Excerpt of Lessons From A Courtesan by Jenna Petersen

The more Justin thought about the situation with Victoria, the angrier he became. He paced across his parlor, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, heat rising up his neck as he ran over the previous evening’s events again and again in his head. It wasn’t the first time, either. All night, he’d tossed and turned, stewing over Victoria’s sudden arrival in his world, her tempting appearance, her maddening behavior and words.

But the thing that had awoken him this morning, hard and ready, was the memory of her taste, her surrender to his touch. Despite his building anger, his lust hadn’t abated even a fraction. It was entirely disturbing.

“If you keep circling the room in this fashion, eventually you’ll bore a hole in the floor and we’ll all end up in the cellar with the laundry wenches,” Caleb said mildly as he took a sip of tea and ate another scone in one wolfish bite.

“You are in a mood this morning,” Shaw concurred from his place beside the window, looking out over the grounds behind Justin’s London estate. “Kept up too late last night by some mysterious woman?”

Caleb laughed. “Not Ria, that’s for certain.”

Justin glared from one to the other. “You two could try minding your own affairs for once.”

Shaw pushed off the window and came toward him. “Ah, that is the source of your foul mood, is it? You were very secretive last night, but she must have given you quite a set down. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so out of sorts over a bit of muslin before.”

Clenching his teeth, Justin tried to remain calm. He was finding he didn’t like his own wife being referred to in such bawdy terms. Damn Victoria for putting him in such an untenable situation.

“Great God, you have a scowl,” Caleb laughed, setting his tea aside. “What is wrong with you? Certainly Ria is charming, but she’s not worth all this trouble. She’s just a courtesan, just a woman, nothing more.”

Justin stared at the two men. There would be no putting them off a subject once they were interested. They would push and prod and bother until they knew all the details. That was their specialty, after all. And now that they weren’t in the middle of a crowded party where anyone could overhear, Justin wasn’t as hesitant to reveal the truth. Oh, he was certain he would get a good ribbing from both men, but they were trustworthy. They always had been.

“She isn’t just a courtesan and she’s far more than a mere woman,” he admitted, pouring himself a scotch despite the early hour of the day. “’Ria’ isn’t even her real name.”

Caleb was on his feet like a fire had been lit under him. “Really? Oh, do tell. I would love to hear this since all that exists regarding Ria is rumor and conjecture. What is the mysterious lady’s real moniker?”

Justin sighed. He wasn’t looking forward to what would come next. “Her name is Victoria Talbot. The lady is my wife.”

For an all-too-brief moment, the room was utterly silent. Justin could hear the faint pop of logs in the fire as they burned, the tick of the grandfather clock near the door. But then, the blissful quiet was broken as both Caleb and Shaw began to talk at once.

“You jest!” Shaw said, shaking his head in disbelief. “That isn’t possible.”

“But Victoria is sequestered in the country!” Caleb spoke over Shaw. “Doing… whatever it is she does there.”

“Taking care of your estate,” Shaw added helpfully. “Which I never understood why you let her do that, by the by. But that isn’t important now. Are you certain that she is your wife?”

Justin clutched the crystal tumbler in a death grip. “Absolutely certain. That was why we were alone on the terrace for so long last night. I was confronting her.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Shaw asked, his jaw still gaping.

Justin shrugged. “It wasn’t something I was happy to admit. And I feared being overheard at the party.”

Caleb leaned forward in growing interest. “What did Victoria say when you spoke to her?”

With a shake of his head, Justin muttered, “She said if I reveal the truth about her identity, it will reflect poorly on my reputation. That she would make it clear I was not… talented enough to keep her attention and that is why she is looking for a lover so blatantly.”

The two men stared at him, again stunned into silence. Then his brother shocked him by throwing back his head and letting out a loud, booming laugh.

“There is nothing funny about this,” Justin cried as he set his drink down with a jarring smack.

“Oh, yes there is!” His brother continued to chuckle. “In short, she’s got you by the balls. Honestly, if I’d known what a spitfire and a beauty she was, I would have insisted you bring her to London long ago. Why in the world didn’t you tell me?”

Justin’s nostrils flared and the vibrant heat of emotion heated his cheeks. “Damn it, Caleb! When I left Victoria, she wasn’t the kind of woman who would come to London posing as a courtesan, looking for a lover under my very nose and practically blackmailing me into accepting it!”

“Perhaps you should have gone home more,” his brother said with a wide grin. “It appears your virginal bride of convenience turned into something so much more interesting while you were away.”