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“Yes, but you won’t admire it. In fact, I’ve seen you deliberately avoid looking anywhere but at my face.”
“I told you, I don’t care for fistfights.” His eyes grew shadowed.
Welles wasn’t talking aboutherthrowing a punch despite his comment about Browden. “Is there another reason?” What good would come of her asking?
“There is nothing to be gained by asking something you already know the answer to.” Welles drummed his fingers against the table. “He’ll never marry you, Georgina,” Welles said in a curt tone. “Even if Masterson were to drop dead this instant.”
“I don’t think that is what I asked you,” she retorted.
“It is exactly what you asked.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to see you hurt. And with him, you will be.”
“You can’t be sure of that.” Georgina bit her lip. “Being a bastard doesn’t dictate one’s life.”
“It does for him. Just as being Averell’s heir dictates mine.” Welles stood, handsome features shuttered, emotions carefully locked away from her. So much like Leo. “Iamyour friend, Georgina. I always will be. I’ll even introduce you to my family. You’d like Amanda and the girls.”
“But not the duke.” She said the last bit purely out of spite.
Welles narrowed his eyes at her. “Enjoy your evening, Lady Masterson.” He bowed before walking stiffly away in the direction of one of the private dining rooms at the back, the ladies in attendance tonight practically swooning as he passed.
Georgina took another sip of her bourbon, allowing the liquid to sit on her tongue. Welles knew Leo far better than Georgina did. She closed her eyes, picturing Leo standing naked before the fire, demanding she stay with him. Behavior which seemed at odds with what Welles had just told her.
She could speculate all she wished.
Or Georgina could listen to her heart.
Jerking to her feet, Georgina collected her chips and wandered away from the faro table. Glancing up to the second-floor landing, she saw Leo was still absent. She wound her way around the gaming floor, meaning to climb the stairs to Leo’s office and justaskhim. She might not care for the answer Leo gave, but it was better than sitting about wondering if there was anything more between them.
“Mr. Peckham.” She paused as Leo’s floor manager came down the stairs. “Is Mr. Murphy about? In his office, perhaps?”
“No, my lady. I believe he went to the garden to smoke.” Peckham’s gaze looked up the stairs in the direction of Leo’s office before returning to her. “I can take you to him.”
“Thank you.” She nodded, allowing Peckham to lead her down a hall to a door, which, when opened, revealed another entrance to the courtyard and gardens. The gardens weren’t open to Elysium’s members or their guests. Only Leo and Welles came here.
Peckham left her with a strapping young man, built much like Smith, standing before a metal gate. “Jasper, this is Lady Masterson. She wishes to speak to Mr. Murphy.”
“My lady.” Jasper bowed and led her outside, directing her wordlessly toward the sound of water. There was a large fountain sitting squarely in the middle of the garden, something she hadn’t taken much notice of the last time she was here. A lamp glowed in a dark corner where Georgina suspected she would find a bench and Leo.
She skirted a row of hedges, reminded by the sudden release of butterflies in her stomach of how much she’d missed Leo. Walking past the fountain, she stopped to take in the stone monstrosity. Where had Leo found such an incredibly lewd fountain? She looked up in wonder as water spilled from the open mouth of a voluptuous woman, completely naked except for a chiseled bit of fabric flowing about her hips. Her breasts were enormous. Oversized. The peaks of her nipples protruded several inches. Two cherubs frolicked below the woman, leering up at her, lust stamped on their angelic features.
“Obscene,” Georgina said tartly into the night air. “If a person were so unlucky as to stumble and fall into this fountain, they could well lose an eye to a stone nipple.”
A soft, amused rumble filled the air. “Hello, Georgie.”
It should be a crime, the way he purred her name, filling her mind with all sorts of illicit thoughts, reminding her of how their bodies had moved together so perfectly. Her pulse beat rapidly in her throat as Georgina sat down beside Leo on the stone bench, careful to keep some distance between them.
Light moved over his face as he lifted the lamp and took note of how far away from him she sat. “I won’t bite, Georgie. Even if you ask me to.”
I do wish he wouldn’t call me Georgie.It weakened her. Made her long to crawl into his lap and curl up like a kitten.
“Your skin is perfect for nibbling,” he continued. “Do you want to know how I’d start?” His voice lowered. “WhereI’d begin?”
Georgina wasn’t sure what to make of his teasing but thought his flirtatious manner might have to do with the scotch scenting his breath. Leo rarely drank to excess in the evenings and never alone in the garden while Elysium was full to bursting with guests.
“There is a spot right where your hip joins your thigh,” he said in a whisper. “Very soft. And I can smell the sweetness of your quim.” He glanced up at her, handsome features stark. “What? Were you expecting a flowery compliment? Perhaps a bloody ode to your eyelashes?” The amused note vanished. “You’ll have to find another gentleman for that.”
“I suppose I should.” Georgina tilted her chin at him.
His brow wrinkled before smoothing out again. Reaching out, he ran his forefinger along the edge of her neckline, trailing heat across her chest before pulling back.
