He strode down the hall, smoothing his jacket and calming his breath as he re-entered the ballroom. He gazed across the room immediately, finding the man.Hux, the lady had moaned at the height of her passion.
Hux.
He was tall, very tall, with a wiry frame and broad shoulders. He had to be at least three inches taller than Richard and yet he moved with an untamed grace. Like he owned the room. Owned anyone in the room.
As if he felt Richard’s stare on him, he turned and their eyes met. Richard couldn’t breathe as those dark eyes held his for a beat, two. Hux had crinkles around them, like he smiled often. He wasn’t smiling now. Oh, no, he was looking at Richard like he was something…sweet.
Richard swallowed and let his gaze flit down the other man’s body. Now Hux did smile, just a fraction, before he turned away and moved into the crowd. Richard felt a strange sense of disappointment. Not that he had any idea what he’d wanted the man to do otherwise. Come over? And what? StealRichard’spocket watch?
A flicker of idea passed through his mind and then he shook it away. He was addled by this heady desire he felt. That was all. And it was in his best interest to just leave.
But as he turned to do so, he saw the woman of the pair moving toward him, her gaze lit with interest just like Hux’s had been. Zara, he thought she’d been called. Zara. A beautiful name. One he could easily imagine himself moaning like Hux had moaned it earlier.
“Good evening, sir,” she said as she stepped up beside him.
He arched a brow. That was an error. One that would out her if she wasn’t careful. After all, a gently bred lady would not have approached a stranger so boldly. Was her mind slightly addled from passion? Or did she do such a thing on purpose, knowing that her beauty and confidence would seduce most men into forgetting the impropriety?
“Miss,” he said softly. They stood for a moment, staring out over the ball together. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”
“I would remember,” she said with a smile that stopped his heart for a moment. Good God, but she was a lovely creature.
“As would I,” he breathed, his voice rough. “I’m Richard Fitzoy. And I know your name is Zara, but nothing else.”
Her eyes widened. Oh, she didn’t like that he knew her real name. She hadn’t meant to reveal it and he could see her calculating how he might have known it. But then she smiled and inclined her head. “You are correct. Zara Cooper. A pleasure.”
Had she emphasized the word? He couldn’t tell if he’d imagined it or if it was real. He felt like he was a little drunk, standing here beside her. Knowing that her partner was circling, probably watching them as he’d been watching every man she’d stood beside during the night.
And even though he knew all their attention was likely a way to lighten his pockets, he didn’t step back. “Are you enjoying the gathering?” he asked.
She nodded. “Indeed. It’s been lovely. And you?”
He glanced at her and cleared his throat. “I…I fear I do not have the temperament for such things. I attend almost against my will.”
Her brows lifted at the honesty of the statement. He was a bit surprised by it, too. He knew Zara wasn’t here for any good purpose and yet he’d told her a truth he generally kept to himself.
“That doesn’t sound like much fun,” she said softly. Then she leaned a little closer. “You shouldn’t do things that don’t make you happy, Mr. Fitzroy.”
Her breath tickled his ear and Richard’s eyes came shut at the warmth of it against the sensitive skin. What he wouldn’t give to have her closer. To have her ride him like she’d ridden Hux. To have the other man watch.
Richard gripped his hands at his sides. “I wish it were that easy,” he ground out with effort.
Her brow wrinkled, and for a moment her gaze stopped being playful and she tilted her head. “Why isn’t it?”
His breath caught as he pondered an answer to that question. “Perhaps I’ve allowed it to be difficult. Embraced it as what must be.”
She nodded slowly. “I do understand that. It’s easy to fall into a world of…expectation. But becoming more than what people expect us to be is a worthwhile endeavor.”
He blinked as they held a gaze for a long moment. This was an unexpected exchange, considering what he knew about the lady. And yet it felt genuine. It felt like this woman was seeing into his soul, a place he had locked away for many years.
Worse, he liked it. It reminded him that he was alive and more than what his birthright or past insisted he be.
He shifted in discomfort at that heady reaction. “You are here with a gentleman, I think.”
She swallowed hard and Richard actually saw the moment when her mask came back down over her expression. When she returned to playful thief with a mark and the real connection they had forged so briefly faded away.
“Yes, Huxley is his name,” she said, and glanced toward the crowd as if seeking him in the throng. “A friend.”
Richard lifted his brows. He’d had many friends in his life, but none he made love to in a parlor in the middle of a ball. “A friend,” he repeated slowly. “Fascinating.”
