Jeremy didn’t see the matter that way. He never had. At least not after the delectable lady in question had captured his attention by simply breathing.
The night Lady Dory had first shown up at the peacock-hued door, Jeremy’s first instinct had been to do as Richard had wished and turn her away. She wasn’t the sort of young woman he issued invitations to in any way, shape, or form. Despite the rumors to the contrary, Jeremy wasn’t targeting young Society women for any sort of nefarious purposes. He actually had a very strict criteria for issuing those coveted tickets and, other than being extremely beautiful, Dory Tillsbury didn’t meet any of them.
He was also very certain she had never been issued one of the highly coveted tickets, not even by accident. Since Jeremy himself approved the guest list every week, he would know if she had been.
Yet there she was, this then-unknown woman standing before his doorman and, tempting and delectable as she might be, Jeremy was about to use the in-house communication system to have her turned away. Then she had mentioned Lord Hugh Hunt and Jeremy had gone on alert.
Hunt had been issued a ticket for the masquerade every week without fail, mostly so that he could come and go as he pleased in his work for the Crown. Jeremy was many wretched things to be sure, but he was also loyal to his country, nearly to a fault. Therefore, he did what he could to assist when king and country came calling – and Hunt had, shortly after Dionysus had first begun hosting the masked balls.
Jeremy also despised men like James Kirkland who used their gaming hells for criminal activities. Therefore, when Hunt had requested a permanent ticket to the masquerade gala, Jeremy had been more than happy to oblige him.
How had that particular ticket gotten into the hands of Lady Dory – the sister of Hunt’s intended bride, Lady Aurelia? Well, that was something Jeremy still didn’t know and possibly never would. Nor would he risk his neck and ask her, for he had no wish to alert anyone in her family that she was here. Especially Hunt who was more likely to separate one’s head from one’s body and then ask questions later. So, no. There was no pressing need to learn how she had come to obtain the ticket.
Jeremy did, however, know for certain that the woman holding the ticket that night was, in fact, Lady Dory. Even though he had yet to see her face, there was really no one else it could have been.
As Hunt was believed to be a poverty-stricken earl, few in Society would openly associate with him, likely fearing that poverty was “catching” or some such nonsense. However, Frost had actively encouraged Hunt to court his youngest sister, Aurelia, and the two were frequently seen in each other’s company. Especially this Season.
It was unlikely that Hunt, who was extremely jealous when it came to the fair Aurelia, would send his beloved into Dionysus’ masquerade unattended, so that left only the two other Tillsbury sisters as likely candidates for the lady behind the bejeweled peacock mask. Since the oldest sister, Sarah, was already happily wed (or unhappily wed, depending on what gossip one followed) to Lord Raynecourt, logically that left only Lady Dory as the woman behind the mask.
The idea of a Tillsbury sister within the shadowy halls of Dionysus intrigued Jeremy, as did the idea that this woman might have somehow discovered the ticket and became so intrigued – either with him or his club – that she dared to attempt to gain entry. Jeremy was also vain enough that he hoped that he was the reason Lady Dory had come to Dionysus and not merely the masquerade. His reputation was legendary in the hallowed drawing rooms and ballrooms of London – and not always in a good way. Dare he hope that she, a lady of Quality and breeding, was intrigued enough to risk everything to seek him out?
His ego hoped so, anyway. Enormous thing that it was.
In the end, Jeremy had decided to take the risk and allowed the splendid peacock inside his precious club, even though Richard had argued vehemently against it.
As it turned out, it was one of the best decisions Jeremy had ever made. No matter what anyone else said.
“You see it as a mistake. I see it as my gain.” If he had to do the matter all over again, Jeremy wouldn’t change a thing. He would allow the lovely Lady Dory into Dionysus each and every time she came to call.
Richard shook his head, the beads on his mask clicking together softly. “You can’t have her, you know. Not that way, at any rate. It would ruin her and make her family, which might I remind you now includes Lord Hunt, very unhappy.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, other than dancing, I haven’t touched her.” Really, what did Richard have against the chit?
The stag mask glittered as it caught the light, giving his old friend a slightly sinister air. “But you want to.”
Well, yes, he did, but as far as Jeremy was concerned, that wasn’t the point. He didn’t touch the guests or his staff. That was his rule and he was sticking to it. For now, anyway. Later? Well, that was another matter and a bridge he would burn when he reached it.
“What I want and what I will do are two very different things,” Jeremy finally sighed. “Richard, you are worrying for nothing. This is a fantasy and she knows that as well as I. We might desire each other, but it will never go any further than that.”
“It is dangerous to play with her this way, my old friend. She could be your downfall.” Richard ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up to better fit with his mask’s theme.
Jeremy shook his head. “But she will not be. I won’t allow it. I am stronger than that. As is she. We can resist temptation.”
“You give her much credit, Jeremy. Perhaps too much.” From his tone, it was clear that Richard still wasn’t convinced that allowing Dory in was a good idea.
But it was a good idea. At least as far as Jeremy was concerned.
“Then I will deal with the aftermath, should something occur. But for now? I am convinced she knows this is all merely a fantasy.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
“Be careful, Jeremy. You’re playing a very dangerous game with her.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Again, if you say so.”
Exasperated, Jeremy sighed with undisguised annoyance. “Richard, please. I am no fool. Neither is she. She’s Frost’s sister, for God’s sake! She is more intelligent than most!”
“She’s dressed like a trollop,” the stag countered, unperturbed.
“All of our guests look like trollops! Our female ones anyway. And half of the men, if we’re going to be picky about it!” Lord knew, Jeremy had seen more than one set of nipples – either by accident or on purpose – this evening. Both male and female.
“Her brother might kill you if you hurt her.” Richard paused and cocked his head as if considering the matter further. “Hunt certainly will.”
“I’m willing to take my chances.” Really, Jeremy was. Beyond willing.
Because within a few short hours each night, that woman behind the peacock mask had come to know him better than any woman ever had. Just as he knew her more intimately than she probably realized. Far more intimately than if they were counting at balls and all of that other proper Society rot.
He knew what she liked and what she didn’t. He knew where her true talents lay and what she only did for show. In short? He knew her. And with every little tidbit about her that he learned? The more fascinated he became.
Some might consider her a hoyden. Or worse. To Jeremy? She was a goddess.
For a long time, Richard said nothing. Then, finally, he sighed and moved away from the wall. “I suppose I’ll have to trust you then? With her, I mean?”
“You will. And you can. I won’t hurt her, my friend. I promise. And I will be careful. I swear on my mother’s life that I will.” Jeremy wanted Dory too much to hurt her. Ever.
“Then I shall leave you to it, I suppose.”
Richard still didn’t sound convinced, but as he could see there would be no changing Jeremy’s mind, he allowed the topic to drop and slowly sauntered off in the direction of the main ballr
oom where their staff was busy mingling amongst the guests.
The truth was, not for the first time, Jeremy wished this wasn’t a fantasy. Over the last few weeks, he had begun to want something more from his beautiful, delectable peacock. Actually, he had wanted something from her from the first time they met. He just hadn’t been certain she was willing to give him what he desired. He still wasn’t.
For a very long time that first night, Jeremy had watched Lady Dory from his suite of rooms located high above the ballroom where the masquerade was held each week. It was obvious she was nervous but determined to hold her own amongst this more sophisticated and worldly crowd. He admired that about her. Among other things.
When he had finally ventured to the ballroom floor itself, he found a great deal more to admire about her as well.
Tall and willowy but with enough curves to make her all the more enticing, Lady Dory looked as if she would be a perfect fit for him, something that would later be proven true when they danced together for the first time.
Her long blonde hair had been piled high upon her head, exposing the creamy, delectable skin of her neck and throat where a necklace of sapphires and emeralds glittered in the dim light. Cornflower blue eyes that appeared more sapphire-hued than anything behind her mask took in every bit of detail in the room with an innocence that somehow lacked the shock and dismay he usually associated with untouched debutantes.
Given the way she moved, however, it was clear to Jeremy that while she might be a true innocent, she was also no man’s fool and knew a good deal more than she likely should as a sheltered and pampered Society lady. Then again, she was also Frost’s sister, so God only knew what she had witnessed growing up with a brother like that. The man had married a former whore, after all.
Dory also knew very well how to dress to entice. Besides her elaborate, bejeweled peacock mask, she wore a bright emerald and rich teal-colored corset trimmed in black lace and shimmering crystals as a top rather than a proper gown. The corset was laced so tightly that her breasts threatened to spill out over the top, though Jeremy knew they never would. They were only meant to look as though they might. Tempt and tease, which is exactly what she was doing to him.
Her floor-length skirt, done in the same colors as the corset, was appropriate enough, except for where she had it pulled up in front just high enough to reveal her delicate ankles, black silk stockings, and bejeweled slippers done in the same emerald and teal hues that sparkled with glints of gold.
She looked and moved like the very peacock she was pretending to be, all graceful limbs and fluid movement. She was sensuality in motion and she made Jeremy burn with fresh desire each time he looked at her.
In short, she was a goddess and was the first woman in a very long time to tempt Jeremy into breaking his personal rules about not toying with either his employees or his guests, one he had instituted for everyone’s safety after those first few days of the club’s operations. With a single glance from those amazing eyes of hers, Dory had made Jeremy’s cock hard with desire and that hadn’t happened in longer than he could remember, either.
So, skirting close to breaking his own rules, he had asked her to dance, hoping that she was every bit the enticing tease she appeared to be. If she turned out to be nothing more than a common wanton in search of a temporary place in his bed, just as every other woman who passed through these doors did? Well, then he feared he was going to be disappointed.
He wasn’t.
If anything, Lady Dory the peacock was more than he had hoped. Far more. In fact, she was very close to perfect, at least in Jeremy’s eyes.
She was both shy and flirtatious by turns. She had a quick wit and a slightly husky voice that made him burn to hear her say his Christian name, which she undoubtedly knew. After all, everyone knew who Lord Raven was. But only he knew who his magnificent Lady Peacock was.
When she laughed, she did so with gusto, never holding back her emotions. Her smile was both shy and enticing at the same time. Her bare skin felt like silk beneath his touch and on more than one occasion that first night, he wondered what she might look like beneath those clothes that revealed so much and yet hid just as much from his sight at the same time.
And, if she wasn’t enticing enough, when the dance ended, she stepped back, offered him a polite curtsey, and walked away.
For the first time since Jeremy had opened Dionysus, he had danced with a woman who hadn’t immediately grabbed his arse, his cock, or whispered a naughty suggestion in his ear when the dance ended, hoping for more. He could see her desire for him shimmering in her eyes but it was as if she was afraid to ask him for anything more than the dance. Afraid that he would reject her, likely as so many men had before, fools that they were.
But Jeremy wouldn’t have rejected her. For the first time since he had opened his club, had a woman propositioned him, he would have gladly taken her up on her offer, no matter that it broke a rule. That she hadn’t pressed for more and, in fact, acted as if she wasn’t worthy of doing so, made him desire her all the more. Desired her to the point where he ached for her. Just as he had ached for her every night since that first heated meeting.
No, Lady Dory Tillsbury wasn’t the boring, uninteresting, unremarkable lady that was described almost daily in the London gossip rags. If anything, she was the most intriguing woman that Jeremy had ever met.
And he wanted her.
He just couldn’t have her.
After that first night, he could have saved himself the agony and refused her a return ticket, he supposed. As the club owner, it was his right, especially since she hadn’t really been issued the original ticket in the first place. He didn’t. Instead, he made certain her ticket was upgraded to a premium membership in the club, meaning she could come and go as she pleased, even on days when there was no masquerade. He had also made certain she was given something he called an “emerald pass” emblazoned with a single, emerald raven’s eye. The only one he had ever given out to anyone.
Dory would probably never use that pass or ask what it could get her. Jeremy knew that. But if she ever was brave enough – or desired him enough – to want to see him again, outside of the times when they were the raven and the peacock? He wanted her to be able to reach him. With that particular ticket, with the raven’s eye the same color as his own? She could. She didn’t know it, but she was the only one who could.
If she wanted to. He prayed that one day soon, she would.
In the weeks that followed, they had shared dance after dance. She mingled with the other guests at the masquerades, too, of course, but each time she entered the club, she looked for him. She accepted the drinks that he offered, though none from anyone else. She chatted and teased well enough with the others who hid their identities, just as she did, but she always held herself back. She never revealed more of herself to anyone. Except to him.
With Jeremy, Dory spoke at length about many things, inviting him deeper into her life than perhaps she even realized. Likely it was because she felt safe behind her mask, though she had to know to whom she was speaking. There was no way that she could not. Yet she revealed herself anyway. Far more than he would have expected. Enough for Jeremy to know that he liked her – probably more than was wise. Especially considering that outside of these walls, they were all but forbidden to each other.
He? Well, he was a scapegrace of the worst sort and she? Well, she was a goddess, though he suspected only he was aware of that fact.
Still, he would take what he could get from her and try not to be too greedy. The dances. The conversation. The laughter. He cherished it all, even though he knew it made him an utter fool.
Tonight, though, Jeremy could feel the change in the air, and not just because of the increasing humidity that came with the London rains. Summer was fast approaching. The Season was ending. In four weeks, she would likely be gone from the club and he would probably never see his enticing peacock again. He didn’t want that. He wanted to know more of her, even if it
was only temporary. But he couldn’t have her.
Then again, what if he could? What if she wanted what he wanted? What if she was simply afraid to ask?
She had swept into his club tonight, her corset pulled lower than normal, just as he had jokingly requested last week. Just then, he was fairly certain if he asked to suckle at her breasts this evening – something he had never done before – this time, she would allow it. There was something different about her tonight. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but it was there, shimmering just below the surface. A desperation much like his own.
Was she growing tired of playing this game? Or had she decided that she wanted more?
Jeremy had no way of knowing. Unless, of course, he asked.
Did he dare? Well, he was Lord Jeremy Dunn so yes, he did dare. He just hoped it also didn’t cost him everything in the process.
Chapter Four
Dionysus’ masquerade this evening was an absolute crush, and for a brief moment, Dory considered leaving before she made it much past the front door. Then she remembered that after tonight, there would only be three more opportunities to see him. She couldn’t leave. Not when time was running out so quickly.
Here on the stairs overlooking the ballroom below, it was almost as if she was looking down into another world. Three massive chandeliers graced the ceiling, the flickering candles making their myriad of crystals shimmer and sparkle with an ethereal light. Dangling amongst them, also suspended from the ceiling were hundreds of blown glass spheres, their iridescent sheen reminiscent of a fairy kingdom where the raven was king.
Below the shimmering lights, couples danced and twirled, their glittering, bejeweled masks sparkling with each dip and twirl. Gold and sapphire brocade wallpaper was accented in shades of teal and emerald, similar to the door she had passed through to reach this magical place. Jet and crystal beads seemed suspended in mid-air as couples wove their way through them, each dance more sensual than the last, for it was clear this masquerade was one of pure pleasure.
His Temporary Mistress Page 5