Ripe for Pleasure (5 page)

The first hint of a blush burned Viola’s cheeks. She’d been thinking of very little else for days. “And entirely sure of himself,”
she added to their list. “You won’t believe the proposal he’s made me.”

“Stingy, is he? I wouldn’t have thought it of him. The Vaughns tend more toward grand gestures.” Lady Harrington selected
a small cake from the tray and ate it in one bite.

“I can still remember the wild, romantic tale of his parents’ elopement,” Lady Grosvenor said with a sigh. “I think it made
far too large an impression on me as a girl.”

Viola broke into a smile. “He’s not offered to become my protector. Or rather, he has offered help with Sir Hugo, to quite
literally protect me, but only if given the chance to seduce his way into my bed.”

“Let him.” Lady Ligonier fanned herself, batting her eyes playfully. “Lord knows I would.”

Everyone broke out in laughter. Viola eyed her disarmingly frank friend. Lady Penelope Ligonier was well known for the fact
that she thought infidelity the best thing she’d ever done, the freedom she found there beyond price. Yes, Penelope would
have dragged Lord Leonidas down onto the carpet and had her way with him with nary a qualm or a thought.

“I haven’t said no.” Viola wasn’t at all sure she could. “I haven’t made any reply at all. And he’s so confoundedly arrogant
that I don’t think he’d accept my refusal if I dared.”

“Well, he is a Vaughn.” Lady Grosvenor scratched her pug, sending the creature into a shivering state of delight.

“He sent a note yesterday inviting me to the theatre. I’ve half a mind to leave him kicking his heels on my doorstep—”

“And an entire body telling you not to,” Mrs. Newton interjected. “Don’t be a fool, Vi, really. Just think of it:
Lord Leonidas.
You’d be a legend. The only Cyprian to ever lay claim to a Vaughn, younger son or no. And think of the teeth gnashing among
the widows of the
ton
? Their consternation alone would make it all worth it.”

“And you’d have Vaughn in your bed in the interim,” Lady Worsley said with a suggestive waggle of her brows. “I can’t think
of a more delightful way to spend the Season.”

“Perhaps you’re right…”

“If you let Vaughn slip through your fingers”—Lady Harrington eyed her indignantly—“I wash my hands of you.”

Laughter bubbled out of Viola. The countess was every bit as decisive as Lord Leonidas. There was no questioning where you
stood with her, and she never quibbled when it came to telling them all exactly how they should go on, almost as though they
were her daughters.

“Yes, my lady. I shall do just as you say.”

“Good girl. Now push that plate of macaroons closer to me, my dear. Thank you.”

Leo leaned back against the squabs and studied Mrs. Whedon in the light thrown by the small lantern affixed to the carriage
wall. With every bounce and jolt, brilliant
motes slid across her, drawing his attention from the sweep of her clavicle to the swell of her breasts to the hollow of her
throat… each beautifully sculptured spot calling out for a long, open-mouthed kiss. To be worshipped as it deserved.

Whore or not, she was magnificent. It was simply a fact.

Leo shifted in his seat, resisting the urge to climb across the small space and pull her onto his lap. To unhook her bodice
and lift her breasts from their confinement behind layers of silk and whalebone. But that wasn’t the bargain they’d made,
and he had every intention of making her seduction a triumph. Tumbling her in the coach, delightful as it might be in the
moment, wouldn’t serve his purpose.

Mrs. Whedon sighed and sank a little farther into her seat, long, fine hands quiet in her lap; restive, as she had been that
first morning in her boudoir. He moved one foot, slipping it beneath her petticoats, careful not to so much as brush her ankle.
Her eyes widened, a pale blue sea a man could drown in. The black silk beauty mark on her cheek appeared to quiver. She was
perfectly still, save for the steady rise and fall of her breasts. One hand clenched around her fan, the small sound of the
ivory sticks grating against one another was clearly audible in the confined space.

Leo held back a grin and set his foot against the seat, bracing himself, waiting for her to relax. The last thing he wanted
was for her to look like a frightened mare when they arrived at the theatre. That wouldn’t do at all. But somehow he couldn’t
resist teasing her with small threats of intimacy. Her shiver of anticipation was irresistible.

The hubbub of their fellow attendees washed over the carriage: shouts, laughter, the clang of steel-shod hooves and iron-rimmed
coach wheels becoming a din of near epic proportions. Mrs. Whedon straightened, breasts swelling, threatening to spill from
the absurdly low neckline of her gown. The tall feathers in her hair brushed the roof of the carriage, the longest curling
down as if bowing.

Leo allowed himself a smile, picturing the looks on people’s faces when they entered together. He was about to cause an unholy
amount of gossip. But this very public display was necessary for Mrs. Whedon to continue in the belief that it was Sir Hugo
she needed protection from, and that Leo had taken on the challenge. And when the lady did finally take him to her bed, that
alone might make it worth the trouble. “Ready to face the lions?”

Mrs. Whedon smiled back, just a slight upswing of her lips, gone almost before it started, not even a crease in her powdered
cheek to mark its passing. She ran her hands over her petticoats, smoothing them over her knees, then dipped her head and
fiddled with one of the pins that secured her gown to its stomacher. “It’s only the
ton.
I’ve faced worse.”

Leo caught the tight expression on her face and was unsure whether to attribute it to the strain of their approaching debut
or to give her words more weight than he normally would, considering her flippant tone. Before he could undertake any further
interrogation, the carriage lurched to a halt and the door swung open, the steps falling with a soft
thunk
at the footman’s instigation.

Mrs. Whedon met his gaze steadily, then rose and allowed the footman to hand her out. Leo jumped down
after her and watched with amusement as she shook out her skirts, haughty as any of the grand dames of the
ton.
She had presence, and she clearly knew she drew the eye. She expected to do so.

Mrs. Whedon tipped her head and held out her hand. He took it, settled it on his arm, and led her toward the theatre’s entrance,
pushing past the gaping throng without so much as a nod. Let them wonder. Let them marvel. So long as they took note—so long
as word got back to Sir Hugo, and whatever game he’d been playing with Mrs. Whedon ended before it interfered with Leo’s own—he
didn’t care what they thought or said.

This was a grand performance. The protector claiming his mistress. The dog warning off the rest of the pack. This is mine.
Don’t touch. The point wouldn’t be lost on Sir Hugo or Mrs. Whedon.

If it wouldn’t have resulted in a screaming match with his mother—and one he was destined to lose—he’d have fastened the family
rubies around Mrs. Whedon’s throat as an unmistakable declaration of ownership. As it was, she was wearing a shocking collar
of topazes, given to her by Lord only knew who.

The desire to rip them off nearly stole his breath. There was something deeply unsettling about having her parading about
in another man’s gift. The fact that it bothered him was more unsettling still. The performance was leaching into reality.

If she’d been truly his, an awe-inspiring parure would have been in order. Something to send those damn topazes to the bottom
of her jewelry case for good. Peridots, or perhaps coral. Coral would be amazing with her hair.

But she wasn’t. His. Not now, not ever. And even if she were, such a gift was well beyond his purse. Mrs. Whedon was a means
to an end. A delightful means, but nothing more. Though it was all too easy to forget such quibbles when he looked at her,
when he was plotting out how—where—to touch her.

Viola curled her hand more securely around Lord Leonidas’s arm as they pushed through the crowd. His arm was hard under the
silk, the veiled strength comforting in the crowd. For the first time in days, she felt utterly secure. Sir Hugo wouldn’t
dare bother her, under the circumstances.

After ascending several flights of crowded stairs, they arrived at the Vaughn family box. It was blissfully empty, a softly
lit corner of the world where they were both entirely alone and dramatically on display, like a magnificent curio in a glass
display case.

Viola took several deep, calming breaths and raised her chin a hair as Vaughn seated her on one of the dainty gilded chairs
at the front. He sent his footman running for refreshments and claimed the seat beside her.

His shoulder crowded her, hip and thigh pressed against her, crushing her gown. He overwhelmed his seat as thoroughly as he
overwhelmed her. It was unnerving.

Regardless of size, Viola simply wasn’t used to being intimidated. Wasn’t used to the anticipatory flush of excitement beating
its way through her veins to lodge like a second heartbeat between her thighs.

Viola reached for the serenity at her core and found… nothing. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she let her breath out with
a hiss to cover the surge of uncertainty.

He hadn’t so much as touched her yet, nothing but gloved hand to gloved hand, an act so proper, so staid, it wouldn’t inflame
a virgin. But here she sat, the subject of a thousand prying eyes, nervous as a girl on her wedding night.

So much for Mrs. Whedon, famed courtesan. Right now, she might as well be Miss Perry, fifteen and green as grass, all over
again. She certainly felt it at this exact moment, and the sensation wasn’t at all welcome. It had been a decade since she’d
been that girl, and she’d spent the intervening years in the arms of decadence and debauchery. And though she knew it was
damning to admit it, she’d enjoyed nearly every minute of it. It had certainly been better than the alternatives.

She flicked her gaze over Lord Leonidas. He was magnificent. A dangerous creature masquerading as a gentleman, powdered hair
and glossy black shoes a patent falsehood. The Duke of Richmond’s tiger escaped to sun with the barn cats, tail flicking with
lazy anticipation…

He’d planted the seed of her seduction so carefully, so perfectly, that she’d been undone before she’d known how to stop herself.
The simple challenge of resistance inflamed her. The urge to beat him at his own game, to make him crawl and beg, was irresistible.

A week ago, Viola wouldn’t have doubted her ability to bring a man to his knees. Tonight, she wasn’t at all sure, especially
when the subject of her experiment was Lord Leonidas.

The challenge was intoxicating.

He’d taken silence on her part for agreement. A sign of arrogance that had not been lost on her, and a trick of his
nature that might prove useful at a later date. He simply couldn’t imagine her saying no.

All around the theatre, quizzing glasses winked back at her. Fans fluttered and ladies shot her angry glances from the corners
of their eyes as their male companions ogled her. Her friends were gathered together in the box of Lady Ligonier’s current
lover, all of them watching with avid interest. Sir Hugo was there, too, waves of anger emanating from his box like the heat
of a blacksmith’s forge.

Lord Leonidas sat beside her, languid and calm as a boat drifting in the doldrums. He caught her watching him, and his lips
slid into a hint of a smile. His wicked green eye winked.

He was a devil, and it was all she could do not to melt onto the floor.

Humiliation and excitement warred within her, making her light-headed. Every nerve was alive with the idea that tonight Vaughn
would fulfill his promise—his threat—to make her beg. Tonight those long-fingered hands would slide up her calf, strip off
her garters… Viola caught her breath and forced it out in an audible huff. She was doing his work for him. Seducing herself.
Damnation.

What had become of her famous self-control?

The footman returned with two glasses of wine. Vaughn accepted them with a nod, and the man slid back through the curtain
into the corridor. Vaughn held one out to her, light flashing off the bubble trapped in the stem.

Viola took the glass, careful to avoid brushing her fingers against his, and raised it to her lips. The heavy flavor of oak
and cherries and tobacco flooded her mouth and
filled her nose. She took another sip, grateful for something to concentrate on other than Vaughn himself.

At last, the curtain rose and the babble of the pit rose with it. Viola took another draught and fastened her attention to
the stage.

As the lead actress appeared to a riot of applause, Vaughn’s hand slid into her lap, gripped her thigh, and his thumb began
a slow, steady caress. A tiny thing really, just the barest hint of movement. It held her riveted.

The kidskin of his glove cloaked the strength of his hand. The cuff of his shirt likewise masked his wrist. But she was all
too aware of the strength coiled beside her. All too appreciative.

Viola rapped his knuckles with her fan, and his hand jerked away. She kept her eyes firmly on the stage. “That part of my
anatomy is considerably above my knee, my lord.”

CHAPTER 5