“I have a question, Mrs. Blackwood,” came a female voice from Griffin’s left.
He turned his head to find a pretty brunette was the one who had spoken. She sent him a half smile before Letty said, “What is it, Miss Porter?”
“You mentioned there would be a prize for the men and one for the women. Does that mean the winning pair must find both?”
Letty tossed her another quick smile before she said, “Oh no, you misunderstand. The pairs will not be a man and a woman. This is a battle of the sexes. Womenversusthe men.”
Griffin jerked his gaze to Aaron, who had folded himself into the crowd ahead. Aaron’s shoulders stiffened, but he kept walking without looking back.
“Oh,” Miss Porter said, her lower lip extending slightly in a pout. “I see.”
The crowd murmured as one while they made the rest of the walk to the house, disappointment and excitement seeming to rise in equal measure depending on the relationships involved or the grasping of the mamas for a match.
On the other hand, Griffin felt two things at this development. One was relief. He wouldn’t be forced to squire around a young lady who was interested in his purse and his name. The other was a thrill of excitement. Although the party was a large one, there was still a possibility that he might be paired with Aaron.
And if that happened, Aaron wouldn’t be able to avoid continuing their conversation from last night. Because it needed continuing, and Griffin was not about to be put off.
Aaron watched as Letty stood on the steps of the veranda, looking down over the crowd gathered in the garden. It was a lively group of laughing, happy people, excited to get the day’s events started.
He, on the other hand, felt sick as he watched Jack hand over a top hat which had been filled with scraps of paper with each man’s name on them. The women had already been paired from an equally designed bonnet and gathered back, giggling as they plotted their plans of attack.
He wanted to be paired with anyone, anyone at all, just not Griffin. Aaron could feel him standing behind him. Feel his stare boring into his back. And Aaron’s body liked it, damn it. His body wanted what his mind could not.
“Warrick will be with…” Letty laughed as she dug into the hat to retrieve a second name. “Mr. Gray.”
Aaron huffed out a breath as Letty’s huge brother-in-law moved over to her aunt’s husband and the two shook hands. War didn’t look particularly happy to play games, but he still shot Claire a heated looked. She nodded and called out, “May the best Blackwood win!”
“Thank you!” he called back, inspiring a quick bubble of laughter through the crowd.
Aaron’s stomach clenched at their easy connection. They were so lucky in it and didn’t even know.
“Ah, and here is Griffin’s name,” Letty said, lifting the paper from the hat with a smile. “Who shall be paired with…”
The pause as she dug into the hat seemed to stretch for a lifetime. Finally she pulled a folded sheet from the hat. Aaron squeezed his eyes shut.
Please. Please. Please.
“Aaron,” she said, and he opened his eyes to watch her lips forming the syllables of his name in slow motion.
His heart began to throb as he looked over his shoulder at Griffin. He was coming toward Aaron in what felt like equally slow motion, his dark eyes focused on Aaron’s face, his full lips turned up in what almost looked like a smirk.
After last night Griffin couldn’t possibly be happy with this pairing. And yet as he reached him, Griffin held out a hand. “I look forward to what we’ll find together,” he said, his deep voice seductive.
Aaron sucked in a breath and slowly reached for the hand extended toward him. Griffin wasn’t wearing gloves, nor was he, so when their palms touched to shake hands it was skin on skin and a jolt of electric desire worked through him.
Letty had moved on to the next pairing and Griffin shifted to stand beside him, calm and seemingly unmoved by what had just happened. Meanwhile, Aaron felt like he would come out of his skin.
“And that’s the last,” Letty said after calling the last two names. “Claire and I will dole out the first clue for your hunts. We will meet back here in two hours, so if you cannot find anything or you don’t hear this call—” She motioned to a servant, who rang a huge gong that had been placed on the terrace above them. “—then return here at that time. Good luck.”
As Letty grabbed for a pile of envelopes and Claire took another, they began to circulate through the crowd. There were some who tore into their clues with gusto and immediately took off across the grounds. When Letty handed Aaron their envelope, she smiled. “Good luck.”
Aaron sighed and turned toward Griffin, holding out the envelope with embarrassingly shaky hands. “Do you want to do the honor?”
Griffin reached out and took the envelope, but his fingers slid across Aaron’s in what could only be a purposeful attempt at intimacy. Aaron didn’t want to, but his body reacted to that grazing touch, clenching and hardening. He glared at Griffin, who smiled back as if he were innocent.
“Certainly,” he said, breaking the seal on the envelope and pulling out a neatly printed sheet. “Shall I read it out loud?”
Aaron nodded, not trusting his voice to do anything else.
