“Help me?” He snorted. “I fear you are a bit late for that, my dear.”
“I don’t think so,” she disagreed. “If a curse was indeed placed upon you, then there is a good chance it can be lifted.”
Again, he expressed his doubt. “I have searched this entire world, far and wide, and come up empty-handed. I have read works by scholars and philosophers. I have conversed with intellectuals and scientists. Trust me, I have done everything possible to relieve myself of this bane with no result.” He waved a hand. “I doubt anything involved in your current studies will change that.”
She shrugged. “There’s no harm in trying, is there?”
Davien rubbed his lower lip with his index finger as the beast began to stir. “I have to wonder why you are so determined upon this course where you will find naught but false hope.” The beast swished his tail. “Don’t you like me as I am, dear Cosette? I find I’ve learned to adapt to my salacious nature. Rather well, in fact.”
Instead of rising to the bait, she eyed him curiously, almost innocently. “Don’t you ever want to feel . . . normal again?”
He tilted his head. “And what exactly do you consider to be . . . normal? Shall I preen about London in hose and buckle shoes as a man of my station ought? Should I attend balls and soirees and visit White’s?” He felt his focus begin to shift, change. “What is so wrong with me now?”
~ ~ ~
Cosette stared at Davien as his eyes began to glow with that unholy light, like the vision of an animal at night. She had seen it before, of course, but this time it was different. He looked poised, ready to pounce, and for the first time since she found out what he was she was afraid.
“I . . . I didn’t mean . . .” she stammered helplessly.
“Have words suddenly failed you, Cosette?” His voice was hollow, empty. “You had no problem insulting my nature a moment ago.” He stood, towering over her. “Am I so hideous in this form? Is the beast so terrifying that you wish for me to be other than what I am?”
Cosette gave a cry and prepared to leave the table, but he had her trapped in her chair, a strong arm on either side of her, before she could even move. “Please,” she whispered.
The glow in his eyes intensified, and he growled deep in his throat, and she knew that the beast inside of him was fully awake. “I love it when you plead for me.” He leaned forward and ran his nose up the side of her neck, as if he was inhaling her scent. “If only I could make you beg for a different reason.”
Cosette closed her eyes. She trembled, but the fear she’d felt earlier suddenly mixed with another emotion—something infinitely more dangerous. And still, she couldn’t move, paralyzed from his power. “Davien, don’t do this.”
“Do what?” His breath caressed her ear.
She swallowed. “Seduce me.” Cosette couldn’t see his face, but she knew that the shadows around him were growing, shifting, tightening.
“You would enjoy being my lover,” he coerced, the smooth timbre of his voice surrounding her.
She had no doubt that he spoke the truth, for already her blood was thrumming through her veins. But she didn’t want to bed this . . . animal, the one that kept her locked here, a prisoner. She wanted the man beneath. “I just want . . . to be your friend.” She felt a tear slip down her cheek, for whatever reason. “Please, Davien. I just want to be . . . your friend.”
Silence.
The pressure and the darkness vanished as she felt him move away.
Cosette coughed as she opened her eyes. She saw Davien standing a few feet away, looking down at his hand in rapt fascination. She wondered what it was that held in him such thrall, but then she saw it: a small, gleaming drop of wetness where her tear had splashed him.
“Davien . . .”
“Don’t.” His voice was harsh. “Be in the foyer at midnight if you wish to go into the city.”
He dissipated right before her eyes.
~ ~ ~
Cosette changed into her serviceable gray dress and threw her threadbare cloak about her shoulders. While she would have liked to wear her new, fur-lined one, this was more appropriate for visiting the dregs of the East End. Dressed in common garb, she had less chance of being singled out and accosted. With Blackburn by her side, she would likely have no trouble at all.
His abrupt departure earlier weighed heavily on her mind, and she wondered at the cause of it, but she vowed not to bring it up, instead, concentrating all her efforts on trying to find Charlotte.
She arrived in the foyer just as the clock struck the hour of midnight. Davien appeared at the last chime. He wore the same casual attire from dinner, although he’d thrown a greatcoat about his shoulders, making him appear more menacing than before. He took in her ensemble with a dark scowl. “I should have burned that.”
She straightened. “If you had, I should stick out like a sore thumb in Whitechapel.” She opened the door. “Shall we?”
Cosette could tell that he wanted to argue, but he must have saw reason, for he brushed passed her and climbed into his coach, which was already waiting. Quinn sat in the driver’s seat, as silent and stoic as usual.
