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"La Deently

The breath caught in my throat Who was it? Surely not the duke Or was it? And not Monsieur Philippe, thank heavens But that left an awful lot of rich, horny ht their way intoht

"I’ll pour the wine, chérie, while I wait"

The offhand use of my best friend’s naot close to here was one more suspect on my list, one more possibility With my sharp sense of smell, I would know immediately if he’d been near her And that er and ued predator had landed on the doorstep

My hands were numb as I untied the skirt and undid all the layers of my costume I almost missed the impenetrable armor of a corset, but in this case, every breath elco off thethe rooentle the wax and uncorking and pouring the wine, I stripped off my costume and kicked it under the bed

The male form I’d seen had been utterly unreure, the same black tux required of every visitor to Paradis His hat sat on the table beside hi coat was draped possessively over a chaise Before he could turn around, I tugged the dress down overover my bare skin I kept on the new bloomers Blue had made for me, this pair in black lace with foath ht runed to conceal anything, but I wasn’t about to go into this unexpectedat all surprised I had been warned in different ways that being a star ca tie But I had never agreed, in writing or in words, to barter ent in the other rooht he had paid for, no ," I didn’t owe hiet that I’d tease the hell out of hi to be a whore Not now, not ever

The cork popped Liquid gently gurgled

"The wine is ready, mademoiselle Won’t you join me?"

I shivered at the confident, low ti what he wanted, what he’d paid for Like the duke--and ht I was for sale Time to inform him differently

"Alas,you to reconsider It’s a special vintage from the Tsarina’s personal cellar Tell led not to giggle I bet I kneas on the label and whose pockets had been lined through its procureet to taste it this time without suspicion

But wait Just because Vale hadn’t drugged and’s scruples I had a lot of questions for the girls of Paradis regarding taking drinks froirl ret later For noas stuck But considering that he hadn’t watched American television, perhaps he didn’t know all the sa er to wipe off stray lip paint and co daintily from my shoulders and billowed around me, short and voluminous, and I slipped my feet into a pair of kitten-heeled slippers lined up below the coat hanger The look wasn’t unflattering, but I hadn’t seen such a fashion in Sang, ohich was creepy in an entirely different way Taking a deep breath, I curled fingers around the painted screen and cooed, "Perhaps I will reconsider, then"

His head snapped around, and I was disappointed He was older, distinguished, not unattractive, but nowhere near h proble rinned with tobacco-stained teeth and ran a hand through his slicked-back hair, which was graying at the temples His eyes would have been kindly if they hadn’t been filled with dark, avid lust

"Saint Erotten your stays,why the short goas so voluo under a corset and balloon out prettily, highlighting my small waist Except for bludded carnival contortionists, no wo went out without a corset It was the equivalent of walking out of the house topless But the hunger in his eyes ratcheted up a notch as his gaze crawled over me I took a half-step behind the screen to cover my embarrass so ravishing"

I’d broken another rule And it was already paying off As I’d learned long ago in a different world, whenabove the neck

I se Letting my hips sway, I walked to the table, where a falass sat beside it, the deep red liquid see like silt I didn’t know enough about that drink or this world, and I wasn’t about to sip froht himself, as it hadn’t been here before I’d disappeared behind the screen