Page 34 of The Notorious Lady

“Difficult?” Grace fisted her hands. “I trusted you and you broke that trust. I am being reasonable. And trust me, you won’t like it when I am being difficult.”

“Are you threatening me?” His eyes narrowed as he leaned toward her.

Grace leaned back but didn’t retreat. “What if I am?”

“I would not advise doing so.”

“Then I would advise not crossing me.”

“Is that another threat?” His voice lowered even more.

“No.” Grace paused. “It is still the same threat.”

His breathing calmed, and his gaze dropped to his length. Did he just realize he was naked? He calmly lowered himself back to the bath. “Fine,” he gritted out. “I don’t need more enemies. But you have to realize that I can help you. More than I already have.”

She let out a peal of laughter before her gaze dropped mockingly to his crotch. “What can you possibly offer me aside from fifteen seconds of pleasure?”

He pursed his lips. “First of all, I can promise you a lot longer than that.”

Heat crept up Grace’s cheeks. Thank God for her makeup. “I highly doubt that.”

His face was impassive. “And second of all, I can offer you a glimpse into the man who is the second suspect on our list. Lord Porter.”

“You’ve found out something about him?”

He shrugged. “I got us an invitation into his home.”

“Us?” She raised a brow.

“Us.”

“You and me?”

“Correct.”

She cocked her head. “What’s the catch?”

“It’s an um… a rather… extravagant type of event. A party including rakes, rogues, and scoundrels. And um…”

“Whores,” she supplied.

“Exactly.”

“Fine.” She let out a breath. “I shall let you get dressed, the bath must have… grown tepid. And you can tell me all the details properly dressed.”

“Tepid?” His gaze fell to his crotch, and Grace swallowed a laugh.

“I have to say, I didn’t expect you to be so unashamed of your nudity, not that you have anything to be ashamed about. I’ve seen a lot of naked men in my life, and I can honestly say that your body is… um… adequate.” With that, Grace turned on her heel and walked away. More for her benefit than Mr. Gunning’s. For if he was completely unashamed and unbothered by his own nudity, Grace was getting quite heated being in the same room as him.

* * *

Ford sat in the bath, feeling embarrassed and a little confused. He was rather warm despite the fact that the water around him had indeed gone cold. And his cock, well, it was confused as well.

The anger, the fury with which Tricheuse had approached him stirred a fire within him. She was magnificent, even more so in real life than in his fantasies. He let out a deep breath, trying to calm his rioting thoughts, but all he could think about was the way she had looked at him. He could not mistake that look for anything. It was an undeniable look of hunger.

His cock twitched and grew once more, and Ford fisted it with a groan. He might as well finish what he had started.

Chapter 10