His Wicked Seduction novel Chapter 13

After his bath, Felix helped him dress, and Lucien was out the door. A footman hailed a black cab so his presence would not be noted when he arrived. The Garden was not a place where the insignia of the Marquess of Rochester should be seen. Lucien kept his mask on, checking the ribbon as his hackney pulled up front of the stucco townhouse that was the facade for the Midnight Garden.

A footman hurried down to meet him and bowed his head respectfully. "My lord." The footman did not know his true identity, but all men and women in the Garden were greeted as lord and lady. If nothing else, it was good for business.

"Is Madame in?" Lucien asked the footman, following him up the steps. The young man nodded and opened the door for Lucien.

Day or night, the Midnight Garden was always dimly lit. It carried the ambience of a midnight rendezvous. Gilded wall sconces lined the entry way and halls splitting off to various rooms, of which there were at least twenty between the three floors. The walls were a deep burgundy with gold trim and the furniture was richly brocaded. Everything was selected to offer decadence and sensuality to the patrons who paid to enjoy their desires here.

For a good many years, Lucien had haunted these halls, seeking bedmates that would not fear him or his desires, and would trust him to master the pleasures of their bodies. Someday he hoped to find someone he could trust in return, but so far he had not. Since Emily Parr's abduction he'd been reluctant to return to his old habits. He wanted to find a connection between himself and his bedmate. The brief, wild couplings, or the slow pleasure of seducing a woman into being bound was not the same as savoring a woman he truly cared about. After his frustrating encounters with Horatia, however, he was desperate for relief.

Madame Chanson, a curvaceous woman in her late forties emerged from a nearby room with a woman Lucien recognized. Evangeline Mirabeau, the Duke of Essex's former mistress. Her eyes fixed on him, and he knew she recognized him as well. She gave him a cool nod. After her indirect help against a threat to Godric a few months ago, he had found a new, albeit limited appreciation for the French woman.

"My lord, you've returned! I had feared you would not, given that Lady Society has deemed you smitten and leaving your ways behind you. It gladdens my heart to see you return." Her voice was low and rich, a sultry voice that reminded him of his nights here. Her pale blond hair and gray eyes, which always seemed half-closed, made her appear as though she'd just woken up from a night of devilish bed sport.

"Madame Chanson, it is a pleasure to see you again. Do not believe everything you read. Lady Society is often wrong." He smiled at her and she winked. She had no trouble recognizing him with the mask on, his height and the rare color of his hair was a giveaway to those that knew him.

"You are in trouble with me, my lord." She teased him with an affection born of years of friendship. "I do not like that you have been absent so long."

"Perhaps later you might exact your punishment on me." He gave her his most rakish grin, one that made even the experienced Madame blush.

"Perhaps I shall," she replied. Madame Chanson never slept with the customers who came to her house, but she'd made an exception for Lucien. She'd all but begged him on more than one occasion, and he'd happily obliged.

Once a rake, always a rake.

"I heard that my brother has engaged a room this evening?"

"Oh yes, of course. Shall I escort you to his chamber?"

"Yes, thank you."

Intriguing. It wasn't unheard of for married women to seek out pleasures when their own marriage beds grew cold. He had little interest in a jaded woman tonight. A young lady of quality though...one who was new to the atmosphere of the Garden was certainly of interest to him. "An innocent?"

Madame Chanson nodded. "I believe so. She hides it well, but I see the innocence in her eyes. I know such women aren't to your usual taste..."

Ordinarily the Madame would have been right. Innocent women had never been of interest before, and there was always the risk of them reading too much into their first encounter. But the masks meant this woman knew what she was seeking, and that put his mind at ease. He wanted someone soft and sweet, someone who reminded him of what he was denied. He could close his eyes and see Horatia, feel her body beneath his...

"I'm feeling adventurous, Madame. Please send her to me. Do not tell her my name."

"Of course." Madame Chanson curtseyed and swept out the door in a swish of purple silk.

Lawrence had resumed feeding grapes to his companion. Lucien removed his coat and waistcoat, flinging them over the nearest chair before reaching for the decanter of brandy on a side table. He had no problem being in the same room with his younger brother while the man seduced his current plaything. Lucien was even open to sharing, but tonight he needed a drink and his own woman. There was nothing more relaxing than to have a woman to hold and kiss when one's frustrations had been out of control. Unlike others, Lucien didn't take out his temper with boxing or drinking. He preferred a good woman and a sturdy bed. He often felt the world would be a better place if more men agreed.

There was a knock on the door.