Page 60 of From Duke Till Dawn
She exhaled in frustration. Her feelings for him grew more knotted by the moment. She dreaded the emotions he stirred within her whenever he was near, yet she couldn’t hide from them. There was no running from the fact that part of her heart already belonged to him. It had, ever since Cheltenham. Moment by moment, she sensed herself tumbling further down a dangerous slope, linking her closer and closer to Alex, yet knowing there was nothing she could do about her desires.
Quick, heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway. She glanced up. The servants were almost silent as they went about their work. It couldn’t be a footman. Then who...?
Alex appeared in the doorway of the library. Her breath caught at the sight of him, slightly windblown and gravely handsome.
She found her voice. “You’re back early.” It had only been an hour. She’d fully expected not to see him again until the morning.
He strode into the room and went to the bookshelves, his hands clasped behind his back. He didn’t look at her as he spoke. “My business wrapped up quickly. Besides,” he added, “I can go wherever I please without facing a barrage of questions.”
Her brows lifted. Clearly, this was a point of contention for him. It would be the wiser course of action to let the subject go.
“Were your friends helpful?” She shut her book and set it on a nearby table. “Did they tell you the meaning of the coin?”
He turned to face her, then leaned against the bookshelves with his arms crossed over his chest. “It’s for someplace called the Orchid Club.”
She frowned. “Never heard of it.”
“It’s a secret society,” he said. “The guests wear masks to keep their identities hidden. But that’s where the discretion ends.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Speak plainly.”
“The guests have sex with each other,” he said quickly. “That’s the point of the club. A location where they can indulge in their carnal fantasies.”
No glib reply came from her lips. This news actually surprised her, and she’d thought nothing could shock her anymore. She knew brothels existed, particularly those that catered to clients’ specific desires, but what the Orchid Club offered was new to her.
“Martin goesthere?” she wondered aloud, vaguely appalled. “That’s... not like him.”
“You know his sexual preferences?”
She made a face. “God, no.” Thinking about his erotic appetites made her dimly nauseated. “It doesn’t seem like him, though. He kept that part of his life private.”
“A man has needs,” Alex said lowly.
They gazed at each other, heat gathering between her legs. No mistaking the hunger in his look, or how her own body responded at once with its own demands, warming her, making her both languid and alert. Craving his touch.
But he didn’t cross the library to come to her. Instead, he kept himself rooted in place, as if shackled.
A thought struck her with the force of a blow. “This means we have to go to this Orchid Club.” It was outrageous. Appalling. Intriguing. “Wear masks and search for Martin while people have sex all around us.”
“Appears so.” His voice was no more than a guttural growl.
Oh, God. How in the bloody hell was she supposed to attend a secret sex club with Alex? On her own, she could easily stay on task. But with him beside her... that changed the equation significantly.
She could do this. She could stay focused, despite the fire between her and Alex, and her growing attachment to him. They’d go to the club, perform their reconnaissance, and move forward. She wouldn’t throw herself at him. She wouldn’t get lost in the maze of desire and yearning.
Keep telling yourself that.
Whatever she felt for Alex, she’d have to set it aside while they hunted Martin. Yet that was easier said than accomplished. Words and deeds were two very different things, and she knew from personal experience that one often had nothing to do with the other.
“Are you ready to face the Orchid Club?” he asked.
She fought a hysterical laugh.Ready?Ready to be surrounded by people giving in to their hungers as she struggled against her own? Ready to hide behind a mask while her heart was open and exposed to him?
Never,she thought.
“Of course,” she said brightly.
Chapter 12
