paying you to prod into my personal affairs.”
Mr. Burke’s mouth twisted into an insolent smirk. “I beg to differ. You want me to help lure a husband into your little trap, and that requires me to find out what will make Lewes latch onto the bait. It is my opinion that the man likes you well enough, but cannot yet picture you warming his bed … and how can he when you’re as cold as an icicle in winter?”
Something within her reacted viscerally, and before she could think better of it, she reeled away from him, breaking the hold of his hand at her back. The dratted man recovered without misstep, tightening his grip on her hand and giving her a twirl that would seem to their onlookers like a display of flair and skill. She gasped as he reeled her back in, his fingers digging into her spine as he anchored her back in place. This time, there would be no escaping him. If she fought him, it would only press them closer together, and his nearness was already wreaking havoc on her senses.
Did he have to be so blasted hot? The man gave off warmth as if a furnace roared in his belly, and Calliope found herself feeling a bit lightheaded. Surely that, plus the dizzying speed of their waltz was what had her out of sorts—not his words or the shrewd sharpness of his eyes as he stared as if trying to see through the layers of her clothes.
“How dare you?” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at him, her body thrumming with tightly-leashed rage.
“Quite easily, I assure you. It is the truth, whether you wish to hear it or not. You hired me to dance attention on you in public, yes, but if you want this over with sooner rather than later, you’d do well to heed my advice. Otherwise, we’ll still be at this six months from now.”
Calliope’s stomach churned as she found herself unable to look away or back down now that he’d baited her. It didn’t matter that he seemed to derive satisfaction from rattling her. Just now, he’d pushed her past the usual limits of her control.
“I thought it was simply spirits that made you act the obnoxious boor the first time we met, but I can see now that this is your natural state. It is a wonder you’re accepted anywhere in polite society.”
He raised one mocking eyebrow. “It surprises me as much as it does you, believe me. Something you ought to learn about me if we are to get through this … I never lie. I may say things you do not wish to hear, and I might offend your delicate sensibilities, but I am honest to a fault. How many men of your acquaintance can say the same? How many of them will speak plainly rather than veil their true intentions behind polite civility?”
Damn him, he was right. She had hired a courtesan to avoid the complication of ulterior motives. He needed money, she wanted Martin Lewes for her husband. There was nothing more to it than that. Understanding this didn’t make it any easier to face the fact that he might be right. However, there was so much more to this than he realized. He was like Diana that way, unable to fathom that she walked a different path than the other women of the ton. She couldn’t do what they did so easily and with impunity.
“You don’t understand,” she whispered, finally breaking his gaze. “It isn’t as simple as you’re making it out to be.”
They began to slow, then eventually came to a stop as the music around them faded away. Yet, she could still feel Mr. Burke’s eyes on her, hot and intent.
“Then make me understand it. There is no reason I can think of why you couldn’t have any man you wanted. So, what’s holding you back?”
Calliope suddenly couldn’t breathe, her chest burning and her hands shaking as she clenched them in her skirts. She ought to be used to scrutiny by now. After all, she was the daughter of a scandalous viscount and his foreign wife. Her very existence made her a walking scandal, and she’d endured her share of stares and whispers. However, the way Mr. Burke was looking at her, she had the devil of a time erecting her usual defenses. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who would allow her to keep them up even if she could.
Before she