Page 5 of Obsession: The Unspoken Sin
That was another wonderful thing about the young woman’s friendship. She didn’t pry. If Addien asked a question, and it wasn’t answered, she moved on.
“A new member,” Addien mumbled with all the loathing and disdain she carried forthe haute ton.“Another fancy lord.”
Alice’s lips twitched. “Allthe patrons here are noblemen.”
“Oi, that’d be the one downside of working here,” Addien muttered.
Finishing her stroke, Alice put her brush on the tray and wiped her hands upon her apron. “When does he want me to begin?”
“He said as soon as yer done for the day with this room.”
Alice’s stomach sank. Her shift was supposed to be over. “Bloody Wakefield,” she muttered to herself. “He’s a pain in my arse.”
Alice had anappointmentwith Laurel.
She wasn’t a fan of Wakefield either and only tolerated him now because the new Countess of Wakefield had been a single-visit patron whom the earl fell in love with and had gone on to marry. At some point during the new countess’s time here, she and Addien formed some kind of quick friendship—a rarity for the young woman who trusted none. Not even truly Alice.
Addien made to say something more when a resounding, deep, booming voice broke into the quiet. “Snap! There’s a new patron here. Get below stairs before you’re late.”
The Marquess of Thornwick—Mauley, as he was known here—had become second in command guard, after a family scandal. His had been a public one. He recognized Alice from the ton. She recognized him. She didn’t fear he’d divulge her identity. They were both hiding from different things.
People here kept their secrets, especially if one wanted to stay alive in Dynevor’s establishment.
Cursing a whole string of vicious epithets about Thornwick, Addien reluctantly made her way down the hall and accompanied the big, broad-shouldered guard.
Finding herself alone, Alice resumed focus on her latest creation. If anyone in her family could see the work she did here, they’d certainly have swept in. And, despite all the protests on Alice’s part, they’d force her away from the Devil’s Den. But Alice wasn’t a gentile, demure, blushing debutante. She’d fallen. As far as Eve herself.
She knew far more than even most married ladies ought to about lovemaking. As such, her art was just that—art. She took great consolation in the fact her family didn’t really have anyidea what she did in this place, and she intended for it to remain that way.
“My God,Alice?”
That melodic, smooth, familiar baritone hit her with the weight of a thousand stones. Alice spun around, flicking gold flecks and specks of paint all over the walls and into the face of—
Her heart stopped in her chest. Laurence, the Earl of Denbigh—her brother’s best friend. So much for keeping her work here a secret from her family.
Bloody hell.
Chapter 3
Denbigh had always been rather good at putting on a show. He’d often worn a smile for his younger brothers’ and late mother’s benefit to compensate for all the suffering the previous earl had inflicted. When Exmoor tasked him with rescuing Alice—an assignment Denbigh committed to the moment he discovered where she was living—he’d gone over in his head their firstchancemeeting.
Upon seeing her, Denbigh was hit with absolute shock, surprise, confusion, and horror at finding her vigorously and passionately painting a scene that would’ve made any virgin reader of the KamaSutrablush. He discovered that no pretend disbelief had been necessary on his part.My God!
If Exmoor knew what Alice was doing, he’d have dragged her away from this hell, where London’s worst gentleman played, and not sentDenbighto do his dirty work.
Despite the noble work that brought Denbigh here, he found himself weak as the rest of the sinners in this place. He stared wide-eyed and unblinking at the Bacchanalian orgy. With the deities’ mouths slick with lust and their thick, voluptuous, thighs spread for both the God Bacchus and viewers on the outside, the fevered scene was evocative enough to get a cock rise from most mature men, himself included.
Heat slapped his cheeks.
Get yourself in order, man!This wasAlice’sartwork.
Flabbergasted, he managed to blink slowly and bring his gaze to Alice. It had been too long since he’d seen her.
He’d missed her.
“What happened to your hair?” he asked quietly.
His was a peculiar detail to mourn, given all the changes that had been wrought to her and her lifestyle and her very existence.And yet something about the loss of those exquisitely long, lush, sun-streaked blonde locks left him hurt somewhere inside. At what and for what reason, he couldn’t say or understand.
