Authors: Kate Pearce
Simply Carnal (11 page)
Elizabeth nodded. “And painting each room a different color should help determine the best space for each particular client request.”
Ambrose opened the nearest door to reveal blue walls and gray silk furnishings. He went in and Elizabeth followed him.
“Do you wish to fuck me, then?” she asked.
He spun around to grin at her. “Right now, when you are still hurt by the conversation you overheard? I don’t think that would be a good idea, do you?”
“I’m not sure. I have a strange desire to thumb my nose at Mr. Delornay.”
“That’s because despite what you said, he hurt your feelings.”
She raised her chin at him. “He did not.”
Ambrose just smiled at her and she turned away to smooth the bed linen.
“Ambrose ...”
“Yes, Elizabeth?”
“There
is
something I would appreciate your help with.”
is
something I would appreciate your help with.”
“What is that?”
“I have to go out this afternoon. I would like someone to accompany me.”
Ambrose straightened. “I’d be delighted to oblige you. Where do you need to go?”
Elizabeth headed back into the main room and Ambrose followed her. “When I say
accompany me,
I mean that perhaps someone might follow me at a distance and make sure I return from the place I intend to visit.”
accompany me,
I mean that perhaps someone might follow me at a distance and make sure I return from the place I intend to visit.”
She felt her cheeks heat as he studied her.
“I don’t quite understand.”
“Let me put it this way. I’m aware that I might be walking into a trap. I’d rather someone know what happens to me in case I disappear again.”
“I see, but surely for that to work, the person or persons you are meeting need to see you are accompanied so that they will not try anything?”
Elizabeth frowned. “That’s a good point. But they might be reluctant to approach me if I am obviously guarded.”
“If they really wish to contact you, they’ll try again. I’d rather you were safe, Elizabeth, wouldn’t you?”
“I suppose so.” She half smiled at him. “I suppose you think I should just tell you exactly what is going on and have done with it.”
Ambrose chuckled. “Well, that would be nice. If I knew what the threat was, I would be better able to protect you from it.”
He held the main door open, and Elizabeth went to walk past him and hesitated. “I would tell you if I could, but I fear I am not the only person involved.”
His expression gentled. “I’m glad you told me something. There are many people here who would miss you if you suddenly disappeared.”
She fought against the desire to believe him. She didn’t want to be liked, did she? If the staff at the pleasure house knew what she had done, they would denounce her as easily as her husband’s family had. She hoped to God that there was a way out of this tangle, but she already feared that the price was too high and that too many people might get hurt.
“Would two o’clock be convenient?” Elizabeth asked abruptly.
“It would.”
Christian knocked on the very discreet door of the Demon Club and then stepped back so that the man who guarded the entranceway could see him through the peephole. The door opened and Christian walked through with a quiet word of thanks. The hallway was now deserted, so he left his hat and gloves on the table and made his way to the back of the house. As he approached the double doors, he could hear the sound of voices and he smiled.
There weren’t many people present in the far-from-elegant room. He recognized Lord Kelveston, one of the club’s original founders, at one of the gaming tables and walked across to pay his respects. Kelveston was in his early thirties but was already beginning to go bald. He looked up briefly to acknowledge Christian.
“Delornay. Care to take a hand?”
“Not today, thank you, my lord. I’d prefer to watch.”
Kelveston gave a bark of laughter. “That’s not like you.”
“I know.” Christian took a seat on the couch. “But I had a long night.” It had just occurred to him that after his absence, he needed a reason for visiting the club that wouldn’t offend his host. “I just wish to ask you about something. I’m happy to wait until you have finished your game.”
His gaze wandered to the three other players. One of them he knew slightly; the other two were quite unknown to him.
“I believe you know Cole, but have you met the Pattersons, Delornay?” Lord Kelveston asked.
“I don’t believe I have.” Christian nodded at the man and the woman. “It is a pleasure.”
They both nodded at him, and the woman held his gaze, her blue eyes widening as she stared at his torso. Christian let her stare. She was a luscious armful, and if she was here, she obviously understood the rules of the club. To Christian’s dismay, the expected kick of lust didn’t materialize and his cock remained unimpressed.
When she looked back at her cards, Christian beckoned one of the footmen over. While he waited for his brandy to arrive, he studied the occupants of the large, gilded gold cage by the fire. There were three people sitting on the floor, one woman and two men; all of them looked anxious and he wasn’t surprised.
The smell of sex and expensive perfume wafted over him, and he stiffened as two thin arms wrapped around him from behind.
“Christian, my
darling
. Wherever have you been?”
darling
. Wherever have you been?”
“Melinda.”
He put his hands up to grip her wrists, but she wouldn’t let go. He increased the pressure until he felt her bones grind together, and she moaned into his ear and released him.
To his annoyance, she merely flounced around the chair and plonked herself down on his lap. She wore stockings, garters, a muslin shift, and her stays but no gown. He inhaled her sickly perfume and unwashed body odor and wanted to gag.
“Where have you been?” she demanded again.
“Busy.”
She pouted, catching her lower lip in her teeth. “But I missed you. We all missed you.” Her outflung hand indicated not only the Pattersons, but also her husband, Lord Kelveston, who was frowning down at his cards. She nipped at Christian’s earlobe. “I needed you.”
Christian accepted a glass of brandy from the footman and brought it to his lips, his gaze fixed on the card game.
“Christian ...”
There was a pleading edge to Melinda’s softly spoken word that made him want to shove her off his lap and head for the door. He didn’t like easy conquests. He never had. And once he dominated someone, they lost their allure. Would he feel that way about Elizabeth? He was no longer sure, and that was unacceptable.
“Damnation!” Lord Kelveston threw down his cards and pushed his chair away from the table. “You win, Mrs. Patterson.” He looked over at the gilded cage. “Which one do you want?”
Christian watched as Mrs. Patterson walked over to the occupants of the cage and subjected them to her intense scrutiny.
“I want the black-haired man,” she announced loudly.
Lord Kelveston beckoned one of the footmen forward to unlock the cage. “You may have him for the rest of the day and then his debt is paid.”
“May my husband join us this time?”
“Since this is your third win, he may if you wish, but you must not damage the goods. I’ve heard Mr. Patterson can be a little rough with the merchandise.”
The black-haired man blanched and his gaze darted around the room as if seeking assistance. Christian could only feel sorry for him. There would be no kind heart to help him here. Lord Kelveston and his cronies had very specific payment terms for those who gambled and lost at the Demon Club. The man must have known that, but like most young fools, he’d obviously assumed he was a better cardplayer than he actually was.
“I’d not bed him. He looks far too weak to me,” Melinda whispered, wiggling provocatively on his lap. His cock still failed to respond. “I must ask my dear Kelvy if he’s better than he looks.”
“He isn’t worth it, my dear,” Kelveston replied. “You need a strong hand. Now, what did you wish to ask me, Delornay?”
Melinda shivered and Christian kept his expression bland. “I wanted to ask you when the next card tournament is scheduled for.” It was as good an excuse as any.
“I believe it is in a month or less. Do you want me to send you an invite?”
“I’d appreciate that.” Christian stood up, letting Melinda fall from his lap and find her own feet. “May I bring a guest?”
“Of course.” Kelveston nodded.
Other than to annoy Melinda, Christian had no idea why he’d said that. But the thought of seeing how Elizabeth dealt with these less-than-salubrious surroundings appealed to him. If anything could shock her out of her sexual complacency, it would be one of the Demon Club’s wild nights.
“Thank you, I’ll look forward to it.”
Lord Kelveston turned in his seat to survey Christian and his wife.
“Are you sure you won’t take a hand, Delornay? There’s a new woman in the cage today, and I’d like her to see us at our best.”
With some difficulty, Christian looked past Melinda and back at the occupants of the cage. There was only one woman there. Christian frowned. She looked far too young to be selling herself at the Demon Club.
“What did she do?” Christian asked idly.
“She didn’t do anything. The debt is her stepfather’s.” Kelveston licked his lips. “When I saw the girl, I was quite willing to accept her instead of her stepfather. If you don’t want her, Delornay, I’ll try her out myself.”
“Ooh!” Melinda squealed. “Can I play, too, my lord?”
“If you wish, my dear. Perhaps you can show her some new tricks.” His laugh was unpleasant. “She’ll certainly need them for her new trade after we ruin her.”
Christian studied the bowed head of the young woman. “I’ll play a hand for her. You know how I enjoy a challenge.”
Kelveston pulled out the chair Mrs. Patterson had vacated. “Come and sit here, Melly, and make up the four. If you win, we’ll have her. If Delornay wins, he gets the privilege of breaking her in.”
Christian took a seat and focused on his cards, ignoring both Melinda’s whispers and her attempts to stroke his cock beneath the table. Gambling came naturally to him, and he had no doubt that he could easily beat the other three players. The skill was in not letting them know that.
After a while he sat back and allowed himself a small smile. “My game, I believe?”
Lord Kelveston smiled back and rose to his feet. “You have the devil’s own luck. I’ll get the girl for you. I want her to realize exactly who you are and why she should start pleading now.”
Christian got up, too, and followed Kelveston, leaving Melinda pouting at the table.
Kelveston opened the cage and grabbed the girl’s arm to drag her out. In the dim light, Christian could see the fear in her blue eyes and the way she bit her lip to stop it from trembling.
Kelveston chuckled. “Your debt is almost paid, my dear Miss Retton. Make your curtsy to Mr. Delornay, one of the most respected members of the Demon Club. He will make sure that you remember this day for the rest of your life.”
“But the debt isn’t mine, sir,” she whispered.
Kelveston’s face hardened and he shoved the woman toward Christian. “Be silent. Your stepfather sent you in his stead, and the debt must be paid in any way I wish it.”
“That isn’t fair. I—”
Christian covered the woman’s mouth with his hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist. “May I suggest you do as Lord Kelveston says and remain silent? I would hate to have to punish you right here in front of everyone. Or is that what you secretly wish?”
She fought him for a desperate second and then seemed to go limp in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and looked across at Kelveston.
“I’ll manage from here, my lord. Which room is free?”
“Take the third one at the end of the corridor,” Kelveston said. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like Melly and me to join you?”
“Not this time, my lord. I think I’d like to savor her ... surrender all by myself.”
For a moment Kelveston looked wistful. “There’s nothing like that moment when they realize they aren’t going to get away and that you intend to extract every penny of their debt from their flesh, is there?”
As Christian agreed with Lord Kelveston, the woman in his arms gave a convulsive shiver and he tightened his grip on her. This was not the place to show weakness. If she swooned, she’d wake up on the floor with every man in the room on top of her trying to fuck her.
“Come, my dear.” He manhandled her toward the doorway and down the hall to the room at the end. He passed the Pattersons, who were pressing the black-haired man against the wall. Mrs. Patterson’s hand was delving inside the man’s breeches, and from his muffled cries, he wasn’t enjoying himself.
Christian opened the door, pushed the woman inside, and locked it, even though locks meant nothing here. There were more peepholes and mirrors in each room of the Demon Club than there were at the pleasure house. Christian had never liked being spied on unless he wished it. He took his time drawing the curtains and moving certain pieces of furniture until the room lay in darkness and was as protected as he could make it.
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