the moment Mr. Tolly had touched her, and now it throbbed with a want that made her breathless. She put her hand to her chest in a futile attempt to calm it. “On my word, I do not know what I would do without Mr. Tolly’s counsel.” She dared not look at him, certain that her burning cheeks would give her away. Instead she continued on to the sideboard and examined the various decanters there.
    She could feel Alexa’s gaze on her as she picked up a crystal decanter. “Whiskey, Mr. Tolly?”
    “No, thank you.” His voice was as calm and confident as always.
    “Whiskey?” Alexa said suspiciously. “I was not aware that you had a liking for whiskey, Livi.”
    “Yes, well . . . I do.” Olivia poured a small amount and then drank it like water, coughing a little at the burn. Perhaps whiskey was not the best idea. “What has kept you?” she asked, and put the tot down. When she glanced up, she caught her reflection in the mirror above the sideboard. Gray shadows dusted her eyes and the bruise was dark against her skin.
    “I did not feel well this morning, if you must know,” Alexa said. “I am fatigued quite a lot.”
    “Here then, you must sit,” Mr. Tolly offered, and moved a chair closer for her.
    Alexa eased herself into it.
    “I should like—Olivia!” Alexa said suddenly. She came out of her seat and grabbed Olivia by her arms, staring in horror at the bruise. “Dear God—what