ch cleverer in her methods if she was going to have her way with him. And wicked it would be.
Meredith thrilled at the challenge of a reluctant bed partner. In her line of work, men rarely played hard to get. Most were always willing and eager to get to the end without fighting for the best of the moments before. She hadn’t met a man equal to the challenge in a very long time. Tonight might even be fun.
Determined to intrigue him, even from a distance, Meredith eased back in the chair, leveling him with an amused smile. She widened her knees slightly, just enough that he’d notice the movement of her gown pulling tight across them. As she hoped, his gaze dipped to the light gown covering her thighs. He couldn’t see anything now, but he would surely remember the way the fire had revealed the outline of her body as he’d spied on her and Linnie talking earlier through the crack in the door. “Tell me of yourself, my lord. Do you enjoy the hunt?”
His eyes rose slowly, sparkling with mirth. “Very much. I keep hounds and host a gathering every year on my estate.”
That hadn’t been what she’d alluded to with her comment, but if he wanted to play the part of a reluctant lover then the least she could do was humor him. She’d learned to be always obliging to those she wanted something from. Grayling was her guarantee of further riches. “Is the event very well attended?”
His legs unfolded and he set both feet out before him. His eyes lost their merriment as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Everyone who is invited finds their way to Stanton Harold Hall. Getting them to leave is another matter entirely.”
Curious about his change of posture, a defense if ever she saw one, Meredith’s fingers rose to toy with the neckline of her gown. The slow movement drew his attention but did nothing to soften his pose. “I imagine you to be such an agreeable host, so willing to see to their every whim and need, no matter the inconvenience, that your guests cannot bear to be parted from your company.”
His expression grew skeptical. “They come for the food, the wine, and to gawk.”
“People always covet what other people have.” Meredith saw no harm in it and frequently admired the pretty gems other ladies wore with no ill effect. But she’d never met someone who was vocal about their dislike of being looked upon. Given his looks, Grayling should be used to such attention. In fact, Meredith could not tear her eyes away from his person for any length of time. When she’d spotted him in the drawing room with Solange draped all over his lap, she’d been unaccountably aggrieved. As if Solange deserved such a man.
She let her hand still, fingertips resting lightly on the skin of her upper chest, and slowly drew a line down toward her bodice. “Is your home very beautiful?”
She dipped her fingers beneath the fine cloth and drew them back and forward, teasing her fingertips with the soft sensations. Grayling’s eyes tracked her every movement.
“No.”
She smiled at his blunt confession. The absence of boasting was intriguing. Most men she met couldn’t wait to embellish on the wonders of their lives. The size of their estate, the esteem of their connections. Grayling told her nothing about his life beyond cursory detail. Meredith found that utterly fascinating.
She slid her hand lower until it would appear to her companion that she was about to cup her own breast. His eyes narrowed, focusing on her intent. She laughed softly at his response. Meredith was tempted to show him just how bold she could be, but she wanted to leave some surprises for later. “Come now, surely a place named Stanton Harold Hall has something to recommend it? Even if you take such beauty for granted.”
His eyes grew shuttered, his gaze fell to the floor between them. Silence thickened but then raucous laughter just outside the door jerked his head up and around.
Solange and her replacement companion, the lanky and exuberant Mr. White, burst into the room. That they were kissing quite passionately without noticing they were barging into an occupied room set her teeth on edge. A vase was almost knocked over in their exertions, a chair pushed aside in their haste to disrobe. The occupants of the house might be among the lowest in society, but other people did not always enjoy viewing the more earthy aspects of their trade. When she glanced at Grayling, she saw his jaw had clenched at the intrusion. He wasn’t one for public displays then.
Solange deserved a good paddling for her interruption. Meredith had to content herself with glaring instead.
“Oh, I’m sorry Calista! I didn’t know you had a visitor.” Solange glanced between Meredith and Lord Grayling and then giggled behind her hand. “I see I wasn’t interrupting anything important. May I offer my company, my lord? Wouldn’t you prefer someone still in the first bloom of youth?”
Mr. White appeared shocked to be so quickly cast aside in favor of another. Linnie would be furious if he never came back to the House. Meredith had to act quickly to ensure the young man was not slighted. Mr. White had a reputation for vigor that many women in the House rather enjoyed, save Solange. Meredith had a better partner in mind for him.
She rose to her feet, stretching to the limit of her five feet two inches, and stepped forward until she stood beside Grayling’s chair. And how dare Solange hint that she was too old? It wasn’t only youth and easy agreement that men wanted. Some men liked more of a challenge than Solange presented. She’d lift her skirts for the vicar if he so much as smiled in her direction. Solange would pay for the interruption tomorrow morning, bright and early. A good ten strikes of Linnie’s paddle could go a long way to restoring the pecking order in the house. Calista was the house’s diamond, the one every man longed for. Solange was lower but with aspirations she couldn’t hope to attain. The stupid little fool had yet to learn her place. “Go back the way you came and find another room for Mr. White. If you lack the imagination to entertain him, then I’ll send Mallory to him. She was saying just the other day she wished for a long ride.”
Although Mr. White blushed, he didn’t deny Meredith’s suggestion appealed to him.
Grayling turned away from the interruption and lifted his face to Meredith’s as he brushed his left hand across her bottom lightly, proving he wasn’t the least bit interested in the discussion. The sensation just about took Meredith’s breath away. Every nerve in her body was aflame. One touch and she’d turned to butter on a hot day. She fought to remember what she was doing while fully aware her reaction to Grayling was a new experience.
Meredith took a deep breath, fighting the urge to press her rear into his hand, and glared until Solange realized she should leave. The twit nudged her companion until he cleared the doorway. “Excuse us, Calista.”
The doors banged shut with a thump. Meredith glanced at her companion, surprised to find her hand resting on Grayling’s shoulder. She stroked the broad expanse, feeling the subtle shift in his body toward hers. Warmth poured off him in waves. She grinned at him as he brushed lightly over the crest of her bottom, pleased that he would be hers eventually. Proximity obviously produced a similar arousing effect on him. His breeches were positively straining at the seams.
Any tentative doubts about the night ahead vanished. If Grayling was going to keep a distance in the beginning, then so be it. His touch gave her all the assurance she needed to accept the slower pace of his seduction. He would come closer eventually and then she would win. All she needed to do was find the right inducement.
The challenge to please them both had begun. The winner would take all.
CHAPTER 3
THE HAND RESTING on his shoulder had more effect than Constantine dared let on. Calista set his senses on fire. He’d never reacted to a woman like this before. Not even to his wife, whom he’d treasured as the love of his life. Augusta had been a gentle soul. A refuge from the troubles of life and the perfect companion to his nights. They had married by arrangement, but prolonged intimacy had made them true partners. Augusta had been the one to encourage him to explore his darker passions in their marriage bed as the years of wedded bliss increased.
But Augusta had never made him feel as un
balanced as this. His reaction to the woman grinning down upon him triumphantly was nothing like what he’d expected. He worked to bury his lust. “I have an excellent cook and my housekeeper dotes on all my guests.” He continued as if the interruption had never occurred. He needed time to restore his equilibrium and commonplace conversation would give him that.