marital prospects, but surely it isn’t as bad as all that. Despite your reputation, you cannot have failed to notice the reaction you draw from women every time you step into a room. If your financial difficulties were so dire, why not marry instead of choosing to … well, you know?”
She glanced about to find that no one was paying them much attention, secluded as they were on the periphery of the ballroom. Still, she wouldn’t risk exposing his secret, and thereby the truth of her own connection to him.
Irritation flashed in his eyes. “No one wants to marry a third son when the elder sons are still eligible. Even after my brothers wed, I still carried the distinction of being the one a lady would have to settle for simply because the better choices were taken.”
There was such bitterness in his voice that Calliope was forced to view him in a different light. He had never looked or sounded as if he cared about anything other than chasing his own pleasure.
Could there be more to his devil-may-care facade than what one saw on the surface?
“Surely you don’t have such a low opinion of yourself.”
“When low opinions are the only ones your father, and it seems everyone else around you, has, it is difficult to feel otherwise. Besides, you make it sound as if being a courtesan is the worst thing a person could choose to be. I could be penniless and destitute, or living on the charity of someone else. Instead, I am independent and, as of a few months ago, completely free of debt.”
As before, she gazed around to ensure they hadn’t been overheard, fear overcoming her at the thought of someone hearing his indelicate words. He seemed not to care if they were found out, which only set her more on edge.
“I like entertaining women, making them feel desired and giving them the sort of thrill their husbands or lovers could never achieve.”
“The ridiculous sum you earn for your efforts doesn’t hurt matters.”
“It certainly sweetens the deal. It is too bad you’ve decided not to take advantage of the full range of my talents.”
She came to an abrupt halt, forcing him to draw up short at her side. They had circled back to the open terrace doors again, but she hardly registered the cooling breeze as she glared up at him.
“I have asked you not to do that.”
He returned her angered look with a defiant one. “Sorry to disappoint you, goddess, but I’ve told you before that I find it impossible to lie to you. The fact is, you are in denial about a great many things, not the least of which happens to be that you want something you’ve convinced yourself you shouldn’t.”
Calliope’s throat burned with the urge to dress him down. The man made her forget about propriety and the perfect image she’d cultivated out of necessity—which made him even more dangerous to her than she’d first supposed.
Taking a deep breath, she edged away from him a step, then another. People would start to talk if they appeared to be in the midst of a spat.
“It has grown over-warm in here. If you’ll excuse me, I need some air.”
She dashed out onto the terrace before he could stop her, ducking to the side of the door and out of sight. The cooler air helped to calm her and took some of the heat out of her cheeks.
This situation had begun to unravel, falling out of her control even as she grappled to rein it all in. It was Dominick, the infuriating man. She ought to have known he would never adhere to the boundaries of their contract. His sense of manhood and pride in his work would demand that he add her to the never-ending string of lovers he’d plowed through. She would not fold. There was far too much at stake.
Her eyes flew open as the subtlest change in the air announced his presence. Fury welled in her when she found him melting into the shadows with her. The noise of the ball filtered through the open doors, voices and music and laughter. It all seemed to fade away as he came closer, not stopping even when Calliope tried edging away from him, her back coming against the side of the house. His hand pressed flat to the brick, his arm impeding her escape.
“Dominick, please—”
“As much as I like the sound of those words on your lips, I am not fond of your tone.