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Marcus rested his hand on the shorter man’s shoulder “Go on ahead, Avery, while I deal with this crush, but leave Lady Hawthorne to me”

Avery hesitated a moment, then nodded reluctantly and continued to the ballrooed Marcus

Te his path, Marcus tersely acknowledged the flurry of greetings and inquiries directed at him This melee was the reason he disliked these events Gentle calling hours felt free to approach hi He never mixed business with pleasure At least that had been his rule until tonight

Elizabeth would be the exception As she had always been an exception

Twirling his quizzing glass, Marcus watched as Averypast his partner to the woht of her like aof thirst

Elizabeth had never cared for wigs and was not wearing one tonight, as most of the other ladies did The effect of stark white plu every eye inexorably toward her Nearly black, her hair set off eyes so stunningly colored they brought to mind the luster of amethysts

Those eyes had locked with his for only a ered, the pull of it undeniable It drew him forward, called to him on the primitive level it always had, like a , he could not resist

She had a way of looking at aeyes Marcus could almost have believed he was the onlystood bethere he was trapped on the staircase and where she waited on the other side of the dance floor

He i her into his ar his mouth to hers He knew already that her lips, so erotic in their shape and plumpness, would melt into his He wanted to trail histhe ridge of her collarbone He wanted to sink into her lush body and sate his driving hunger, a hunger that had become so powerful he was very nearly mad with it

He’d once wanted everything—her shter, the sound of her voice, and the view of the world through her eyes Now his need was baser Marcus refused to allow it to be more than that He wanted his life back, the life free of pain, anger, and sleepless nights Elizabeth had taken it away and she could daive it back

His jaw clenched It was time to close the distance between them

One look had shaken his control What would it be like when he held her in his arain?

Elizabeth, Viscountess Hawthorne, stood for a longacross her cheeks

Her gaze had locked on thethat brief ti pace She was held motionless, arrested by the masculine beauty of his face, a face which had clearly shown pleasure at seeing her again Startled and disturbed by her reaction to him after all these years, she had forced herself to cut hiard

Marcus, now the Earl of Westfield, was still nificent He reaze met hers, she felt the spark that passed between theible force An intense attraction had always existed between them She was profoundly disturbed to discover it had not abated in the slightest

After what he’d done, he should repulse her

Elizabeth felt a hand at her elbow, jolting her back into the conversation She turned to find George Stanton at her side, his concerned gaze searching her face “Are you feeling unwell? You look a bit flushed”

She fluffed the lace at the end of her sleeve to hide her unease “It is war her fan open, she waved it rapidly to cool her hot cheeks

“I think a beverage is in order,” George offered and she rewarded his thoughtfulness with a smile

Once George had departed, Elizabeth directed her attention toward the group of gentle?” she asked no one in particular Truthfully, she hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation for most of the past hour

Tho the Earl of Westfield” He gestured discreetly to Marcus “Surprised to see him in attendance The earl is notorious for his aversion to social events”

“Indeed” She feigned indifference while her palloves “I had hoped that predilection of the earl’s would hold true this evening, but it appears I am not so fortunate”

Tho his discootten your past association with Lord Westfield”

She laughed softly “No need for apologies Truly, you have my heartfelt appreciation I’m certain you are the only person in London who has the sense to forget Pay him no mind, Mr Fowler The earl was of little consequence to me then, and is of even less consequence now”

Elizabeth se returned with her drink and his eyes sparkled with pleasure at her regard

As the conversation around her continued, Elizabeth slowly altered her position to better secure furtive glied staircase It was obvious his libidinous reputation had not affected his power and influence Even in a crowd, his presence was coreet him rather than wait for him to descend to the ballroo array of colors and frothy with lace, glided surreptitiously toward the staircase The influx of ad in his direction shifted the balance of the entire room To his credit, Marcus lookeddirected toward him

As he made his way down to the ballrooance of a man who always obtained precisely what he desired The crowd around hih it with ease He attended intently to some, offhandedly to others, and to a few he simply raised an imperious hand He commanded those around him with the sheer force of his personality and they were content to allow him to do so

Feeling the intensity of her regard, his gaze enerous lint in his eyes and the warmth of his smile made promises that he as a man could never keep

There was an air of isolation about Marcus and a restless energy to his o They arning signs, and Elizabeth had every intention of

heeding them

George looked easily over her head to scrutinize the scene “I say It appears Lord Westfield is heading this way”

“Are you quite certain, Mr Stanton?”

“Yes,directly at me as we speak”

Tension coiled in the pit of her stomach Marcus had literally frozen in place when their eyes had firstHe was coe looked down at her as she resu herself furiously

Daht! Her first social event after three years of ht her out within hours of her ree these last years for exactly this moment She ell aware that that had not been the case at all While she had been crepe-clad and sequestered inhis scandalous reputation in many a lady’s bedroom

After the callous way he’d broken her heart, Elizabeth would have discounted hiht especially Enjoyment of the festivities was not her aied covertly to ht she would dedicate herself to the memory of her husband She would find justice for Hawthorne and see it served

The crowd parted reluctantly before Marcus and then regrouped in his wake, the ress toward her And then Westfield was there, directly before her He smiled and her pulse raced The tereat, but the moment when she could reasonably have done so passed far too swiftly

Squaring her shoulders, Elizabeth took a deep breath The glass in her hand began to tremble and she quickly sed the whole of its contents to avoid spilling on her dress She passed the eht her hand before she could retrieve it