She lifted a brow, although her heart had begun to race. “Then he should have minded his own business.”
He continued as if she hadn’t even spoken. “I can ensure that he doesn’t cause you any trouble.”
She laughed. “And what makes you think I need your protection? I obviously know my way around a weapon.”
“That may be true,” he agreed, although his dark eyes were nearly savage. “But I know Granelli and he has one of the top gangs in London at the moment. To be on his bad side is courting danger that you don’t need, if you intend to make things better for yourself.” He lifted the corner of his mouth. “Unless you don’t care to make a good impression on society?”
Constance froze. She’d shot Granelli? She’d known of the man years ago when he was still a youngster trying to stir up a ruckus in the East End. More than once he’d have to be escorted out of Montfree’s for his drunken behavior. While liquor was commonplace in any gaming hell, there were limitations when it came to annoying the other patrons. He was one of those miscreants. If he’d risen to such power in London, then she might actually have cause to worry. While most of her contacts had left the city by now, or like her former partner, Logan Montgomery, who had married and decided to rusticate in the country with a burgeoning family, she had little in the way of security if Granelli decided he wanted to make things difficult for her. She certainly wasn’t about to bring such trouble to his doorstep, even though she knew Logan would help her in any way he could, he deserved the chance to live a normal life free of angst.
She withheld a sigh, because it seemed that no matter how much she tried to give up this tumultuous life, it continued to follow her. Instead of acting coy or pretending that she didn’t understand what was coming, she said directly, “What do you want?”
His eyes remained direct and unchanging. “You. In return, I will be your personal attendant.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “If I didn’t know better, I might think you were proposing something like blackmail. If you truly cared about my welfare, you would act as my guardian without any strings attached.”
“And why would I do that,” he pointed out. “When I would be dismissing the only thing that has made the blood rush through my veins since I returned to this miserable country?”
Constance blinked. She hadn’t thought that he would be so forthcoming.
“The truth is,” he went on smoothly, walking forward to stand at her side. He glanced around and then deftly slid his bare hand up her stocking clad leg. Her breathing hitched, but she didn’t move. He glanced upward and ensnared her gaze as his palm slowly moved higher. “I want to remember something other than the torrid events of my past. I want to be between a woman’s thighs, but not just any woman, one who can understand the hollow emptiness that I feel on the inside.”
He had reached the point where her stocking ended and there was nothing but skin on skin. Her eyes shuttered slightly, the familiar pulse pounding urgently at her core. Touch me! She wanted to scream the command and ride his finger until she came apart in a flurry of pleasure.
“Do you agree, my seductress?” His fingers walked up the side of her hip, but just when he would have brushed her aching center, he slipped away from her and took a step back.
Her breath left her lungs in an annoyed rush, and she glared at him. “Do I not even get the courtesy of your name?”
He grinned, a wicked promise of things to come. “You didn’t care to know last night, but if your answer is yes, then I will tell you anything you want to hear.”
Constance frowned, but inside, Madame Corressa was fanning herself and reclining on a settee, already half-undressed. And because she was torn about how to respond, her common sense telling her to leave him standing in the middle of the path, she found herself saying, “I need time to think about it.”
“Of course.” He bowed slightly. “But don’t take too long, sweetheart. This is one treat that you don’t want to miss out on.”
With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.
Chapter 3
“What was that?”
Constance realized that she’d snorted aloud. Again. And she was fanning herself rather rapidly. However, when one’s body was burning with an inner flame, it was difficult to pay much attention to anything else. It was merely the idea that the alluring stranger had referred to himself as a “treat” that she couldn’t seem to shake.
“My apologies, sir.” Oh, what the devil was his name? “I fear I was just recalling something humorous that Lady Blessington had said earlier this evening.”
He laughed and didn’t seem to take offense that she hadn’t called him by his name, or heaven forbid, a title, but perhaps the rules of society had become more lenient after the death of the Prince Regent once his brother, King William IV had ascended to the throne two years prior. Already, people had responded favorably to his approachable way of thinking and the manner in which he conducted himself in a more moderate way with fewer excesses than his predecessor.
But more than likely, the reason he hadn’t cared was because he was too busy staring at her chest with her low-cut bodice. It was a gown of rose pink that the countess had said set off her coloring quite admirably and would be the perfect choice to wear to the opera that evening. While Constance had never been a fan of the theatre, it was interesting to see how Drury Lane had changed. She was told that the new colonnade had been put into place on Russell Street the previous year, although even with the improvements, it had struggled to retain any permanent proprietors.
But then, the times were changing and with more modernization coming into the city, she had the feeling it wouldn’t be long before the quaint streets that she had walked all those years ago would slowly fade away. It was quite disheartening to think about.
But then, certain things would always remain the same. Men like the one she was speaking with, who spoke to her breasts more than her face. She had glanced about the auditorium during intermission and found that tongues still wagged freely and gentlemen were eager to meet the new actresses backstage in the hopes of obtaining a deeper connection.
Constance nearly snorted again, but she caught herself before she did so. The count claimed that she had become cynical, that she didn’t enjoy the delights that life could offer anymore, but then, she hadn’t ever found much in which to celebrate. She had never yearned to become a glorified whore, and yet, that is what she had become. While Madame Corressa liked to make an appearance now and again, Constance had told herself more than once that she didn’t want to just be known for her prowess in the bedchamber. Besides, beauty faded just as the walls in this theatre had and she didn’t want to become just another discarded memory.
Just as she had finished that thought, a blur of movement caught her eye beyond her current companion. The figure looked decidedly familiar, and her attention was instantly piqued, while the drolling man before her perked up, as if he had finally gotten her full consideration.
Constance put a gloved hand to her throat. “If you will forgive me, I’m feeling rather parched. I think I will obtain some refreshment before the second half begins.”
The man murmured something, but she was already moving away and didn’t bother to respond. In truth, she was going to have a megrim if she had to listen to another word about…
