A Treacherous Trade by Kerrigan Byrne

Author:Kerrigan Byrne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oliver-Heber Books

Chapter Twelve

As I waited for Sophia, I tried not to wonder how many customers she had to service before taking the time to see me.

The footman who’d assisted me downstairs ushered me out of the Shiloh Room and down a floor to a small bedroom done in greens and golds. It was neither lush nor sensual, but serviceable and neat.

Considering what might have just happened on the mattress, which was made and smoothed, I opted to sit on the trunk at the foot of the bed.

It was in these moments alone, with nothing to keep my brain occupied, that I was at my worst. Pervasive thoughts taunted me, swirling like dry autumn leaves against the wintry ground, fragmenting to litter the pathways of my mind with crunchy, untidy scraps.

The youth downstairs who resembled Aidan had shaken me more than I wanted to admit. I didn’t just avoid thoughts or memories of him these days—I slammed the gate, lifted the drawbridge, and fled.

Tonight, that escape drove me right into the image of Aramis Night Horse. Where had he gone when he left The Orchard? Whose arms—if any—had he found himself in next? I knew our kiss aroused him, but did it affect him? Likely not, as he’d made it clear that a kiss held no meaning in his philosophy. Though he paid me his coin, nothing about the act itself felt like a transaction.

It had been… rather lovely, actually. One of the best I could remember. The Hammer had been right, in a way, when he listed the reasons why being someone’s first was a heady experience.

It felt like a privilege watching a curiosity become a discovery.

Beyond that, I’d enjoyed Night Horse’s company. And granted, he was not only easy to look at but extraordinary and intriguing as well. The scent, textures, and yes, flavor of him all enticed me.

But should they?

Decidedly not. He wasn’t a man to trifle with. To expect anything from. I knew this with all of myself. I’d be an absolute idiot not to.

Wandering away from Night Horse led me to Jorah, as they were inexorably linked. He wasn’t a man I dreamt about in my quiet moments alone, but in his presence, it was nearly impossible to conceive of another man.

And he wanted me. Not even Aidan had made that so outrageously obvious. There had been passion between us, but also restraint. Respect.

I didn’t think Jorah respected me at all. But he’d promised to worship my body. I couldn’t say I didn’t wonder what that would be like.

And then there was Croft.

Was there Croft?

Forbidding, scowling, commanding, irritating Grayson Croft. A man on the correct side of the law who often did all the right things in the wrong way. He could be as violent as Jorah, as callous as Night Horse, and as stern as the Queen. I’d never taken a particularly close look at him, because he was gruff and cantankerous and hardly had a kind thing to say to me.

But there were moments when he looked at me…

I ran a hand over my face, scrubbing away these fanciful thoughts.

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