hotel. Not here. And they could not stay forever in the carriage and expect the unwilling horse to trot through the streets of London indefinitely.
Severin sat back from the window. “That man—who is he?”
Marko craned his neck. So she had seen someone at a window. It must have been Feodor, who was now coming down the front steps of the house—but why would he have frightened her? The man was not a full-blooded member of the Pack and did not possess the masterfulness they prided themselves on. If anything, he was ordinary, except for his odd yellow eyes. Marko had no wish to talk to him at the moment.
“A distant cousin of mine. Feodor Kulzhinsky.”
Severin seemed uneasy. “And he lives here?”
“The house belongs to my family. All of us are free to come and go.”
She seemed to be studying Feodor, who strolled away. Excellent. A tedious explanation would not need to be made, Marko thought. Feodor could be inquisitive and might be especially so under the circumstances. Of course, Marko had never brought a woman to the house, although he had been advised that his cousin had sneaked a few by the major d’omo, and that they were not the sort of females that required introducing or expected politesse. Feodor had low tastes.
“I cannot stay the night with you,” Severin said suddenly.
“What? But we don’t have to stay here, my dear—”
She smiled a little wistfully. “I am sorry, Marko. Please take me to my house.”
“But—” He fought for self-control. Severin had aroused him to fever pitch and suddenly she wanted nothing to do with him. What had cooled her ardor?
She sat back. “Now.”
Mystified, Marko studied her, half-wild with sexual frustration. “Very well,” he said. “But you will have to tell me where that is.”
She gave him the address. He hoped it was the real one.
It had been. In the ensuing weeks, he’d been permitted the liberty of calling upon her there, if nothing else. They conversed often, sexually charged but outwardly sedate sessions that drove him half-mad with desire for her.
As for the rest of it—the ridiculous emotions, overwhelming feelings that he had mistaken for love—well, she had dazzled him. To some degree, he felt he’d been played for a fool, but it could happen when a man was not on his guard.
As to who would have the upper hand in their love affair, Marko realized two could play at being mysterious. He would provide tidbits of information, mostly misleading, about the Pack if she should ask. He would never give away all.
As far as the mystery of Severin herself, his connections insisted that she was not a courtesan and never had been, only that she was employed by the best of them and aristocratic ladies as well, keeping her clients in the height of fashion. Other than that, there was very little gossip about her, good or bad.
It occurred to him that he had come too close to her somehow during the night of the ball and the carriage ride afterward. No wonder she had become suddenly skittish and refused to stay. By caressing her beautiful body with all the expertise he possessed, he had managed to storm her heart as well. Her surprise at his doing so had been genuine.
There was certainly something between them. Call it animal attraction. Her sensuality could very well be her undoing, if he had his way. Marko knew that Severin desired him. Her amber eyes glowed brightly when they merely talked—he knew what the light in them signified. Without intending to, she had given her innermost self away to some degree in the carriage.
Since then, her body—the way she leaned toward him, came a trifle too close—had seemed to promise much, but they were not progressing on that front. She would not say yes and she would not say no. Very well. He might have to help her arrive at a decision somehow where sex was concerned. He felt that she owed him, ungentlemanly and rude as it was. If love had nothing to do with her desire, then he could live with that. Lust would do.
A bribe and a bottle of good port for her manservant would smooth the way to bliss. Failing that, he could go to her house and demand that she see him—no. He would just walk in…
The last chord died away and Marko heard the almost noiseless click of a piano lid closing. Severin had played beautifully, soulfully, quite unaware that he listened unseen. She sighed and put the sheets of music in order before she rose, pushing back the padded bench with a faint scrape.
He heard the questioning meow of Severin’s cat, following her mistress about the adjoining chamber. Silk skirts rustled over polished floors. Then Severin swept through the double doors that led to her bedroom and stopped, her lips parting with surprise. “What are you doing here?”
Her glorious eyes moved over his body in a sensual way. It was the one response she could not seem to control around him. Good. He had hoped for that.
“Waiting for you,” Marko said nonchalantly. Would she shriek? Have him thrown out? He was prepared for anything.
Severin glided past the bed on which he lay, stopping in front of the looking glass on her lace-topped dresser. “But it is the end of the day and I was about to take my bath. And I do not remember inviting you.”
He stayed where he was, but his heart beat faster as she began to take down her hair, looking at the reflection of him in the silvery glass, her back to him.
“No, you didn’t.”
“Then how did you get in?”
Marko shrugged. He was quite at his ease stretched out on her featherbed, luxuriously so, in fact. He rolled to his side, bracing himself with one arm and letting the other rest on his side. “I let myself in. Your manservant did not hear my knock and I tried the knob. The door was unlocked. I heard the music playing and decided to enjoy it from in here.”
“I see.” Her tone made it clear that she didn’t believe one word of his explanation. “How indiscreet. Anyone could have seen you enter unannounced.”
“Would you rather I used the trellis or the balcony, Severin?”
She laughed a little. “Do you wish to play a romantic hero? You are well suited for the role.”
“No. Not in that way. In any case, it is raining. The front door seemed much easier.”
“Oh?” Severin gave an unladylike snort. “I imagine my man was easy to bribe, too.”
“I did not have to.”
Her gleaming hair rippled over her bare shoulders. He longed to bury his face in its fragrant softness and forget about the world, be consumed by the heat of his passion for her. Severin’s nearness sent a thrill through his body. He wanted to kiss her madly, but he stayed where he was. She turned to face him, putting her hands on her hips and looking him over.
Marko could almost feel her gaze upon him. He was nearly as aroused as if she had touched him. Since he was fully dressed, from his fitted half-coat to the breeches tucked into his high boots, the sensation was not comfortable. He drew up one leg and bent his knee to conceal his physical reaction to her hot-eyed study of his body.
“Boots in
