Page 17 of The Rogue’s Offer

“That is to remind you that when you entice a man, the outcome might not end so sedately as my response.”

“I’d hardly call such a…decadent caress…sedate.”

“No?” he grinned. “Then imagine how epicurean you’ll feel when I really do allow you to kiss me.”

“Allow…” Ophelia gasped as she glared at him.

The carriage door opened, and Mathias quickly exited the vehicle then turned and offered his hand to Ophelia. Although she looked as if nothing unseemly had transpired between them, her brown eyes flashed with gold fire as their eyes met. Still grinning, he arched his eyebrow at her and waited for her to accept his hand. Hesitation and annoyance tightened her lovely mouth, before she placed her hand in his and joined him on the sidewalk.

Mathias tucked her arm through his as he escorted her up the steps to the theater. They reached the interior of the Lyceum fairly quickly, and there was a large crush of people in the main lobby. A number of people turned their heads to look at them as they made their way through the crowd. The slight tremor that vibrated off of Ophelia made him bend his head toward her.

“They’re looking because you look exquisite, and they’re trying to understand how I managed to capture your attention for the evening,” he murmured in her ear.

“I think you’re mistaken,” she said with a note of resignation in her voice. “I’m certain they’re thinking something entirely different.”

“Then by the end of the evening, I’ll enjoy telling you how wrong you were.”

Ophelia sniffed with skeptical amusement, but didn’t reply. Biting back a smile at her refusal to believe him, Mathias guided her through the crowd, and up to the second floor. As they entered the Thornbury box, he could feel the tension radiating off her the moment people in the audience below looked up to stare at them. In silence, he gently urged her to take a seat then sat down next to her. Program in hand, Ophelia opened it to study the contents. There was a quiet strength about her, but vulnerability as well. As if aware he was watching her, she directed a questioning look at him.

“Is something wrong?”

“Not at all, I was simply wondering how Havenstock could have been such a fool not to see how lovely you are.” His reply sent a rush of color flooding through her cheeks, and she quickly averted her gaze.

“Thank you.” The quiet response made him smile.

“So you’re not quite the hopeless student you professed to be.”

“Thank you, again,” she said with a laugh. Mathias enjoyed the sound, and he leaned toward her. Before he could speak, the box door behind them swished open. He glanced over his shoulder to see Ralph Merrick entering the box. They were barely passable acquaintances, which meant the man was here for one reason only—Ophelia. In the back of his head, a voice strongly protested introducing the man to her. Merrick was likeable enough, but certainly not stimulating company. He forced a polite smile to his lips and rose to greet the man.

“Merrick,” he murmured with a slight bow. Beside him, Ophelia turned her head toward their unexpected visitor.

“Gilchrist.” The man returned Mathias’s bow then focused his gaze on Ophelia. “It’s been a while since we last saw one another, and I thought I would stop by to say hello.”

“Indeed,” Mathias murmured as he cast a mocking look in the other man’s direction. “Allow me to present the Viscountess Havenstock. Ophelia, Mr. Ralph Merrick.”

“Lady Havenstock,” the man said warmly as he stepped forward to kiss Ophelia’s hand with a look of admiration. “It’s a pleasure.”

“How do you do, Mr. Merrick.”

“Quite well, now that I’ve made your acquaintance,” Merrick said cheerful smile. “I don’t know how we’ve not met before, my lady. Do you come to the theater often?”

“Ophelia isn’t all that fond of the opera.” Mathias experienced a twinge of irritation at the man’s blatant interest in Ophelia.

“Then we should do everything we can to find an entertainment that suits her.” Merrick smiled broadly as he leaned in closer to Ophelia. “We can’t allow ourselves to be denied such an enchanting creature merely on the occasional off note of a singer.”

“You flatter me, Mr. Merrick, but I don’t see myself as enchanting.” Ophelia laughed as a flush of color crested in her cheeks at Merrick’s compliment.

“The very fact that you don’t see yourself as such only makes you all the more bewitching.” Merrick’s expression was one of absolute admiration as he stared at Ophelia, and small bolt of satisfaction sailed through Mathias as he arched his eyebrow at her over the man’s head. Her eyes flashed with amused disgust as their gazes met, before she turned her attention back to Merrick and smiled at the other man.

“I surmise you enjoy attending the opera, Mr. Merrick?”

“I do. In fact, La bohème has become a new favorite. Has Gilchrist explained the story to you?”

“I think convincing me to accompany him this evening proved challenging enough.” The mischievous look on Ophelia’s face as she looked at him, made Mathias’s gut twist and his tension tighten his entire body. The woman had no idea that Merrick had spoken correctly. She was enchanting.

“Despite it’s sad ending, Puccini’s compositions are masterful.”

“Then perhaps I won’t regret coming after all,” she said with another smile in Merrick’s direction. Again, Mathias’s muscles knotted into hard cords of something he didn’t like.

“I, for one, am exceedingly glad Gilchrist persuaded you to do so.”

As the man smiled at Ophelia, Mathias resisted the urge to throw Merrick out of the box. Tension lashed through him. What the devil did it matter that Merrick was expressing such a blatant interest in Ophelia?

Mathias was doing precisely what he’d told Ophelia he would do. He would transform her into a swan then walk away without a backward glance. He knew all too well the folly of becoming too deeply involved with any woman. A voice in the back of his head reminded him that Ophelia wasn't like other women. He quickly dismissed the thought, despite the mocking laughter in the dark recesses of his brain.