“Excuse me for asking this, but if you two are not considered socially acceptable, how will your sister get away with it?”
Christian looked amused. “We are respectable. We just don’t choose to embrace that particular environment. Marguerite has no choice. She married an English lord; therefore she is entitled and expected to enjoy the benefits of high society.”
“Your sister is a titled lady?”
“Oui, Lady Justin Lockwood.”
Anthony paused. “Wasn’t there some scandal connected with her husband a few years ago?”
“He was involved in a duel with his best friend, Sir Harry Jones, and was fatally wounded.”
“That’s right. I remember it now. Weren’t they both supposed to be in love with the same woman?”
Lisette glanced at Christian. “Something like that.”
“Ah, that was your sister, Marguerite. Is that why she chooses to live in solitude?”
“Apparently so, although it seems ridiculous to me.”
Anthony managed a smile. “Perhaps you have a stronger constitution than your sister.”
Lisette met his gaze, and it was like looking straight into her mother’s eyes. “That is possible. I’m hardly a shrinking violet.”
“Hardly.” Christian laughed and Lisette scowled at him. “Marguerite lives with a chaperone in a small house owned by the Lockwood family on Maddox Street. The Lockwoods don’t particularly care for her, but they haven’t dared to disassociate themselves because of her powerful supporters.”
“I thought you said she had no family apart from you and her mother in England.”
“She doesn’t, but she has Viscount Harcourt DeVere and the Duke of Diable Delamere as godparents.”
“Powerful allies indeed.” Anthony studied his folded hands on the stained white damask tablecloth before looking up. “Have you spoken to your sister about this?”
“Not yet. We wanted to see if you were agreeable first.” Christian looked inquiringly at Anthony.
Anthony allowed a silence to fall before he replied. “Why would she agree to this? What possible reason is there for her to want to change her life?”
Lisette held his gaze. “The same reasons you have. If she doesn’t do something to save herself soon, she will become the kind of woman she has always despised.”
“And what kind of woman is that?”
“One who is afraid.” Christian said softly.
Anthony fought a shiver. Was it fear that held him back from trying a new path? Was he too afraid to step away from the familiar and find himself again?
He nodded abruptly. “I’ll think about what you have said and give you an answer in the morning.”
Anthony made his way back into the center of the pleasure house, his thoughts in chaos. Was it too late to go back, find the twins and tell them he wouldn’t even consider the idea? He paused at the half-opened doorway to one of the more select second-floor rooms where some of Madame’s patrons were enjoying a show. In the center of the room, two men attired in classical Grecian robes, laurel wreaths adorning their heads, were slowly undressing each other.
He moved closer to watch as the drapery fell away to reveal the oiled, muscled chest of one of the men. The second man kissed his way down the line of the fair-skinned man’s sternum, tugging at the material that still covered his loins to reveal his erect cock.
A knot of tension settled low in Anthony’s gut. Had he ever experienced such gentleness while having sex? Or had he just been fucked, his body a tool to be used by others for their enjoyment but never for his? He bit his lip. No, that wasn’t fair. He’d enjoyed the roughness, craved it sometimes, and even begged for it.
“I’m surprised to see you here again tonight. You certainly are a glutton for punishment.”
Anthony gently pulled the door shut. The bruises on his body seemed to throb in response to the softly drawled words spoken by the man behind him. He turned to face Lord Minshom, hands fisted at his sides. His nemesis wore an immaculately cut blue coat and black pantaloons, a diamond glittered in the white cravat at his throat.
“I’m not staying.”
Lord Minshom’s pale blue gaze flicked over Anthony’s groin. “Why not? You’re obviously aroused.”
“Not by you.”
“By that pathetic show in there? Two men acting like women?”
“Two men loving each other.”
“Men don’t love each other. They fuck to gain power, to win, to emerge as the winner.”
“Not all of them.”
Lord Minshom reached out and brushed his thumb over Anthony’s lower lip. The subtle caress made all Anthony’s senses come alive. He swallowed hard as Lord Minshom shoved his thumb into his mouth and moved it back and forth.
“I fuck to win.”
Anthony jerked his head away and swiped his hand over his mouth. “I know. You’ve proved that to me many times.”
“And you didn’t like it? You didn’t beg and plead for more?”
“I was a fool.”
“You are a fool. You can’t change your nature, Sokorvsky. You’ll always be down on your knees begging for it.”
Anthony closed his eyes as Lord Minshom’s hand closed around his cock and squeezed hard. Like a lapdog, he was responding, his shaft growing and thickening at the other man’s demands. He grabbed Lord Minshom’s wrist and wrenched it away from his cock.
“No more. I’m done with you.”
A slow smile illuminated the other man’s face, drawing attention to the exquisite lines of his cheekbones and pale porcelain skin.
“Now that is amusing, Sokorvsky. You, having the nerve to tell me you’ve had enough. I didn’t think you had the balls.”
“Well, think again. I’m done.”
“We’ll see about that. Perhaps I was a little hard on you last night. When you’re feeling better, you’ll be back for more.”
“Don’t patronize me. I mean what I say.”
Lord Minshom bowed, amusement clear in his narrowed eyes. “I’m sure you do—tonight. I’ll see you in a couple of days, naked and bound in the punishment corner, eager to do my bidding as usual.”
He nodded and walked away, leaving Anthony shaking. It seemed that no one believed he was capable of changing. He shoved away from the wall. Damn them all to hell, he’d take Marguerite Lockwood out and show them all how wrong they were.
3
“You did what?”
Marguerite Lockwood swung around to face her siblings who sat together on the small blue chaise longue in her shadowed drawing room.
“We asked Lord Anthony Sokorvsky to squire you around town.” Lisette tried to look innocent. “Why are you so upset?”
“Because . . .” Marguerite spread her hands wide to express her inability to know where to start. “I don’t need you interfering in my life.”
“You do.” Christian stood up and towered over her. “You’ve been holed up here like a fox avoiding the hounds for almost two years. Isn’t it time you got on with your life?”
Marguerite narrowed her eyes and glared at them. The twins’ self-composure continued to surprise and irritate her. Sometimes she felt as if she were the baby of the family.
“I am quite happy as I am. I enjoy every luxury. I don’t have to worry about paying the rent . . .”
“You never go out.”
Marguerite frowned at her brother. “Of course I go out. I haven’t become a hermit!”
“All right, you never go out with a man.”
“I’m a widow.”
“Whose first marriage lasted barely a month.”
Marguerite clenched her fists so hard her fingernails bit into her flesh. “Why are you being so cruel, Christian?”
He shrugged. “Because we’ve tried everything else and nothing has worked. You hardly ever even lose your temper anymore. We’re all worried about you.”
“A fine way to show you are worried by picking at me.” Marguerite returned to her seat opposite the twins and glared at them.
Christian sighed as he too sat down. “I’m not trying to be cruel. I just want you to go out and enjoy yourself a bit more.”