Mistress in the Making Read Online Free

chit to gather up her belongings.
    “She’s all right.” Sebastian shrugged. “It’s not in your character to bid on a woman. Does that mean you’ve stopped spouting that nonsense about marriage and finding a like-minded woman with whom to share a home?”
    “People change.” It was his turn to shrug, but his twin was closer to his true feelings than he cared to acknowledge. Bidding on a woman as he’d bid on a horse unsettled him. He’d been gone from London seven years, and now returned intending to find a wife as soon as he’d settled the ugly business with his brother.
    “Perhaps.” Sebastian opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and looked to be carefully plotting his words. “I wanted to win her quite badly, you know.”
    “Why?” He knew the answer, but wanted to hear if the bastard would own up to it.
    “I’m in the market for a new mistress. I’ve left my old one.”
    Left her with a broken arm and bruised face, if the rumors were true, but he disguised his revulsion and nodded. “There are other places to find beautiful women willing to warm your bed. Perhaps you’ll have better luck there.”
    His twin leaned forward with narrowed eyes. “You don’t own those women. They demand things. Madame Bella trains her girls. Invitations to tonight’s auction were highly sought after and hard to come by. She’s been dropping rumors for months that she’d soon be offering women well trained in the art of pleasing a man.”
    Lucas swallowed hard at that. In his travels, he’d seen a lot, and in fact, had seen places where young girls were trained in the art of pleasure. As a western white man, he’d never been granted access to such places. Perhaps now he’d learn some of the mysterious secrets.
    No. He tamped down that line of thought. He’d bought the girl to hurt his brother and save her from a cruel future. He’d set her free, not demand her sexual attentions.
    “Well, well. Who would have thought? Perfect Little Lucas has a dark side. You want her. You love the idea of owning her, of forcing her to submit whenever you demand.” Sebastian’s eyes bore through him as though seeing every disturbing, lurid fantasy he’d ever had. “How will you take her the first time? I’m surprised you’re still even in this room. Me? I’d have followed her up to the room and grabbed a quick sample up against the wall before paying. Make sure she’s worth the price.”
    Images of following Charlene up the stairs, pressing her front to the wall while he lifted her silky gown from behind, flashed through his mind. Before he could respond or curb his body’s sudden unruly response, a gasp had him whipping around to see his new mistress in the doorway looking shocked at his brother’s frank language. The incongruity of her response bothered him. She was a mistress, a whore, supposedly a virginal one, but still, she’d been trained for months at the hand of London’s most legendary mistress.
    He rose. “Shall we go find Madame? I’m done here.” He stepped toward the woman, refusing to spare a last glance for his brother. Let him gain a false sense of comfort. There’d be time later to let him know he was going to expose him for the murdering fraud he was.
    “If it is your wish to ‘grab a sample before leaving’, then I am at your service,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. “Would you care to have your brother join us?”
    “Hell no.” His disgust rang through his negative response. “Let’s find Madame and then leave here.”
    He yanked her elbow to his side and exited to sign over the exorbitant sum he’d bid.
    “Enjoy your new property, Lucas.” His brother’s taunt followed him down the hall.
     
    Charlotte’s cheeks burned as she was led down the hall to Madame’s private parlor. How could she have said something so bold, so vulgar? What would she have done if the men agreed? Ruck up her skirts and lie back? She gave a little sob and tried to disguise it as