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.”