Archer leaned back and crossed his legs, tapping his fingers against his knee. “Why would I pay your father’s annual royalties early?”
A flush darkened her cheeks. For a second, desperation flickered in her eyes, but it was gone too quickly for him to be sure.
“Because I asked you to.”
“What do you need the money for?”
“That would be none of your business.”
“On the contrary, Miss Rigdon, it is very much my business.”
She tilted her chin in that challenging manner of hers.
His temper flamed. It was bad enough that the little virgin and her voluptuous curves made him hard as a rock as soon as she walked into a room. She might look demure and meek, but deep inside her he sensed a passion that would set the world on fire if she ever released it.
Only he was sure she’d never done so.
Not that he ever got the opportunity to find out. She always looked at him as if he wasn’t worth her time, as if speaking to him was a strenuous task, and when he tried to engage her she excused herself within minutes.
And now she was asking him for a favor and still wouldn’t give an inch.
Not this time. “Miss Rigdon?”
She huffed. “All right, I require a new wardrobe.”
He tilted his head. “A new wardrobe?”
She studied the wall over his shoulders and nodded.
Archer didn’t believe her. Sarah Rigdon was not the type of woman who would come to him asking for money for something as frivolous as new clothes. Hell, most of the time she was buried under so many layers she probably had enough clothes to last a lifetime. “Do you seriously expect me to believe you need more clothes?” He gestured at the three layers that covered her. “You appear to be wearing enough clothes to cover yourself and three more people.”
She narrowed her gaze. Her nostrils flared. “Will you do it or not?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. What are you willing to do in exchange?”
She leaned forward and rested her palms on his desk. A couple of her fingertips appeared slightly stained. He narrowed his gaze. Stained by ink. The smears did not match the ones he had on his fingers from writing and working on his drawings.
Printer’s ink, not writing ink.
“What in God’s name do you expect me to do?”
Her tone of voice grated on his nerves. “If you were anyone else I would say pose for my friend, but I cannot see you being a model.”
She came half out of her chair. “And why on earth not? It is not exactly challenging to stand or sit while someone paints you.”
“Really?” He mirrored her pose and leaned forward until they were only a few inches apart. “Well then, if it is so easy let’s make this the condition for the early payment.”
“All right.”
Her easy acceptance drove him crazy. He still didn’t know why she needed the money. “And you will pose nude.”
She jerked back and straightened. “What?”
Here we are. Now she would have to tell him why she really needed the money and he could assist her with whatever her problem was.
She turned sheet white. Panic glimmered in her eyes before she looked down and tugged on her cuffs.
Archer felt a little nauseated. It had not been his intention to scare her. He sat back down and waited for her surrender.
“All right.”
He struggled to control his expression. “Excuse me?”
Miss Rigdon looked back up, a mulish tilt to her chin. “I said all right.”
What the fuck am I supposed to do now? Talk about a plan rebounding.
“What makes you think Mr. Dorvee even wants to paint me?”
Archer yanked his spinning thoughts back under control.
The fact that as soon as he saw you his hands twitched, itching for his sketchbook. If Warren had had paper and pen handy, he would have started to sketch her right then and there.
“He’s between projects at the moment.” Meaning he had about twenty canvasses in various stages of production and had finished none of them. Not for more than three months. His partner needed inspiration.
And Warren always told him to spend more time with Miss Rigdon, to discover if their chemistry could lead to something more.
Archer didn’t think his lover had imagined this kind of togetherness.
Sarah couldn’t believe what she had said. But there had been no other way. She’d rather pose nude than have to tell Mr. I-am-so-in-control that her father used the money she had set aside for taxes to purchase the materials for the latest version of the Verification Device.
The thought of undressing before the handsome Mr. Dorvee and showing him all her imperfections so he could capture them forever on canvas was overwhelming. Before her shaking knees could win, she focused on the details.
“So, in exchange for me sitting for Mr. Dorvee you will pay my father’s royalties early.”
Latimer nodded.
“When will you make your payment and how long do you expect me to sit for Mr. Dorvee?”
“Starting tomorrow, you sit for Warren every day for a month or until he has what he needs, whichever comes first.”
She shook her head. “You make the payment in three weeks and I will sit for Mr. Dorvee every day unless I have other responsibilities.”
“Agreed.”
Sarah swallowed.
“I assure you nothing untoward will happen. You are completely safe in our care while you are here.” He exhaled and for a moment his lips softened. “And if at any point you would like to tell me what you require the funds for, we can reevaluate the situation.”
When hell becomes an ice skater’s paradise.
She flashed back to Mr. Kemmer. The broad jaw, wide shoulders and dirty-gray eyes. His onion-filled breath. His long fingers on her shoulders. His chapped lips against hers.
“We could come up with other ways for you to pay your taxes, Miss Rigdon. Other ways indeed.”
The memory nearly made her ill. Everyone admired and trusted Kemmer, but he’d always made her shudder. Until now he had been proper and never stepped overtly out of line. Until he found out their bank account was close to empty.
Then he’d told her if she’d whored herself to him he would find a way to make their paperwork disappear. However scandalous Latimer’s alternative, deep inside her she trusted him.
And don’t anyone ask me why I have faith in him.
She straightened her shoulders. I have no choice. Whatever Mr. Dorvee planned couldn’t be as bad as the alternative.
Sarah met Latimer’s thoughtful gaze. “I trust your word.”
“Or you could tell me why you really need the money. No sane woman would risk her reputation for clothes.”
As much as she longed for someone to share the burden with, her father’s good name was hers to protect. Latimer could never know the truth. “Then you obviously know less about women than you thought. I will be back tomorrow morning.” She ground her teeth. “I will use the side and back entrances. My repeated visits will cause talk if I arrive at the front door.”
He nodded. “I have an unmarked steam coach I can send for you.”
“Thank you. I will give you a different meeting point every day.”
His brows rose. “You really believe that is necessary?”
“I will do whatever I must to protect my reputation.” She nodded to him. “Mr. Latimer.” Sarah whirled around and strode from the room. Her thoughts were in utter chaos.
Jennings waited for her with her coat over his arm. “Would you like me to call you a hansom, Miss Rigdon?”
“No thank you, Jennings. I feel in need of fresh air.” She was only capable of a short smile before she stepped outside. Her heart raced and her knees nearly buckled.
She had only one problem.
Sarah had no idea if this weakness was due to worry or excitement. The thought of spending more time with Warren Dorvee, the idea that Archer Latimer would be c
lose by should make her shiver with dread.
Instead it made her tingle.
Chapter Two
Archer stared at the closed door and rubbed his face. When he’d risen this morning this was not how he’d anticipated his day going. He snorted. Nothing new where Miss Sarah Rigdon was concerned.
Part of him wanted to send her a missive telling her the bank draft was on its way.
But another part, a deeper and darker part, welcomed the opportunity to spend time with her, to observe her with Warren and see if their dreams could come true.
He didn’t know why a curvy virgin with a sharp tongue had such an effect on him. She’d always made him highly aware of the difference between male and female and had done so from the first moment he’d met her.
He strode back to his office and his work. Her scent of honeysuckle had spread through the room and now surrounded his desk.
Archer slumped back in his chair. Her sky-blue eyes that always looked at him as if he were about to jump up and ravish her. The blonde hair she only ever wore neatly tied at the back of her head in a bun, even at evening gatherings. And her body. Others would call her robust, fat even. He called her curvy and seductive as hell with that intangible energy that hovered just below the surface.
He wanted to pull out all the respectable pins that held back her hair and muss it up, bring that hidden volcano to life. Drag the boring and uptight clothes off her goddess body and see how she responded.
And he was doing exactly that.
He paused and stared out the window without seeing anything. Archer never lied to himself. I want to see her out of her element, her feathers ruffled. I want to break through the invisible barrier she surrounds herself with and discover the woman underneath.
He loved Warren, but both of them carried demons inside, which sometimes made it difficult to be together. They needed someone to stand between them, someone to soften their edges.
He wanted to discover if Miss Sarah Emma Rigdon could be the one.
Archer pushed back his chair and marched out of the office. In the hallway he pressed a button on the AetherComp. “Where is Warren?”
“In the sunroom.” The Comp’s low voice echoed tinnily through the machine.
Archer released the button and walked to the back of the house and the parlor they’d converted into a sunroom when they’d moved in four years ago. Cutting all the beautiful windows into the brick hadn’t been easy, but the end result had made the work worth it.
Sunlight filled the room overlooking the garden, large for a house in the city, but a must for both of them. Warren lounged on a sofa, his sketchbook in hand but resting forgotten on his abdomen. His expression was relaxed and with the sun playing up the red in his hair he looked delicious.
Archer bowed down and kissed Warren on those firm, bitable lips.
His lover clasped his nape and stopped him from moving back. “Not so fast.” He deepened the kiss. Archer rested his hands on the sofa cushions on either side of Warren.
Their tongues played their favorite game of suck and retreat. Peace sank into Archer as Warren’s scent of lemon and sage with a hint of turpentine surrounded him. Warren’s hand moved from his neck to his shoulder and dug to his arse, pulling Archer’s stiffening dick against his own.
Archer pulled back and nipped Warren’s lower lip. “Thank you, I needed that.”
Warren smiled, love and arousal bringing out the gold in his eyes. “You had enough tension racing through you to crack a wall.” He rubbed his fingertips across Archer’s cheek. “What happened? Has the indomitable Miss Rigdon thrown you in a spin again?”
Archer sank onto the sofa, which was wide enough they could lie side by side, and leaned into Warren’s touch. When they’d moved in together four years ago, well aware of what would happen if anyone ever discovered their true relationship, they’d sworn, while they had to lie to the world, they would never lie to each other.
He kissed Warren. “She is the one for me.”
Warren nodded. “I know.”
Anxiety rolled through Archer’s stomach. “What about you?”
Warren cupped Archer’s cheek and kissed him softly. “She grabbed me by the throat the minute I saw her.” He stroked his finger across Archer’s cheek. “And not just because I want to paint her.”
Archer leaned more heavily against Warren as the tension drained out of him.
“From the very first time you mentioned her, through gritted teeth I might say, I knew she had you by the balls.”
The peace fled. Archer climbed to his feet and strode to the window. “She will be here tomorrow to sit for you.”
Warren gave him an incredulous stare and rose from his slouched position, setting his feet on the floor. “She what?”
“Miss Rigdon asked me to look at her father’s latest machine. She also requested an advance on her father’s royalties. As usual we got into a sniping match and I made posing for you a condition of early payment.”
Warren gaped for a second before his expression hardened. “No. Send her a letter and tell her the money is on the way. This is not the way to go.”
Archer rubbed his forehead. “I saw your response to her. We’d said we’d take the next step if we found someone we both agree on. And I know you want to paint her.”
“Of course I want to paint her. She is the most intriguing subject I have seen in a very long time. Attempting to capture the fire raging deep inside her will keep me occupied for the next decade. But we have to find another way.”
Archer straightened and shrugged. Now he’d decided on a path he saw no need to hash over decisions already made. Moving forward was the only option. “She’ll be posing naked.”
Warren’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“She was using that tone of voice, the one that drives me crazy. And she came up with this ridiculous tale she needed the money for a new wardrobe. As if. I just threw it out there, expecting her to kick it right back at me and tell me the truth.” He looked at Warren. “Instead she said yes.”
He rubbed his chest as if trying to remove the stain of his behavior. The end didn’t justify the means, but he could see no other way to have her in their lives, to get to know her away from prying stares.
He met his lover’s gaze. If Warren continued to disagree he would tell Miss Rigdon, but he hoped his friend would come around to this approach.
Both of them needed to spend time with Sarah without outside interruption. He’d tried approaching her in public, spending time with her and getting to know her. And it hadn’t worked.
This was an unconventional, but effective approach.
Archer dropped back onto the sofa.
Now Warren had to agree.
Warren pulled his legs up and leaned back against the arm of the sofa until he sat across from his lover. He stretched out one leg until his foot nestled against Archer’s hard dick. Archer hissed at the gentle contact.
Warren had never seen his friend, and love of his life, like this. Under normal circumstances there would be no way he would agree to something that was basically blackmail. But he realized Archer, the man who even after years of being together struggled to express his love with words, had focused in on Miss Sarah Rigdon.
She was the one for him. For them. Warren didn’t have it in him to stand in the way. The end did not justify the means. He only hoped he would not regret this, for both their sakes. “Tomorrow will be interesting.”
Archer’s eyes lit up. A smile curved his delicious lips.
Warren grabbed Archer’s neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. They both moaned. Warren sat astride his lover. He rubbed his hard cock against Archer’s, wishing he could make their clothes disappear with a thought.
Part of him was ecstatic at this new development. The artist in him wanted nothing more than to delve deep into Miss Sarah Emma Rigdon, literally and figuratively. Painting her in the nude would give him untold opportunity. There was this indescribable something about the young blo
nde. Innocent and temptress. He wanted to explore her as an artist and as a man.
Another part of him worried as much as he saw opportunity.
He loved Archer with all his heart. But he knew that his friend needed more than just the two of them.
And so did he.
Sometimes.
As he sucked on his partner’s tongue as much as he wanted to suck on another part of him, he imagined the tender hands of a third.
A third who could give them both what they needed.
He pressed against Archer, aroused and enticed, as he imagined the three of them together.
The third who could give them both what they had searched for.
Family.
Possibilities.
The big oaf before him might not want to admit it, but he yearned for a family as much as Warren. They had never spoken about it. Never touched on the beatings Warren had taken from his father for wanting to be an artist. Or the cold distain Archer had to suffer from his father for becoming an engineer and inventor, for mixing with regular people.
Her Majesty promoted and supported this new and important layer of society, giving many of these inventors and scientists her attention and status, wanting them to integrate into the peerage. But Archer’s father had made it clear Archer was not living up to expectations.
There had been no point in sharing their need for family until they could find a woman who wanted to be part of this unconventional relationship. They wouldn’t give each other up to follow the mores of a regular family and no orphanage would let a single man officially adopt a child. It would mean building a façade to present to the outside world, always being careful and watching her behavior. What woman would agree to something like that?
None so far. They had tried twice before, but each woman had been chosen because of the likelihood of agreement, not because she was essential to their lives. Archer and he would have settled, but neither woman had welcomed their suggestion.
He’d given up hope of finding the right woman until today.
Warren didn’t know why, but the something that simmered below Sarah Rigdon’s surface made him believe for the very first time in ages.
DangerbyDalliance Page 2