Free Echoes in the Darkness by Jane Godman

Then, as if recalled to our surroundings, he stopped. The light in his eyes changed and abruptly told me a different story. How could the honeyed fire in their depths burn suddenly
cold?
    “This is an unexpected pleasure,
bouche.
” The endearment sent a memory of lust pounding through my bloodstream. My mind took a soaring, sensuous journey back to the rainy Parisian night I had spent in his bed. Softly, as footsteps echoed in the hall outside, he added, “I must admit, I had hoped that when I finally caught up with you again, it would not be so that I could call you ‘sister.’” As Lucy entered the room, he said formally, “I have heard much about the beauty of my new sister-in-law. I’m pleased to learn that rumour did not lie.”
    He appeared to have recovered from the debilitating shock that still tried to hold me frozen in its grip. If anything, he seemed mildly amused to see me again in these circumstances. Well, if he could regain his composure so quickly, perhaps I could, too. “And you, sir, are everything I have been led to believe
you
would be.” I strived for a measure of hauteur in my tone. I may even have succeeded. It would not do for him to see how profoundly I was affected by his nearness. “Perhaps more.”
    The familiar laugh was infectious, “Oh,
bouche,
” he said, dropping his voice again for my ears alone. “With me, as you have already discovered, there is always more.”
    Eleanor and Tynan arrived then, and I was able to regain a modicum of composure in the general bustle of conversation. I watched Cad from beneath my lashes. Even in this room full of handsome people, his magnetism set him apart. It was as if every speck of available light had flown into those amber eyes, lighting and warming their depths. Even the lilacs so artfully arranged in bowls about the room seemed to lean toward him. I would defy anyone to look elsewhere when Cad Jago was present. But, because I loved him, I may have been biased.
    “I must tell you that Paris was buzzing with news of your departure,” he said, sliding a hand under my elbow to steer me to the dining room. I noticed, with a little start of surprise, that the others had preceded us and were already seated. “Word was out within a day or two that Eddie had used the promise of his title to lure the perfect muse away from his artistic competitors.”
    I bit my lip. “I suppose it would be useless to tell you that I didn’t know who he was until we came to England?” I asked.
    “Why waste your time telling me anything of the kind?” he enquired, shaking out a serviette and placing it on his lap. “After all, it doesn’t matter a jot to me how you managed to trap my brother into this engagement. Although, having been on the receiving end of your charms myself, I can well imagine the methods you employed.”
    “But I didn’t!” I protested in a furious undertone. Lucy glanced sharply in our direction, and I subsided into blushing silence.
    He threw a wicked grin at me, before turning to give his full attention to the footman who was hovering nearby. When he looked my way again, I was still quivering with outrage. “You should get angry more often,” he remarked casually, pouring wine into my glass. “Your beauty doesn’t need any embellishment, of course. The fact that temper brightens your eyes and adds a becoming touch of rose to your cheeks is irrelevant. But, when you draw in that harsh, little breath—yes, just like that—” he nodded approvingly, dropping his voice “—it reminds me of the sound you made when I was fucking you, and you were just about to come.”
    Oddly enough, it was the dispassionate way he could speak of it, rather than the crudeness of his words, that singed my emotions. He flashed that coldly charming smile again, secure in the knowledge that I was remembering every detail of the night we had spent together. With calculated casualness, he began a conversation with his father about the acquisition of a