Page 13 of Devil in Her Details

Always had. Always would.

Dagger simply nodded. No need to answer the obvious. He should leave. Everything about this shop scraped against his nerves. He couldn’t pin the reason why, exactly. But hell’s bells, holding still beneath her measurements had been a slow and pure form of torture.

You’re the fool who took your shirt off.

But he’d wanted her to see his scars. Intimidate her. Let her understand that who she was dealing with was no ordinary client. If she had ties with his uncle, best to cut them off. A fine enough reason. This woman, however, had shown no signs of being daunted by him.

He pulled on his shirt and shrugged back into his coat, the restless urge move riding him.

“I’m Lilly, by the way.”

Lilly.

A pretty name.

“I’ll take my leave.”

He pretended not to notice the slight furrow in her brow when he forced his gaze away from her and made his way to the front of the shop, his awareness of her still a sharp blade at his back. Other little details he hadn’t noticed before presented themselves now as well. The dust gathering on the shelves. Ribbons looped carelessly over pegs, dangling in mismatched lengths. Hats stacked at odd angles.

Disorder everywhere.

A man could misplace all his weapons in such chaos. She, apparently, could run a business. Disorder reflected the person who ruled it. Had her backroom been this chaotic? He seemed to have that impression, but at the time, all his attention had been on her and not the room. A dangerous thing.

His hand paused on the doorknob, his gaze narrowing on the scene outside.

“What is it?” Lilly asked sensing something off, then let out a curse that could match any one of his and his brothers’ blistering tongues. “So the coxcomb finally shows his face. You must have him on pins and needles.”

And a lord, by the look of him—tailored coat, weak chin, and the sort of confidence that came with a privileged station in the world. He stared straight at the shop, blatant annoyance evident in the tension of his jaw.

Dagger disliked him on sight.

The arrogance reminded him of his uncle, Sirius. Even Deveraux to a degree.

“He’s never come out before?” Dagger asked.

“No,” she said darkly. “He must be rattled. Good.”

The corner of Dagger’s lips lifted. Toying with men like this one was a rare pleasure and should not be passed. “Shall we rattle him some more?” He didn’t wait for her answer but swung around and cupped her jaw, his thumb settling just beneath her chin. His flashed her a smile when her eyes opened wide. “A pleasure doing business with you, Lilly.”

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“Annoying your pest some more.”

“To what end?,” she asked, her brow furrowing then unfurrowing. “You’re going to deal with him in any event, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Dagger murmured. “But this is more fun, no?”

Her eyes narrowed a fraction, but she still did not pull away. “Playing with your prey; how devilish of you.”

“I’ve learned not to fight my nature.”

“Cats do have playful natures,” she agreed, turning thoughtful.

Dagger stilled. “Cats?”

“A panther, to be more precise. You remind me of one.”

Interesting. A panther. That was a first. “Have you ever met one? A panther, that is.”