Free To Tempt the Devil (A Novel of Lord Hawkesbury's Players) by C.J. Archer Page A

woman who’d blossomed beneath his touch up in the storeroom. The one who pressed herself into him and shuddered when he whispered in her ear, and not with fear. That woman trusted him enough to let him close.
    He liked that woman.
    “Everything’s well with her,” he mumbled.
    “Lizzy?” James asked.
    “Uh…yes. We were talking about Lizzy.” Weren’t they?
    “No, but I’m glad to hear she’s in good health.”
    At least Barker hadn’t tried to get to her and use her against Rafe. Perhaps he didn’t know about the connection between Lizzy and James. Perhaps James was the more likely target. Even so, Rafe felt better having warned her.
    “Has anything happened with the Master of Revels?” James asked.
    Rafe almost told him about the confrontation at the Rose but instead said, “No.” It was yet another worry his brother didn’t need.
    “Perhaps it will all amount to nothing,” James said. “I hope so. The Crofts are good people, the best, and Lizzy’s a sweet girl. Losing her job at the tiring house will be a terrible blow.”
    Rafe winced. His brother loved Lizzy. They would be wed in a few years’ time. He certainly should not be thinking about her soft curves. They were not his to think about. Never would be.
    “Take good care of her,” James said.
    Rafe cleared his throat. “I’ll treat her like a sister.” He could do that. “It would be easier if I didn’t have to lie to herabout your whereabouts. Why won’t you trust her and let me tell her you’re here?”
    “No!”
    “Why not? I don’t understand.”
    “Of course you bloody don’t,” James snapped. “Look at you.”
    Rafe looked down at himself and shrugged.
    “You’re big and strong and capable. You always have been.”
    Cold fingers of ice gripped Rafe’s heart and squeezed. “Not always.”
    “I don’t need Lizzy thinking I’m a failure too.”
    “Too? Why, who else thinks you’re a failure?”
    James sighed and lowered his forehead to his knees again. “I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
    True. Rafe didn’t. If he had a woman like Lizzy in his life he’d tell her all his troubles. He’d wager she had a sympathetic ear and practical suggestions.
    “I should go. I’ll return tomorrow.” He slapped James on the back and leaned closer. “Keep an eye on that prisoner, the big one. Offer him some cheese and an apple.”
    “What if he doesn’t like cheese or apples?” James mumbled into his knees.
    “Dig your fingers into his eyes.”
    James groaned loudly. Rafe slapped him again and stood, but the big prisoner blocked his path to the door. He was huge, with a trunk shaped like a barrel and a boulder of a head on top of a thick neck.
    “I haven’t got time for this,” Rafe said. “Tell me what you want so I can tell you that you can’t have it, then we can get to the part where I make you wish you’d picked on someone else.”
    The big oaf screwed up his face, thinking hard. Rafe waited until he’d caught up.
    “I want what he’s got,” the man said.
    “You mean you want his charm and wit and good looks? Sorry, I can’t do that. Would you like an apple instead?”
    The bulging brow crinkled again then cleared as the big man realized he’d been insulted.
    “Rafe,” James warned from the corner. “Don’t kill him. Not here.”
    The ogre grunted. “Him kill me? Ha!”
    Rafe sighed. “Just move aside so I can leave.”
    The prisoner puffed out his chest, stretching his jerkin to its limits. “You get past me and I’ll open the door for you.”
    Rafe didn’t want to be the one to swing first. He usually liked to wait and let his opponent take the initiative. It was a good way to get him off balance immediately so that Rafe needed only one well-placed blow to finish the fight before it got out of hand. But the man wouldn’t budge unless Rafe made him.
    He stepped forward and grinned. As the prisoner thought about whether to grin back or not, Rafe landed a punch just below the ribs. He