Page 74 of A Relentless Rake

“I don’t trust your brother to keep you safe.” That was the God’s honest truth, if not the reason he was here.

She smiled tightly. “Then you can guard me from outside.”

He stilled. Did she know that Reed and Clayton had been watching the school? But now the building was unguarded, the two men positioned at Lady Rowland’s house instead. Alec should have been with them—hell, he should have still been at Lord and Lady Gantry’s town house with the baroness. But he’d felt compelled to come after Olivia in a way he’d never chased after a woman before in his life.

“We need to talk, and I can’t talk to you from the outside.” He casually gestured at the window. “Unless you want me to shout up from the service yard and let the neighbors eavesdrop.”

Her smile vanished. “Then you might as well leave because I know nothing more about the Admiralty Club, and we’ve said everything we’ve needed to say to each other about everything else.”

Not by a long shot. “I’m not here because of your brother. And I’m not leaving until we’ve settled what’s between us.”

She crossed her arms, being just as obstinate as he was. “Then you’re going to be here a very long time.”

“That’s all right.” He reached beneath his greatcoat and withdrew the bottle of whiskey he’d snagged from Gantry’s study. “I’ve brought fortification.”

She made a show of leaning forward to examine the bottle. “Rot gut.”

“Only the finest,” he countered dryly. Then he pulled out the loosened cork with his teeth and spat it onto the floor.

“I don’t drink.” She rocked back on her heels with a disdainful sniff.

“Who said it was for you?” He took a swallow, then relented by holding it out to her like a peace offering.

She stared at it for a long while, and he could almost see the workings of her sharp mind spinning as she considered whether she should take it and which action would be the most defiant. Blowing out a loud breath, she accepted it from him and took a small sip.

Immediately, she began to cough.

“That’s disgusting!” she forced out between coughs and shoved the bottle back at him.

He fought down a smile. “Yes, but it gets the job done.”

“And what job is that?” she asked, falling for his ploy.

“Dulling your reaction so you’re more likely to miss when you come after me with your carving knife.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “If you insist upon—”

“Tell me about your past.” Her breath caught at his unexpected but soft order, made even softer by the lowering of his voice. “I’m not leaving until I learn who you really are.”

“Olivia Maria Everett. Schoolmistress.” But the sharp tone she’d undoubtedly hoped for was lost beneath the unexpected huskiness in her voice. “There. Now you know who I am.”

Impertinent chit. “I promise not to tell your secrets to anyone.” He set the bottle on the fireplace mantel, snatched the cork from the floor, and tossed it into the banked coals. “But you’re living behind a false façade, and I’ve seen more than enough people suffer from living a lie. I only want to understand why you’re doing it.”

She hesitated. “Why does it matter to you?”

“Because I want to help you.”

“I don’t need your help.”

More than she realized.“Perhaps not. But I need your trust.”

“You need to leave.”

He neededher. Frustration pulsed through him that even now she refused to reveal herself. But he hadn’t lied; he wasn’t going anywhere until he discovered the real woman behind the beautiful façade, the one who’d given him only a glimpse of her true spirit and wild soul. The same one who’d gotten under his skin and into his heart.

“I wanted to make love to you that night at Vauxhall,” he confessed in a murmur.

“I know.” But the haughty sniff accompanying that was undercut by the tremor in her voice.