She's A Liar [T.R. & R.B.]

IX

9| Burned sighs

Althea was back in Rosier's arms slightly more relaxed but still standing at attention.

"Where were we?" she asked with a smile so wide it was uncomfortable. Fortunately, he didn't notice and resumed dancing with the same filtery air as before. As he moved her to the music his hands slid over her waist, her hips repeatedly forcing her to suppress the shivers of disgust that threatened to erupt over her skin.

"I'm intrigued by your presence if I'm being honest. I did not expect to see you here and even less so with Regulus Black. May I ask the reason for such participation?" He was charismatic and charming, there was no denying that, but there was something uneasy about him.

Althea spun around, cast a glance at the people around her and returned her attention to Leonard. "What better occasion than a dance to have an official debut?" Suddenly she felt the weight of two eyes on her but couldn't identify exactly who they belonged to. She was abruptly distracted from her search when her dance partner's hands grazed her bottom.

They were intermittent movements but too frequent to be random. Althea wondered how petty it was to be filtering with a married man for the purpose of a mission.

Very, definitely very. But she did it anyway, trying to work off the guilt by telling herself that if a married man was so easily persuaded he was doing his wife Genevieve a favor.

He barely took a step forward and his hands tightened around her. This was too easy, almost boring. "Leo..." she whispered candidly, his pupils dilating so quickly that only a sliver of blue remained staring back at her. "I'd like a little privacy, can you get it for me?" She asked from under her lashes.

Rosier swallowed and licked his teeth, almost Althea wrinkled her nose, and without a word took her hand dragging her away from the crowd, away from the eyes.

Althea hoped that someone, anyone, was watching her and knew where she was going.

They didn't make it that far but far enough that they could no longer hear the music and the sparkling laughter of the guests. As expected Leonard pounced on her, pushing her against a tree and simultaneously attaching his lips to her neck.

She moved her hands and neck with careful precision forcing him to move his lips repeatedly so she wouldn't risk having marks on her.

Althea looked in front of her with a bored air, making a few noises now and then to give him the impression that he was doing something right but the overall experience was disappointing.

She was definitely doing Genevieve a favor.

The action went on for several minutes and for every second that passed Althea was losing patience, this was ridiculous. She decided to put an end to this charade and jammed her hands into his hair. She pulled a strand of it and this caused a groan from him. She cut the lock she needed and in a gust of wind made everything disappear.

She just had to get rid of him and fortunately she was very good at that.

When he suggested they go somewhere more secluded she laughed, a genuine laugh that was devoid of affection. It took her a little less than 10 seconds to wipe his memory clean and remove any trace of her.

Charged with adrenaline she hurried back towards the ball, hoping that no one had noticed her and Leonard entwined in the gardens. When she stepped back into the mansion, however, she bumped into someone. Blonde hair and warm brown eyes were the first things she noticed and then her eyes settled on the grin that rested on their lips.

"Seraphina" Althea copied the girl's grin before allowing herself to be pulled into a slightly unexpected hug.

"Althea! How dare you come to a dance without even warning me! I would have saved myself an hour of political discussion!" she murmured with her face still buried in her hair.