Every birthday saw her on the receiving end of an extravagant gift from Helene, her aunt’s way of making the occasion special for her. It had been this way since she and her sister, Alice, had come to live with Helene after the deaths of both their parents. Having never borne children of her own, Helene had leaped in with both feet to raise two young girls alone. It was Clare’s opinion that she’d done an admirable job of it, even if Alice had departed from them to marry a baron years ago without a look back. Her elder sister proved as different from Helene and Clare as a bird was from a fish. While Alice seemed to have been made for the shallow social world of the ton, Helene and Clare were content to live on the periphery while making their own rules. They had no care for propriety or social norms, while Alice lived her life by them to a rigid degree.
This was why Clare could never have gone off to Cornwall to leave Helene alone in London. Her aunt had a busy social life as well as her own circle of friends to spend her time with. However, though she tried to hide it, Clare could see it hurt her aunt that Alice seemed to want nothing to do with either of them. She enjoyed her younger niece’s presence in her home, and Clare liked the freedom as well as the companionship of remaining in the same home with one of the few people in the world who understood her. Besides, if she left, who would make such a grand affair of her birthday each year, even when she forgot about it herself?
Setting her magnifying glass aside, Clare rose and smoothed her skirts. “Well then, where is this gift? I find I am most anxious to know what it is, even though I did not realize it was my birthday until a few seconds ago.”
A wide, catlike grin spread across her aunt’s face, and the woman stood from her perch on the corner of the desk. Motioning toward the connecting door to Clare’s bedchamber, her eyes glittered with excitement and mischief.
“I’ve stashed it in your bedroom, dear. I do hope you enjoy it.”
Without waiting for further explanation—and knowing her aunt had a flare for the dramatic—Clare went to the door. Throwing it open, she noticed that a fire and several tapers had been lit within. Stepping farther into the chamber she found that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She’d half expected to discover that her aunt had wedged an entire circus inside her room, complete with acrobats, jugglers, and elephants. One might argue that the elephants would never fit, but her aunt was nothing if not resourceful. Baby elephants, perhaps.
However, she saw nothing other than the usual order maintained by her lady’s maid. Helene hadn’t redecorated, as there had been no change to the chinoiserie wallpaper, heavy oak furniture, or silk seafoam green curtains.
Glancing over her shoulder at the closed door, she wondered if she ought to go ask Helene if she had hidden the gift. Perhaps Clare was meant to hunt for it.
But then, the rustle of fabric caught her attention and had her whirling to face the bed. Her mouth fell open as amongst the tousled mess of her unmade bedclothes, she found the very last thing she would have expected.
A man who appeared to be stark naked.
Good heavens, there’s a nude man in my bed! Her stomach performed a somersault as she noticed that he was quite an intriguing specimen of manhood—light brown hair falling in an artful tumble about his head, refined, angular features, and an upper body that suggested strength and agility. She’d seen a man unclothed before, but had not found him as pleasant to look upon as this one, with sinewy lines and bulges of muscles stretching along his chest and arms.
As he sat up in bed and met her gaze, a slow, sensual smile transformed his face into something sinful. It must be a sin for someone to look so delectably carnal—all full lips, mussed hair, and smooth, bare skin. Staring at him without blinking, she noticed that his eyes were a lovely shade of deep jade, akin to the chunk of quartz in the next room.
Her mouth went dry when those perfect lips of his parted to form words, emitting a deep, pleasing baritone.
“Hello, Clare.”
Chapter 2
Helene Dunnaby had told Edward that her niece was beautiful, but Edward hadn’t placed much stock in that claim. Of course the woman thought her niece was beautiful; she was practically obligated to believe that. However, as he lay in Clare’s bed taking her in from head to toe, he realized that Helene had grossly understated the allure of the creature standing before him.
While not pretty by the conventions of the ton, she possessed the sort of features that demanded closer inspection. Individually, her features might not have seemed so remarkable, but together they made a riveting picture. Hair dark as midnight fell in soft waves to her chin, cut in a style he saw on few women but that suited her perfectly. Matching brows arched over bright, expressive blue eyes, which at the moment conveyed both her shock and curiosity. A heavy fringe of sooty lashes made them seem unusually bright and electric, almost as if a painter had applied the most vivid of his blue pigments over her irises. Sloping cheekbones gave her face a sharp sort of structure, while a wide lush mouth promised an exuberant smile. The slightest of dimples accentuated her chin, like a punctuation mark completing the whole of her visage.
Her gown draped what appeared to be a willowy frame, complete with long legs he suddenly wanted wrapped around his waist.
While Benedict had informed him that he had no control over the comeliness of his first keeper, Edward had been prepared to do his duty. After all, this particular arrangement paid especially well and his desperation for funds was as acute as ever. But, looking upon Clare, he decided that he’d have gladly bedded the chit for free.
One hand pressed against her chest, and the more she stared at him the wider her lovely eyes got. Helene had hired him as a surprise for her niece, paying an exorbitant amount for him to act as the girl’s lover for a month. It would seem the element of surprise had been achieved, but Edward could not yet tell if Clare were pleased by it.
“Hello, Clare,” he murmured.
His voice seemed to shock her out of her stupor.
“Who are you, and what are you doing in my bed?”
The sharp, commanding voice that fell from her mouth took him by complete surprise—though not in a particularly negative way. She sounded like a governess scolding a naughty pupil. He couldn’t puzzle out why that made his cock twitch beneath the coverlet.
“I’m Edward,” he told her. “And I am in your bed because your aunt invited me to await you here … Happy Birthday, by the way.”
She raised her eyebrows, staring at him in clear disbelief. She fell silent, and he could see her trying to work things out in her mind, to arrive at the inevitable conclusion. He hadn’t thought Helene would send Clare in blind, but apparently the young woman had been left to draw the right inference before taking advantage of his unclothed body.
At last, she seemed to snap out of it, though instead of rushing to the bed to join him she burst out laughing. He could hardly dwell on how pleasantly boisterous the sound was—loud, clear, and downright heartwarming—when he was overwhelmed by a swift surge of embarrassment. The last thing a man wanted to hear while naked in a woman’s bed was laughter.
“Oh … oh, that is so funny,” she guffawed, doubling over as her shoulders trembled with mirth. “Aunt Helene is such a trickster. She would truly have me believe that you are supposed to be my birthday gift, and … and I’m supposed to … oh, it’s too hilarious!”
Edward scowled as she went on laughing, though he couldn’t help but notice that he’d been right to assume she’d have a stunning smile. That mouth might have seemed too wide on another woman, overtaking her entire aspect, but on this woman it was perfection. Still, he’d rather not be on the receiving end of her amusement.
Throwing back the coverlet, he rose from the bed and approached, his jaw clenched. She gasped, her laughter fading to silence as she raked her gaze over his body. She took stock of his chest and abdomen, pausing for a long moment at the jut of his cock—which had begun to rise to attention the moment he’d laid eyes on her—down his legs, then back to his face.
Her cheeks took on a becoming pink blush, and she made a sound low in her throat that might be interpreted as one of approval.
“Well, there is nothing funny about that,” she murmured. “I thank you for going along with my aunt’s prank, Mr.…”
“Edward,” he reminded her, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Right, Edward. It has been lovely meeting you, and truly…you are quite a…fascinating specimen of a man. But whatever my real gift is, perhaps you might tell me where to find it. Or has my aunt instructed me to guess? Oh, maybe it is in the dressing room.”
He swiftly moved to impede her path, her long legs carrying her right against him.
“Oh!” she exclaimed when she stumbled, hands pressed to his bare chest as she fought to stay on her feet.
He took hold of her arms to steady her, then drew her even closer, until every inch of her was pressed against him. She stared at him with parted lips, her breath hitching with a noisy inhale. Desire knifed through him, sharp and hot, filling him with the need to taste her, undress her, lay her down on the bed and turn her laughter into moans of pleasure.
“I can assure you, this is no prank,” he rasped, leaning in until all he could see were the brilliant orbs of her eyes, which were rimmed with a darker blue along the edges. “I am yours for however long you wish it.”
Her reply was muffled against his mouth as he closed the distance between them to steal a kiss. Whatever she’d been about to say melted into a surprised gasp, which then rose to a startled moan of delight. Bracing his hands at her upper back, he held her tight enough to show her he meant business, but loose enough that she could escape him if she wished. She seemed to have no such desire, her lips going pliant and then returning his ardent pressure with her own searching kiss.
His cock grew hard as a brick in an instant, pressing insistently against her. She arched into him, opening her mouth for the demanding sweep of his tongue against the seam of her lips. He groaned at the taste of her, sweet from some confection she’d recently eaten, as well as a bit earthy as if she’d just sipped tea. Her scent invaded his senses, a mixture of lavender and rosemary. Her body, which seemed comprised of all straight lines from a distance, proved soft and womanly with slight curves up close, the small, high mounds of her breasts pressed tight against his chest, the flare of her hips filling his hands as he trailed them down to explore her further.
The kiss ended as suddenly as it began when she wrenched her mouth free of his with a gasp. Retreating from him as if he’d burned her, she stared at him with wide eyes. Her fingers came up to her lips, which were reddened and slightly swollen from his kiss. She was even more alluring with desire glazing her eyes and her breasts heaving with strained breath, that decadent mouth begging for more kisses.
He didn’t think he’d ever wanted to fuck a woman more than he did right at that moment.
“Dear God,” Clare mumbled, shaking her head as if to clear it. “She really did … I cannot believe … Aunt Helene!”
Edward started when her voice raised in pitch and volume, echoing off the walls of the chamber. Within seconds, Helene appeared with an amused smirk curving her lips.
“Goodness, I had expected to hear Edward’s name screamed to the rooftops of this house, not mine,” she quipped. Then, she noticed him standing there in the buff, and gave him a once-over much the way her niece had. “Oh my … very nice, Mr. Norton.”
Deciding he was in no mood to stand about naked while aunt and niece had it out, he snatched the coverlet from the bed and wrapped it around his waist.
“What is the meaning of this?” Clare asked, sweeping a hand in his general direction.
She did not sound angry, simply a bit confused. Perhaps Clare was a virgin who had no notion of what to do with a naked man. Had she not ended their kiss, he would have been more than happy to show her.
“Darling, I didn’t think I’d have to explain my gift. I think it should be obvious.”
Clare made an exasperated sound, looking as if she’d very much like to strangle her aunt. “Of course it is obvious. What I mean to ask is, what on earth would lead you to believe I’d even want such a gift? And how did you even convince this man to go along with such a plan?”
Edward swiveled his gaze back and forth as he followed the exchange between the two women, finding himself completely absorbed by it. He’d known their relationship must be unconventional—after all, how many aunts would think nothing of hiring a courtesan to service their nieces? And for Clare to have not even batted an eyelash at the sight of his unclothed body suggested she was as worldly and unconventional as her aunt.
“The same way I convinced Mr. Kent to take you up in his balloon, of course. With money.”
Clare gaped at him for a moment before turning to glare at her aunt. “Do you mean to tell me that this man is a … a whore?”
Her aunt sniffed. “Of course not, dear. I’d never be so uncouth. He’s a courtesan.”
Now it was Edward’s turn to be amused as Clare took on an expression of complete and utter dismay.
“A courtesan? Whoever heard of a male courtesan?”
“Well, I have, obviously,” Helene retorted. “And now so have you. I thought you would be happy, darling. You bury yourself in your intellectual pursuits, and while I know you love them I thought a bit of diversion might—”
“Might what?” Clare interjected. “Inject some much-needed excitement into my boring spinster life?”
Helene frowned, taking a step toward her niece. “Of course not. No one thinks of you as a sad spinster, least of all me.”
The woman’s words fell on deaf ears as Clare marched over to where he’d left his clothing piled in a chair. “I will have you know that if I want a bedmate, I can very well go out and find one of my own. I have before, you know.”
Edward raised his brows at that. So, Clare wasn’t a shy virgin as he’d first assumed. She’d simply been caught off guard, and had recovered enough to rain hellfire down on them with her sharp tongue.
Intriguing.
Clare approached him now, extending his garments to him and giving him a pitying glance. “I am certain you are a very good…I mean, I’m sure you are only doing what you were paid for. But, your services won’t be needed. Please, get dressed. I apologize for any misunderstanding.”
“CeCe, wait,” Helene called out, rushing to follow Clare as she made long strides toward the door.
Edward fumbled with his breeches while the aunt’s eyes were averted, a sick feeling overwhelming him. His first day as a courtesan, and he was already an abysmal failure. However, Benedict had never told him how he ought to handle such a situation. But then, all this must be highly irregular. He would be willing to bet he was the only one of the Gentleman Courtesans who’d ever been hired as an unwanted gift for someone. With a muttered curse he pulled his shirt on.
Clare exited the room without a look back, while Helene stared at the open doorway with a frown.
“Well, that certainly did not go the way I’d anticipated,” she murmured before turning to face him, a determined expression settling on her face. “Mr. Norton, I am so sorry about this. I can see that my surprise has fallen flat. Oh well, there’s nothing to it but for us to try again.”
He paused with one arm through his waistcoat, giving Helene a dubious look. She couldn’t be serious. If Clare didn’t want his services, he didn’t know what Helene intended to do about it. Then again, he didn’t want to think about what ending his first arrangement before it had begun would mean. The rather obscene sum she’d paid Benedict would have to be returned before either of them had taken their share. Perhaps the leader of the Gentleman Courtesans would then decide Edward hadn’t been worth hiring. He’d failed before he’d truly begun.
“I beg your pardon?” he asked.
Helene shrugged one shoulder, then waved a hand in the direction Clare had taken. “My niece wasn’t immune to you. I could see that much when I walked into this room. Tell me…before she
called out to me, did anything happen between the two of you?”
He scoffed while fastening the buttons of his waistcoat. “Well, first she asked who I was and what I was doing in her bed. When I informed her, she laughed. She thought it to be a joke or prank of some kind.”
His ears burned as he shoved one foot into a stocking, remembering the humiliation of her laughter. Oh, but then…
“What happened next?” Helene prodded.
“I convinced her that it most certainly was not a joke by kissing her.”
Helene grinned, her eyes alighting with hope. “And how was it?”
He paused before going for his shoes, equal parts discomfort and arousal flooding him in a rush. It wasn’t seemly for him to allow thoughts of that electrifying kiss to overtake his senses while Clare’s aunt stood before him. If he dwelt on it for too long, proof of just how good the kiss had been would show itself at the front of his breeches. However, he did realize that Helene was right. Clare certainly wasn’t indifferent to him, and her response to his kiss had proven that. He’d been seconds away from tempting her into that bed with him before she’d pulled away.
“She enjoyed it,” he said. “I think perhaps she did not want to…but she did.”
Helene rubbed her hands together. “Good. This is good. It is as I said, you must try again. Now that she knows what you are, she won’t be so surprised next time you meet. I know Clare. Once she has had some time to cool off, she will come to her senses.”
Edward studied Helene for a long moment before speaking, trying without success to make sense of all this. “Begging your pardon, but it doesn’t seem as if she’s interested. Would it not be simpler to ask Ben for your money back and count it as a loss?”
Helene gave him a little smile. “I never give up, Mr. Norton. Besides, I do not think it would do you or your agency much good to be forced to return my money, and I’d rather not have to ask that of you. Am I mistaken in assuming you need the funds?”
Tempting the Bluestocking: A Gentleman Courtesans Novella Page 3
