Page 10 of Road Trip With a Rogue

“Dorothea Hamilton, what thefuckare you doing in my house?”

Daisy gasped in horror. Before she could even come up with a retort his hand shot out, ripped the mask from her head, and flung it across the room.

Oh shit.

Chapter Five

Daisy took a step back. Then another.

Vaughan was dressed in his usual impeccable black, and she had a brief, slightly hysterical thought that he must have come dressed as the devil himself. His expression was certainly one Lucifer might employ; she’d never seen anyone so angry. His eyes were almost black with rage, a muscle ticked in his jaw, and his entire body seemed to vibrate with suppressed energy.

He crossed his arms, as if not trusting himself not to strangle her with his bare hands, and positioned himself with his back to the door to prevent her escape.

Daisy’s throat was suddenly dry as she cast around for a plausible explanation for her presence. She opened her mouth, but he shook his head.

“I don’t recall sendingyouan invitation.”

His tone was so scathing it felt like a whip across her skin, but she tried to look uncowed.

“It’s Daisy,” she said coolly. “Not Dorothea. And no, you didn’t. But I never get invited to parties like this, and I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.”

“You’re trespassing. God, if you were my sister, I’d spank you!”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

His eyes glittered malevolently. “You little fool. Most of the men here are drunk, and the women are here to be pleasured, and then paid. They’re whores,” he hissed, as if she were too simple to grasp the concept. “Courtesans. Any man who sees you will assume you’re a whore too.”

His lip curled as his gaze flicked over her from her head to her feet, then back up. He lingered for a thunderous moment on her cleavage, then glared at her as if she’d done something unforgiveable.

Daisy could scarcely draw a breath. If she were sensible, she’d run. Out of this room. Out of this house. But he was standing in the way. Blocking her escape even as he told her to go.

His nostrils flared. “What if someone else had caught you and dragged you in here? Or out into the garden? Would you have protested?”

She started to speak again, but he waved her words away.

“Or is that why you’re here?” His expression darkened even more. “Were you hoping someone would relieve you of your virginity?”

“What? No!” Daisy couldn’t decide if she was more mortified or outraged.

“If you were only looking for a kiss, then you’re an idiot,” he continued brutally. “No man would stop at a kiss. They’d assume any protest you made was just an act, a titillation.”

He pushed off the door and paced toward her, effortlessly menacing. Daisy backed up even more, until herbottom bumped the hard edge of the wooden desk and she glanced around wildly for an escape. There was none.

He loomed over her, deliberately invading her space.

“You wouldn’t be able to escape. They’d have you flat on your back with your skirts over your head before you could even cry for help.”

She swallowed hard, her eyes stinging even as her body thrummed with his dangerous proximity. She hated the fact that he saw her as some helpless little fool, the pathetic, desperate little sister of his friends.

She tossed her head, feigning a bravado she didn’t feel. “I have a knife in my boot.”

“You’d be ruined before you even touched it.”

She winced. Shehadbeen foolish to come here. Not for the first time, her recklessness had landed her in a dangerous situation.

He stepped even closer, and her heart pounded so hard she was sure he could hear it, but she held his gaze, defiant to the last.

His hand snaked out like lightning. He caught the back of her neck before she could duck away, his fingers threading through her hair, and her lips parted on a shocked gasp.