The silence soothed but after a while it wasn’t enough. He caught a strand of her dark hair and twined it around his finger. “Have you been to London?”
Calista’s cheek shifted onto his chest, her leg draped across his. “No. I’ve never been to the capital.”
“I should think you’d enjoy it immensely. There is always something to see and plenty of pretty baubles to be bought.”
A chuckle left her. “If one has the time and money to afford them, perhaps. But I’m much too busy entertaining wicked lords in my bed right now.”
Constantine cursed under his breath. For a moment he’d forgotten the exact nature of his lover. She couldn’t just decide to go to London for the pleasure of it. But he could imagine her there, eyes sparkling as brightly as any bauble worn round her throat. She would undoubtedly enjoy the pretense of the opera and Theatre Royal. A shame she could not go unless…
His thoughts fled when her hand drifted lower and curled around his length. The tight, possessive grip took his breath away. When her head disappeared beneath the sheets, he struggled to escape. No woman had done this in a very long time. His wife had not particularly liked to pleasure him in this manner.
Calista’s throaty laugh filled his panicked ears. Her tongue licked the head. His pulse exploded as she kissed him, caressed him and took him into her mouth. Constantine flung the covers back to expose her. She knelt at his side, long hair fallen haphazardly to caress his belly and thigh. But her mouth, that gloriously mesmerizing mouth, had him firmly under its spell.
Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked and his world narrowed to that one spot. Calista pumped her hand slowly, licked and kissed and sucked until he couldn’t hold back. He swept her hair over her shoulder so he could see every move she made. She lifted her head. “I take it this pleases you, my lord.”
For an answer, he pushed her head back down. “You damn well know it does so don’t stop.” When she took him back inside her mouth and tongued the sensitive head, he near exploded. What had he done to be so damn fortunate?
The speed of her hand increased, the suction of her mouth grew stronger. Constantine levered up to touch her cheek, prepared to lift her from him at the moment of release. She twisted her head slightly, away from his touch. He frowned. She couldn’t mean to… No woman did.
When she shifted between his legs, pushing his limbs wider to cup his balls, he groaned. Calista was too damn dangerous for her own good. His balls tightened, drawing up tight. His cock ached and when he exploded he didn’t call his wife’s name. He said Calista instead, because he couldn’t think of anything beyond the woman in his bed.
CHAPTER 5
MEREDITH STUDIED THE young woman opposite her. “Now curtsy, glance at me shyly from beneath your lashes, and rise. There. Captivating. The gentlemen you meet will not take their eyes from you.”
The young woman she was tutoring in the intimate arts had come a long way from her rather shy beginnings and should, if she was diligent, exceed her teachers in every way.
“Are you sure I’m doing it correctly?” Oralia, the name the girl had assumed from the day of her arrival, worried at her lower lip, giving it a pretty pink glow. “Solange says…”
“Solange has all the subtlety of bull in a china shop. Men do, in fact, know when a woman is being insincere. What you just did so innocently with your lip will enthrall the gentlemen you meet.” Meredith patted the cushion beside her and the coltish young girl forgot her training and practically leapt across the room to sit at her side.
Oralia fussed with her gown. “That was pretty?”
“Very appealing.” Meredith smiled at the girl’s uncertainty. It had taken Meredith far longer to learn how to make the most of the cards that had been dealt to her. She intended to make sure Oralia would not make the same mistakes. She could rise as far as she dreamed if she went about the matter sensibly. “The gentlemen who come to us may believe they come for one reason alone. Sex. But they don’t always want it immediately when they arrive. Sometimes gentlemen like to talk, to be teased, and to be tempted before the inevitable happens. Improving your skills in conversation is vital to doing well and being sought after. Men are very fragile creatures. They want to be thought of as desirable and intelligent. They want to believe the fantasy that you only have eyes for them.”
“Of course we do,” Grayling said from the doorway. “No man wants to be chosen solely for his pocketbook.”
Meredith glanced up in surprise and quickly stood. She dropped into a curtsy, rather alarmed that Grayling had overheard her assessment of men. “My lord, I wasn’t informed of your arrival.”
When she rose, his smile was smug. “I asked to surprise you and I’m glad that I managed it. What a fascinating conversation to stumble upon.”
He strolled into the room and lifted the hand she held out to his lips. The kiss he pressed to the back was so warm she caught herself swaying toward him.
“You were successful. I am very surprised.”
Grayling glanced at the young woman she had taken under her wing. “Would you care to introduce me?”
Meredith quickly gathered her scattered wits. Where was her mind? This was the perfect opportunity for Oralia to interact with a superior gentleman. If something came of it, a spark of desire, then Oralia could begin work at the House.
Meredith pushed aside the sudden pang of resentment while she performed the introductions. Oralia performed an adequate curtsy, glanced up at Grayling from beneath her lashes, and did everything perfectly. Meredith eased back from the pair to give them privacy to speak, trying not to listen too closely for any hint of teasing in the conversation which might signal Grayling’s interest in the young woman. Oralia was very pretty. And young.
Grayling leaned in her direction, caught her arm, and dragged her back against his side. “Not done with you yet.”
Despite her surprise, she could feel her face warming. “Oh?”
His eyes lit up with mirth. “Your protégé has asked a question I cannot answer.”
She frowned at Oralia, noticing the girl’s awestruck expression as she stared at Grayling. Such puppyish devotion had no business for a woman in