His Courtesan Bride (Brides of Mayfair 3) (6 page)

Serena had her cup of tea. And her rest. And an amusing game of whist with Bliss, Felicity and Lady D, followed by a delicious supper.

And still no Darius, though he’d said he would come.

The thought irked her, beyond all. And it irked her even more that she could let herself be irked by him again, especially when she should be well beyond that. Some of the most powerful men in London had paid calls to her today. She was London’s newest celebrity. But Darius had stood her up. He was obviously trying to toy with her, just as he had that humid, torrid night in the gardens.

It didn’t matter. Today, Serena had received some very fine offers. Soon she would be an independent woman. And Darius Manning, despicable scoundrel that he was, would be buried deep in the past where he belonged.

Everyone had retired to their rooms, and Serena was just cozying in with one of Bliss’ penny novels about Lady Night’s adventures, when the woman herself arrived at the bedroom door. Clad in sensuous purple silk robes, Lady Devlyn floated across the room, holding a glowing lantern aloft.

Serena threw back the covers and reached for her peignoir. “What is it?”

Lady D smiled and touched her arm. “He’s here. The Earl of Kane. And he very much wishes to speak with you.”

A heady thrill danced along Serena’s veins at the news, then a flare of anger burned in her heart. “At this hour? Is he mad?”

“Mad for you, perhaps,” Lady D said. “I know it is late, but I recommend that you receive him. Especially in your current state. You look quite alluring.”

Serena glanced down at her diaphanous pale blue night gown and sheer robe. Her bare feet peeked out from beneath the frilly hem. To appear before Darius in such scandalous attire made her blood race with wicked possibility. Part of her—the newly minted courtesan—wanted to watch her ex-lover squirm as she flaunted herself in front of him, only to turn down whatever offer he might make. The sight of her body, covered only by sheer, flimsy fabric, would surely drive him mad. Especially if he knew that she was shortly to become another man’s erotic plaything.

“Yes, I will receive him,” Serena said, tying the frilly belt of the robe about her waist. She stepped into a pair of matching blue silk slippers and moved toward the door, but was stopped by Lady D.

“Just a moment, Serena. Let me add the finishing touches.”

“There’s no point,” she replied. “I’m not accepting his offer, whatever it may be.”

Lady Devlyn flounced a few of Serena’s auburn curls about her shoulders. “Don’t be so hasty. The earl might make you an offer you cannot refuse.”

Serena gave a derisive laugh. “There is nothing Lord Kane possesses that I want.”

“Perhaps. But there is most certainly something that you possess which Lord Kane wants. And that, my dear, is the point.” Lady D tugged at the neckline of Serena’s robe to expose more of her protégé’s cleavage. Then she pinched Serena’s cheeks a little to give her face some color. “There, you look a bit flushed, which is enticing to a man when you’re half-naked. I think London’s newest courtesan is ready to greet her guest.”

Serena followed her benefactress down the dark, cool hallway, the lantern lighting their way. The anticipation of pleasure surged within her breast, but it was not the least bit romantic. For she was anticipating the pleasure of throwing Darius’s offer back in his face, however generous it may be.

They descended the staircase and made their way toward the drawing room, which glowed with the light from candelabras within.

“Erasmus is right around the corner, should you need him, though I doubt you will,” Lady Devlyn whispered. “Just hear what the man has to say, and do not make any rash decisions.” With that, she ushered Serena toward the double doorway and took her leave.

Serena paused a moment, thinking back to the girl she had once been. The man who had ruined her reputation so carelessly awaited her in the next room. Was he expecting a happy reunion? He would be in for quite a surprise.

Lady Devlyn had trained Serena well. She, Bliss and Felicity were no longer the same girls who had arrived at Hargrove Park those many months ago. They were courtesans now. Skilled in the art of seduction. Confident and alluring. Never again would a man hold dominion over any of them. Not in the bedroom, or out of it.

Serena stepped through the doorway and met Lord Kane’s gaze. He looked as dangerous as the devil—dark hair curling about the high white collar of his shirt, midnight black trousers and jacket giving him the aura of the dark knight come to woo the princess…or conquer her.

Serena felt a feminine thrill she did not expect or wish to feel as his gaze raked over her scantily clad body. His eyes flickered with primal fire as they took their pleasure.

Then Darius did something totally unexpected.

With two quick strides he crossed the floor and pulled Serena hard against his chest, covering her shocked mouth with a branding, blazing kiss.

Two worlds collided, as the memory of his kisses mingled with the reality of his lips upon hers—here, now, in this moment. As he masterfully teased her mouth with his tongue, Serena made a shocking discovery. Her wicked ex-lover had gotten better at kissing since that night in the gardens. Serena wondered what else he had gotten better at.

Her soft breasts crushed against his broad chest and she heard him groan as he pulled her even closer, cupping her buttocks and pressing her against the hardness of his arousal.

It felt good.

As good as it had that night at the Telford Ball. Maybe even better.

Only now, Serena Ransom was no innocent, wide-eyed girl, to be swept away by such brazen masculine sexuality. She had learned the secrets of the Kama Sutra. She had studied other ancient texts which embraced sensuality and sought not to imprison it within the human heart, but to give it life within one’s body, one’s soul.

Above all, she had learned the danger of allowing passion free rein.

Serena pushed Darius away with all her might, and he stumbled backwards. Her body was strong now, lithe with well-honed muscle. Her training in the martial arts had ensured that. Serena could have had Darius flat on his back in moments, but that would have been overdoing it a bit.

He stepped back, a flash of anger and disbelief clouding his eyes. “What’s this? A little late to be playing the role of innocent maid, isn’t it?”

“I play at nothing, my lord,” Serena replied, hotly. “I simply wished to stop you from taking liberties to which you have no right, and never shall.”

He stepped toward her, saying, “I did once, Serena. And you welcomed it.”

“I was a fool, then,” she replied. “I assure you, I am a fool no longer. You destroyed my reputation, while you emerged from the scandal unscathed, and a good deal richer. Funny, how society treats young women who become victims of men such as you.”

The painful memories came rushing back at her—the cruel remarks from strangers, the unflattering publicity in the papers, her crushed and bleeding heart—but she fought them off. She would not relive the nightmare now, in front of the man who had casually engineered such torture.

He hadn’t changed. Darius still saw her as something to be used for his own pleasure.

As if to confirm Serena’s very thoughts, a wicked gleam lit his eye as he stepped closer. “Come now, that’s not the way I remember it at all. What I do remember is how you melted in my arms.”

Serena wanted to laugh. “You have quite the nerve, Darius. You used me. You led me on. You dallied with me in the gardens after you had just proposed marriage to Miss Barton. Didn’t you read the papers? They called me the Telford Whore. A young lady doesn’t receive many marriage proposals after something like that. And the ones she does receive, she’d rather die than accept.”

For a moment, Serena thought she saw true remorse on Darius’s face. “I am sorry about that, Serena. More than you know.”

This time she did laugh. “Oh, well, that makes everything better.”

“What do you want, Serena?” he demanded.

“From you, nothing,” she spat.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that is so.” Anger burned hot and righteous in her veins. This man, who had so callously orchestrated her ruination and all but caused her mother’s death, could be nothing but her enemy now.

“Not even this?” Darius held out a midnight blue velvet case. “It’s for you. Open it.”

Serena didn’t want to open it, didn’t want to be curious about what was inside. But Lady Devlyn would admonish Serena if she let her emotions get in the way at a time like this.

Slowly, she opened the case. A dazzling emerald and diamond necklace lay nestled in a bed of snow white satin. Next to the Maharaja’s diamond, this was the most spectacular piece of jewelry Serena had ever laid eyes upon.

But she’d be damned if she let Darius Manning know that.

She snapped the velvet case shut and gave it back to him without a word.

But Darius was good at this game, too. He didn’t flinch. His gaze, which previously burned with heat, now ran cool. “You don’t like it?”

“I have no intention of accepting such an extravagant gift from you,” Serena replied.

His gaze narrowed, as if he were intrigued. “You’re the first woman I ever met who wished a gift was less extravagant that it was. Should I have gotten a smaller set of emeralds?”

“It is not the expense,” she said. “It is the fact that I do not want any gifts from you at all, my lord. Not now. Not ever.”

“And that is all you have to say about a necklace, which cost a king’s ransom?”

That was nice to know, Serena thought. But the trained courtesan would not let that emotion show. Not to him.

She smiled haughtily. “Darius, you must remember, I am a courtesan now. I have many admirers who bring me extravagant gifts and make me generous offers.”

“Indeed.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked quite cross.

“Does that bother you?” Serena asked.

“What if it does?”

At one time, she would have begged to hear those words from her lover’s mouth, would have begged to have him come to her like this, in the dark of night, seeking her favor. But that was an eternity ago. Time had changed her, as had the pain of his betrayal.

“I cannot control your reactions, my lord, nor do I have any interest in them,” she said, finally.

Darius stared down at her. “I must say, this was not the welcome I had imagined from you tonight. Especially not after presenting you with the emeralds. There are many women in London who would be more than willing to accept such a priceless gift from me, and accept me into their bed to show their undying gratitude.”

“Then give it to them!” she scoffed. “If you think that’s all it takes to get into my bed, sir, you are sorely mistaken. I am insulted you would suggest such a thing.”

Now his eyes danced with amusement, which infuriated Serena even more. “Insulted? My dear, are you, or are you not, offering yourself to the highest bidder as a courtesan?”

“It is not about money.”

“Is it not?” He sounded intrigued. “Do tell.”

“It is about freedom,” she answered, “—of choice, of expression, of passion.”

Darius gave a bitter laugh. “If you believe that, Serena, you’re even more naïve than I thought you were.”

“You think marriage offers a woman more freedom than the life of a courtesan?” Serena demanded, incredulously. “A woman trades the rights to her womb to a man willing to pay for the privilege, becoming little more than a slave with the title of ‘Mrs’ or ‘Lady’ or ‘Countess’? I believe marriage to be a bad bargain, sir, for the woman, at least.”

Darius raised a brow. “You seem to be quite soured upon an institution which you personally know nothing about.”

She whirled on him. “If I know nothing about it, it’s because you rendered me un-marriageable! But now that I am older and wiser, I should thank you for your callous ruination of me, for it spared me the unfortunate fate which so many unhappy women in our society are forced to endure. My friend, Lady Felicity Sterling, was married to a vile man who enjoyed tormenting and abusing her as if she were nothing more than a mongrel. His death made her a very Merry Widow, indeed. Now, she has chosen the life of a courtesan over returning to the abject imprisonment of marriage, and I daresay she wished she had chosen it sooner.”

“I am sorry for your friend,” he said. “And I wish her every success in her new vocation. She made a bad match with Sterling, it is true. But all marriages are not so unhappy.”

“No?” Serena asked. “You refer to your own then, to Miss Barton?”

Darius’s eyes held a dangerous warning. “I did not come here to discuss my marriage with you, or my late wife, if you please.”

“Why did you come, my lord?” Serena demanded. “To deliver a gift of jewelry? Or to try to make amends for that fateful night at Telford House?”

“I think we both know why I came here tonight, Serena,” he said. “The fact remains just as it did that night at the Telford Ball.
I want you
.”

A dangerous, forbidden thrill danced across Serena’s skin, and she hated herself for feeling it. “Then you shall be sorely disappointed, Darius. You did not have me that night, and you shall not have me now, nor ever.”