Hunting the Hero (The Wild Randalls 4)

this trade. “Well?”

The hard edge to her question brought Oralia’s mind back to the room. “I asked His Lordship if he had a mistress. He said you would know.”

“I…” Meredith faced Grayling. He appeared decidedly pleased by her speechlessness. She shrugged haughtily. “Not that I’ve heard. But then my acquaintance with Lord Grayling has been brief. He could have a harem and I’d have no idea.”

“A harem?” He shook his head and clucked his tongue in disapproval. “No, no. I should only need one woman.”

Meredith tensed at the delicate subject they were discussing. After only one night in Gray’s arms, he should not be considering that he needed a mistress. He couldn’t possibly be dissatisfied with their arrangement or he would not have come back. She met Millicent’s gaze. “Perhaps you would like to see to His Lordship’s comfort.”

At the reminder of the first rule of the house—satisfy a guest’s every need—Oralia’s training came to the fore. She encouraged Grayling to sit, brought him brandy, and generally hung on his every word. When her hand landed on his leg with seeming innocence, Grayling sighed heavily and removed it. He shifted his gaze to Meredith. “I’m not here as part of her training.”

“Of course not.” Meredith pressed her lips together over a laugh. “But Oralia needs the practice. No harm.”

“Only to my good mood.” He faced Oralia and pushed away the hand that had crept back onto his thigh. “A pleasure to meet you. I can see you’ve lapped up Calista’s training very thoroughly, but remember to be yourself. There is only one Calista, and I should like to be alone with her now if you don’t mind.”

Oralia’s grin grew sly as she glanced between them. “Very well, my lord. Perhaps I shall see you on another visit.”

“I doubt that,” Gray muttered softly.

But Meredith heard and found his assertion rather pleasing. “Let Linnie know I said you are ready to have your gowns chosen, my dear.”

“Oralia,” Grayling said, “do make Mrs. Cohen aware that Calista has earned the rest of her wager from last night.”

With the promise of pretty things in her future and a message from a patron to deliver, Oralia bounced out of the room with a decided spring in her step.

Grayling scowled. “She should be at home under the watchful eyes of her parents.”

Meredith heaved a heavy sigh as she listened to Oralia’s running steps. “That would prove difficult as they were the ones who tossed her out like kitchen scraps.”

Grayling patted the cushion beside him. “She was seduced, I take it.”

Meredith shook her head and remained where she was, remembering the terrible state in which the young girl had arrived. Every door had been slammed in her face. “Raped, by several village boys. Her parents couldn’t get rid of her fast enough.”

Grayling shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Is that what happened to you?”

“No,” she said flatly and moved to refill his glass. She struggled to keep her voice level and devoid of resentment. “But situations like Oralia found herself in happen all the time. Luckily, Linnie came across her soon after the incident and brought her here. I’m proud of her progress. At first, she wouldn’t even glance at the footmen without shaking.”

“No tremble in her hands when she touched me,” he told her.

Meredith raised a brow. “I noticed that.”

“And I noticed you watching and pretending not to.” He placed his glass on a nearby table. “What game are you playing now? Are you bored with me already?”

“No,” she answered truthfully. But his question made her uncomfortable. In fact, she feared herself in danger of making a superior fool of herself. She shrugged, hoping the gesture conveyed a practical response rather than an emotional one. “But if you’d have shown the least bit of interest in Oralia, I would have left the room.”

He pressed his lips together firmly, sucked in a breath, and when he let it go he held out his hand. “Come here,” he said softly, a hint of steel in his voice. The same tone he’d used last night in bed. She trembled because that voice had the power to make her forget everything but pleasing him.

Meredith slowly moved closer and then let out a small shriek as Grayling tugged her onto his lap. His hand covered her breast. “Not one bit of interest. The only woman I want today is in my arms right now.”

He kissed her lips, sucking gently on the lower one before a growl left his chest. “Don’t ever do that again. I’m not a plaything for your associates.”

Despite the warnings in her head, Meredith threaded her arms around his neck and clung to the dangerously tempting lord. “No?”

“No.”

Before she realized what had happened, she was flat on her back beneath him. She blinked up into his frowning face.

He brushed his warm fingers over her cold cheeks. “Do you never stay warm?”