THE VIRGIN COURTESAN (4 page)

‘One hardly needs to be a virgin to be a courtesan, I suppose,’
Juliana said bleakly. Cold reality came back together as she realised that this
had changed nothing; she must still return to her chosen life in the morning.
And yet it had changed everything.

She buried her face in her hands and Guy looked at her in
despair. By God, would every decision he made tonight end in calamity for this
woman? He took her hand.

‘I will ensure you are all right, Juliana, I promise it.’

She looked up at him, her heart leaping in a sudden wild hope,
then realised he was of course talking about money. She shook her head. ‘I want
none of your ill-gotten gains,’ she said, though her voice was soft. Guy kissed
her swiftly on the lips and she looked at him in surprise at the tender
gesture.

‘Shush. I’m not talking about ill-gotten gains, as you so
eloquently put it. I’m no highwayman, and certainly don’t intend to ever be
again given the mess I’ve made of things.’ He gave Juliana a quick account of
the night’s events, and when he finished she sat looking at him with wide eyes,
her hand pressed to her mouth. She didn’t know whether she felt horror at the
thought of his own brother challenging him to a duel or relief that, as she had
suspected, he was no common criminal at all. Now his concerns for her and his
regard for her honour made sense. So she had given her body to a lord this
night, just not the one she was intending to.

She shook her head, a sudden wild laughter bubbling in her at
the realisation that they had both been so badly mistaken about the other, only
to be chased away swiftly by the reality of his situation. ‘How on earth could
your own brother challenge you so?’

‘Sinclair has always hated me. Always been jealous of me; he
thinks I’m our mother’s favourite because I resemble our late father, though in
truth she has always spoilt him, but he can’t see it. Not to mention the fact
that he thinks as the eldest he is entitled to everything. He wants the house,
Bradcote, although it is legally mine. We quarrelled yesterday evening and I had
to use some force on him, and in front of his friends, and so his blood was up.’
He neglected to tell Juliana the full details of how he had to pull Sinclair
away from nearly beating a man to death; a man who had challenged Sinclair over
the seduction of his sister. A maid in their mother’s house, no less.

‘Are you scared he will kill you?’ Juliana’s voice was
sympathetic, even slightly horrified, but Guy’s pride bristled even though he
was touched at her concern.

‘Scared, no. Earlier I was so angry it did not even occur to me
I might lose. It is a matter of honour, and of putting an end to his ways before
he hurts anyone else or squanders the family’s fortune, or both.’

‘But could you really bring yourself to shoot your brother?’ In
spite of his obvious pride and his undoubted masculinity, Juliana could not
believe the man who had made love to her so tenderly could be so callous. Guy
sighed. In truth, now that he had calmed down, he was wondering himself. There
had to be a less bloody solution, surely? But a challenge, once accepted, must
be seen through as a matter of honour, or he would risk being shunned by
society. And how on earth would he keep an eye on his wayward brother then?
‘Perhaps when you return in the morning, he will have calmed down?’ she
suggested, studying his profile in the firelight. She snuggled into him, and his
arm went round her unthinkingly.

‘I doubt it; in fact, I think he would jump at the chance to
get rid of me. Although he is the eldest and the heir, I hold enough in my own
name that he would no doubt love to get his hands on my own inheritance. He is a
gambler and a wastrel; only God knows how much he has blown already.’

Juliana turned the name over in her mind. She was sure that
Rose had mentioned a Sinclair, a notorious rakehell. And though the society
ladies loved him, Rose had said he was a violent bully. Moreover, he was gentry.
Lord Eversley. She looked at Guy, a sudden horrified thought occurring to her.
Did Rose know him also?

‘I’ve not seen you around town,’ she probed. Guy shrugged.

‘It’s not my scene. Especially when it’s the Season and full of
simpering idiots.’

Juliana had to laugh. She had endured one Season with her
stepmother, anxious to try to marry Juliana ‘up’ and so improve her own social
standing. Dora Hearnshaw had quickly realised Juliana was never going to make a
docile society wife, and so had had little more use for her.

‘And women like myself?’ she questioned him further, flushing
when he grimaced.

‘Forgive me, but to pay for a woman’s company is not to my
taste. I would rather she be in my arms of her own free will.’

‘As I was,’ Juliana mused, ‘although it was hardly my own free
will that brought me here.’

Guy looked at her to see her eyes were twinkling merrily.
‘Minx,’ he said, kissing her again. He could hardly get enough of her, a feeling
so alien to him it was unnerving.

‘God, but I wish we had met under more favourable
circumstances!’ he ground out, feeling again an overwhelming urge to protect
her. How had she come to this? He had to know.

‘And you, what is your story?’

Juliana’s voice was quiet as she talked of her family, of her
hard-working coach-maker father and the vivacious mother she barely remembered.
Self-made, proud people with a zest for life, so at odds with the uppity and
eventually cruel Dora. As she described her stepmother’s cruel attitude towards
her and the eventual assault by Mortimer and her subsequent banishment, Guy’s
arms tightened around her.

‘Bastard. He sounds a lot like Sinclair. I’ve had to drag him
off more than a few girls in the past. We have more in common than it would
seem, perhaps.’

‘Why did you quarrel yesterday?’ she asked, and he winced as he
related the story of the serving girl and her brother. ‘He will squander all we
have and leave our mother destitute, if he has his head.’

‘You have to go back and try to reason with him. A duel? That
is an act for desperate men. There must be a better way. Why, the victor could
well end by being strung up.’ Juliana gasped at the thought. Already she felt a
strong attachment to this man, although she tried to tell herself it was stupid.
Such feelings could only lead to heartbreak.

She was right, of course, but Guy feared the outcome of a
showdown with his brother. Some things, when done, changed the course of one’s
life forever. Meeting with this woman had been one of them, he thought with a
jolt, and he began to wonder if he had a chance at a future that held more than
dealing with the family’s honour. He tried to tell himself his feelings came
from his shock at finding her a virgin, the sense of honour that said he
couldn’t take her and then abandon her, but he knew if she had had a thousand
men he would still feel the urge to make her wholly his. She had moved beneath
him as if her body had been made for his, had looked up at him with such trust
and longing that their lovemaking had been so much more than a fumble by the
fireside with a pretty woman. But he dared not give voice to his feelings. What
could he possibly offer her, when by this time tomorrow he would be either a
murderer or a dead man?

Juliana laid a kiss on his shoulder. Her lips were cold and
startled Guy out of his reverie. The fire was dying down. He lifted her,
carrying her to the bed, and though she fought it, her lids fluttered. He laid
her in the bed and covered her with the blankets before going to the chair, but
she pulled him back.

‘Won’t you sleep with me?’

‘I did not want to presume.’

‘A little late for that,’ she retorted sleepily. He smiled as
he slid in beside her, curving around her back. Her body fitted into his
perfectly, her soft buttocks causing a stirring in his groin even though he had
just fully emptied his desire into her.

‘If I go back tomorrow, come with me,’ he whispered into her
hair, ‘if only so I can make up for what I owe and see you get back to your
lodgings safely.’

He felt her stiffen, then nod. He stroked her cheek, not
knowing how to give voice to the unfamiliar feelings that flooded through him.
The thought of her returning to life as a courtesan—especially now that he had
in effect damaged her prospects—turned his stomach. If he had his way, she would
do no such thing; she deserved better. The idea of taking her home with him and
having her in his life drifted through his mind. Must they only be pleasant
dreams? Guy felt a surge of hope that the morning may bring more than either
death or dishonour.

Juliana fell asleep in his arms as if she belonged there.

Chapter Five

Juliana woke feeling the sun on her face and Guy’s warm
body wrapped around her. Dreamily she nuzzled into him, and he murmured in his
sleep. She opened her eyes, remembering the night’s events. She felt strangely
calm. Content in Guy’s arms, she wished they could lie here forever. Forget
about his brother, and whatever awaited her back in London, and simply lie in
each other’s arms, her body thrilling with its newfound knowledge. To hell with
Lord Salter and anyone else who wanted to barter for her virginity. Whatever
befell her now, she would always have the memory of last night, and of this man.
Her highwayman who had turned out to not be a highwayman at all. Juliana grinned
to think what her stepmother would say if she knew Juliana lay in the arms of a
lord. It would have surpassed all of her ambitious marriage plans. Though of
course this was no marriage. The thought sobered her somewhat and she lifted her
head to look at Guy.

The rush of desire made her catch her breath. He truly was the
most handsome man she had ever seen, strong and tanned, every inch of him cut to
perfection. As her eyes went downwards she couldn’t resist a peek beneath the
blankets, to see his member, so swollen inside of her last night, now soft and
smaller against his thigh. Tentatively she reached for him, and even in his
sleep he stirred beneath her hand, growing harder and thicker underneath her
touch. She moved down the bed, kissing his chest, nipping at his nipples, bolder
now, determining that she would do everything Rose had described to her in such
lascivious detail, experience everything with this man before she would out of
necessity bed anyone else. She would have these memories.

He mumbled but did not wake as Juliana moved ever further down,
kissing his groin and stroking his shaft, amazed to see it grow to full glory
again at her touch. No ‘training’ could have prepared her the reality of him.
For the sight and smell and taste of his arousal, for the wanton longing that
was aroused in turn in herself. She licked the end of his shaft, shyly then more
boldly, then encased him in her mouth, revelling in the new sensations, then
looking up as she heard him groan. The sight of his face creased with desire—for
her—quickened her pulse. This was what it felt like to have power over a man.
Some of what Rose had told her did make sense. But she didn’t want to use Guy’s
desire for her for her own ends, rather, she wanted to share in it. She lowered
her head with enthusiasm, swirling her tongue around him and stroking the tight
skin of his sack. She looked up again, her hair falling over her face.

His eyes were open, but sleepy, and he looked at her with
undisguised lust as she tasted him, a look of wonder crossing his face.

‘Juliana. Come here.’ He pulled her up and over him so she was
straddling him, and pulled her down to kiss him.

‘So it was not all a dream,’ he murmured, burying his hands in
her hair. She nibbled at his lower lip as he moved his hands to her breasts,
touching her expertly.

‘No,’ she agreed, pressing her hips into him so she could feel
him hard against her, ‘it was no dream.’

A look of confusion crossed his face. ‘You said you were a
virgin?’ he asked delicately, looking pointedly down at his groin. Juliana
smiled shyly as she explained to him about Rose’s ‘lessons’.

‘But that was the first time I’ve had the chance to put them
into practice,’ she assured him, loving the look of relief on his face.

‘Well, you are obviously a very good student,’ he murmured.
Indeed, the feel of her mouth on him had excited him so much that if he hadn’t
stopped her, he might well have embarrassed himself.

He pulled her body down to his and turned them so he was now on
top of her, in between her thighs, pinning her arms and kissing her face and
neck until she laughed with delight.

‘I could kiss you all day,’ he said into her ear. ‘You have
bewitched me, woman.’ She thrilled at his words. He reached for her sex, finding
her already wet, but he kept his touch gentle. ‘Are you sore?’

She shook her head. Although her body felt different somehow,
almost raw, it was not unpleasant. When he slipped inside her, she rose to meet
him, and he turned and lifted her on top of him again, holding her close, moving
her with his hands on her hips in a rhythm that rubbed against that most
sensitive part. She moaned into his mouth and clutched at his shoulders, her
hair falling into his face. His hands returned to her breasts and he rubbed his
thumbs over her nipples in time with his movements until she was making soft
sounds of delight. The heights of pleasure this man was able to bring her to
amazed her.

He lifted her breasts to his mouth, kissing and licking around
the rosy rings at their peaks and then drawing each of her nipples into his
mouth in turn, allowing his teeth to graze her skin ever so lightly, causing
intense sensations to ripple from her breasts down to her sex until they blended
into one and she was bucking against him, her body begging for release. He
captured her mouth again, plunging his tongue into her as he thrust harder
inside her, and she moved with him. Finding a fierce rhythm that had them both
crying out. It was such a sweet yet overpowering feeling that Juliana lost all
care for anything else but this moment, with his body inside hers and his mouth
claiming her own. Only, when she climaxed it was a bittersweet release, bringing
with it a rush of emotion and leaving tears on her cheeks that wet his shoulders
as he held her, shuddering into her while moaning her name.

When she raised her head to look at him, her face flushed with
the aftermath of orgasm, she looked so beautiful it took Guy’s breath away. A
rush of feeling welled up inside him as he looked at her. He wanted this woman,
and if there was any way to resolve all this, he would have her by his side.

The tender look in his eyes sent another tear rolling down
Juliana’s cheek, and he reached for her. Rolling her over, he kissed the tears
from her cheeks. He went to say something, to try to articulate the overpowering
feelings, but she raised her fingers to his lips and kissed him again. She did
not want to give voice to all her fears now, not while she lay in his arms not
knowing if she would ever get the chance again. He was no highwayman, but she
was still for all intents and purposes a courtesan, and how could she dare hope
he would not discard her now?

Besides which, there were other matters to attend to. She
looked out of the window at the bright morning sun. ‘Well, it’s well past dawn,’
she said. Guy sighed and sat up, rubbing his hand over his chin.

‘You are still going?’ she asked, wondering if he would honour
his promise to recompense her, then feeling guilty as she remembered what he
might walk back into.

Guy nodded. ‘Yes, and you are coming with me? I can pay my debt
to you at least before I confront Sinclair. I can only hope that the morning
brings with it some reason in him.’

Juliana stroked his back, her fingers playing over his broad
shoulders. How silly men were, she thought, fighting duels and squabbling over
inheritances. Or some men, at least. Still, she could not believe Guy’s brother
would truly intend to shoot him, no matter how bad he sounded.

They ate what was left of last night’s supper and dressed in a
strange silence, both of them lost in their own worries yet unable to resist
stealing glances at each other and then smiling when caught. Guy felt almost
giddy, even as he tried to concentrate on the tasks ahead. He had felt wretched
last night, and now this spirited girl had given him a renewed sense of
optimism. Perhaps he could settle things without bloodshed after all. Something
in him had changed; though he could not say exactly what it was, he knew it was
all to do with this woman and the feelings she evoked in him.

Guy thanked the innkeeper, noting gratefully his sly-eyed
daughter was nowhere to be seen, and saddled his horse, lifting Juliana up after
him. She was a competent horsewoman, he noted with approval.

‘My father bought me a horse,’ she told him, ‘though she sold
it when he died.’

‘I have a pretty little mare you can ride,’ Guy said without
thinking. Juliana didn’t answer. What would she do with a horse now? It was
beginning to occur to her that after last night, after tasting the delights of
true desire, she could not abandon herself to an empty life as a bought
companion, perhaps never to experience such desire again. But what were her
options? She could go back to simply being a maid perhaps. She was certain Rose
would not turn her out, though she may find it hard to understand Juliana’s
choice.

‘Where are we going?’ she asked instead.

‘Bradcote,’ he told her. ‘It was left by my father to me much
to Sinclair’s disgust. Sinclair has the London house and a house in Bath, though
he spends little time there. It was deliberate, I believe, that he wanted our
showdown to be at Bradcote.’

Juliana was curious to see his home, though she had to wonder
what on earth people would think when he arrived with her on the back of his
horse.

By the time they arrived, her thighs were aching, though she
had enjoyed holding on to him, her arms around his waist and head at his back.
She had laughed, tipping her head back and letting her hair stream in the wind
when Guy had let his mare gallop. Now he lifted her down as a stable hand came
for the horse, and he paused while his eyes roamed her face. He leaned in and
she thought he would whisper something, or even kiss her again, when she heard a
door open and a man’s sarcastic drawl.

‘So the prodigal returns. And who is this? A present to
apologise for your mistreatment of me? It will take more than a whore to get you
out of this pickle, brother.’

Guy’s face darkened with fury, but Juliana gripped his arm and
he swallowed, fighting his anger down. ‘Hold your malicious tongue, Sinclair.
Juliana is a lady who met with some distress last night. Hence my being late for
your summons. I was hoping the morning might have brought some sense into your
gin-soaked head.’

His brother snorted with derision. He looked a lot like Guy,
Juliana noted, but fleshier and with a cruel twist to his mouth. There were
fresh bruises on his forehead and cheek that Juliana assumed to have come from
their brawl the night before. Listening to Guy’s tale last night, she had
assumed Sinclair’s challenge to be drunken hamming, a result of his hurt pride
at having his younger brother best him in a confrontation, but the hatred in his
eyes now as he glared at his brother was palpable. Juliana pulled her pelisse
around herself, suddenly chilled.

Sinclair stepped towards his brother menacingly, and Guy raised
a hand. ‘We will sort this brother, but first let me see the lady inside.’

Sinclair’s mouth curled in a sneer. ‘Quite the gentleman,
aren’t you? Aren’t you worried bringing her here might tarnish her opinion of
you? Does she know her gallant Guy has planted a facer on his own brother?’

‘You were trying to throttle me as I recall. Now would you let
me in?’

For a moment Juliana thought Sinclair would go at him, but he
stepped aside and let them pass, openly leering at Juliana’s breasts. Guy
gripped her arm and pulled her towards him as if to shield her from his
brother’s lecherous eyes.

Bradcote was beautiful, she thought as Guy led her up the wide
staircase, waving off the butler who looked at Juliana quizzically before
resuming a blank expression. As they reached his rooms, a maidservant looked at
Juliana with undisguised curiosity, then with disapproval as she took in her
attire. Juliana forced herself to hold her head up in pride, resisting the urge
to shrink back as Guy ushered her into the drawing room.

‘Must I wait?’ she hissed through her teeth. She was sure the
servants would be gossiping about her as soon as he was gone and was reluctant
to merely sit and wring her hands while he faced Sinclair. ‘You’ll be fine,’ he
whispered back, ‘I must go and talk to Sinclair, not to mention make provision
for you to get back into town, if that is your wish. I don’t want Sinclair or
any of his goons hassling you.’

Juliana nodded, feeling her heart sink at the mention of his
words about her return, then lift again as he added ‘If that is your wish.’ But
surely he was just being polite. What else could she say to him—‘no let me
stay’? Thoughts of last night’s and this morning’s lovemaking made her insides
twist with both desire and apprehension. How could she return to Rose and the
drab life that awaited her after this? After having lain in his arms and found
such pleasure as she could never have dreamed of.

But he had other matters to attend to now, and he wouldn’t need
her simpering all over him. He left her with a kiss on the cheek and an order to
the maidservant to bring her refreshments, and left her to wonder what fate
would befall them both.

Guy’s thoughts had been on Juliana as he had gone to find his
valet, and in spite of the impending confrontation with Sinclair he couldn’t
prevent himself from smiling when he thought of her. She had been so sweet, so
responsive in his arms, and was so refreshingly direct in her manner; he had
never met a woman like her. He couldn’t let her go back to Covent Garden. He
thought of her straddling him that morning, of her mouth exploring him, and with
the rush of lust came a surge of jealousy at the thought of her doing that for
another man. He’d be damned first!

Providing Sinclair didn’t get to him, of course. He pulled his
valet, James to one side; the man looking flushed and agitated.

‘Does my brother truly intend to go through with this duel?’
The valet nodded, glancing over his shoulder as if Sinclair would appear like a
wraith behind him.

‘He was up at dawn, sir, seconded by that reprobate Bleathsby,
cursing you to damnation when he realised you weren’t going to arrive, saying
you had brought dishonour on the family. It’s a wonder the servants didn’t wake.
I offered to stand in for you as your second, but Lord Sinclair wouldn’t hear of
it. He was demanding blood.’