Page 10 of Only a Lyon Will Do
Mrs. Florinda Pickeringquickly shut her bedroom door in her maid’s face and made a mad dash for her silken robe that was still laying on the floor. She pushed her arms through the sleeves and went to her vanity mirror to check her appearance. With her disheveled hair and kiss-swollen lips, she looked like she had just crawled from a man’s bed—which she had. She tore her gaze from the mirror to the man lounging in her bed. Lord Oliver Pitt was a handsome devil with his brown hair and eyes and certainly knew how to pleasure a woman in the bedroom. But as much as she’d enjoyed his attentions for the past hour, his presence in her bed now presented a serious problem.
“Is something wrong, my pet?” Oliver inquired as he stretched his muscular body.
Florinda took a second to appreciate the view considering the sheet had slid down to barely cover his manhood. “Asher’s carriage just pulled up.”
A chuckle left the man. “Thatisunfortunate.”
“Unfortunate?” she shrieked. “It’s a catastrophe and you know it, Oliver.”
The man shrugged but continued to lounge where he was. “I don’t mind sharing you with Rowley, my dear, butnotat thesame time. I do have some standards. I thought you said the two of you were done.”
“He hasn’t been here in over a month. I just assumed…”
“I see.” He put one hand behind his head and watched her frantically rush across the room.
“What is that comment supposed to mean?” she snarled, near frantic with worry. How would she explain to the man who was responsible for her current living arrangement that she had brought another lover into the bed he paid for?
“Only that a person should never assume anything, my dear. If you and Rowley were finished, I would have thought he would have arranged a settlement for you. That is all,” Oliver replied.
“Do get dressed, for heaven’s sake, while I try to think of an excuse why you’re here,” Florinda said in a panic.
His laughter erupted in the room. “No man of any worth would see you looking likethatand believe any story you might concoct of my having come to play chess or borrow a book. He’ll know what we’ve been doing, so why bother to lie? Get rid of Rowley and come back to bed. I certainly know how to keep a woman like you satisfied between the sheets.”
God help her… Oliver had no plans to leave. “You are a beast, Oliver.”
He chuckled again. “And you love every moment of what I can give you, Florinda.”
She paused what she was doing to stare thoughtfully at the man in her bed. She shook her head and returned to frantically get dressed. “If I thought for one moment that you would see to my needs financially, I might consider never taking another lover,” she huffed, but Oliver’s response was more laughter. He took no care to muffle the sound.
“You know me better than that, my pet. I certainly have no intention of making our arrangement permanent—nor do I seeany need to pay for what you offer me for free,” Oliver said in a tone that was almost a warning.
She scowled. “As I said, Oliver… you’re a beast!”
“If so, then what does that say about you, that you can’t get enough of me?” he retorted.
Their time together confirmed how right he was but she couldn’t dwell on that now. Asher would be waiting downstairs for her by now and he hated to be kept waiting.
Placing her feet into slippers, she left her bedchamber to the sound of Oliver’s voice taunting her one last time to hurry back. She took her time going down the hallway to try to calm her racing heart. By the time she made it to the front parlor, she could only hope that she appeared calm and collected. Asher stood at the window, his hands behind his back. When he heard her approach he turned to face her. One look at Asher’s face and Florinda knew, without any doubt, he was aware what she had been doing. One corner of his mouth turned up before he gave her the briefest bow.
“Good afternoon, Florinda,” Asher said watching her intently.
“What a pleasant surprise, my love. I wasn’t expecting you,” Florinda purred stepping into the room.
A short laugh left him. “Obviously.”
“Would you care for a drink?” she asked stalling for time so she could attempt to come up with a way to explain herself.
Asher ignored her offering. “I won’t take up too much of your time so you might return to your… afternoon,” he said reaching into his coat and handing her an envelope.
“What’s this?” she asked breaking the wax seal and seeing a bank draft. She widened her eyes at the sum of money. She could live comfortably for the next six months on such an amount.
“A settlement,” Asher replied casually as though this was as any other business deal he had done in his past.
“And the house?” she asked quickly wondering if she would need to vacate the lovely townhouse she had called her home for the past year.
“Keep it. I’ll transfer the title into your name.”
A gasp left her. She had never dared to hope he would be so generous. “That is very kind of you, Asher. I will miss our time together.”
