Page 24 of Once a Scoundrel

His jaw clenched so hard now that the muscles in his neck twitched. A few more seconds of this, and he’d break his vow of never manhandling a woman. “Lady Rathbourne, if you do not—”

“Have you found it yet?” Faith’s laughing voice carried down to him as she stepped around one of the trees. “It was no less than what you deserved for—”

She saw them and froze. Her face paled as her eyes darted to his hand, still pressed against the viscountess’s breast, her bodice half undone and all of her twined around him. Then she turned and ran.

“Faith, wait!” With a curse, he shoved the viscountess away and charged after her.

He caught her at the edge of the lawn, just as she broke free of the cover of the trees. She slowed to a walk to keep from drawing attention to herself but didn’t stop as she headed straight toward the house, her face red with anger.

“Please let me explain,” he said in a low voice, his heart tearing when he saw the smile she forced onto her face for the other guests.

“No,” she spat out.

“It isn’t what you think—

“What Ithinkis that I saw that woman in your arms, with her dress undone and your hand on her...Oh, it doesn’t matter! Just leave me alone!”

The irony was biting. The woman he didn’t want threw herself at him, while the one he wanted couldn’t get away fast enough.Christ.

He took her arm and gently stopped her, but she refused to look at him. “I am telling you the truth. Lady Rathbourne came after me into the trees—completely uninvited—and threw herself at me. I was sending her away when you found us.”

She said nothing, her gaze fixed on the house.

“I wouldneverdo anything with that woman, Faith,” he said softly, daring to take a step closer even though she stiffened.

“Let go of me,” she demanded in a whisper.

The anguish he saw in her broke his heart. He spoke in a low plea, “You have to believe me.”

She trembled, shifting away from him with agitation. “I-I can’t—I can’t be this close to you right now.”

Self-recrimination rose inside him, and he bit out tightly, “Because you still won’t forgive me for leaving you?”

When she finally looked at him over her shoulder, tears glistened in her eyes.

“Because yousmellof her,” she whispered in a breathless accusation. “Her perfume is all over you.”

She gently pulled her arm free. As she walked away, he saw her swipe at her eyes. The small movement sliced through him like a knife.