Free The Stallion by Georgina Brown Page A

Reggie.’
    ‘Pleased to meet you,’ she said, and smiled sweetly at him as he eased himself up from his chair in an act of old-fashioned politeness whilst she took her own seat. Old-world charm had a certain attraction about it, but even if it hadn’t, Sir Reggie, although his hair was white, was a well-built man who’d obviously taken care of his body, and in his youth must have been quite something to look at. He still was now. His nose was slightly hooked and his eyebrows were dark and matched his eyes. How sensuous his lips looked when they smiled. I wonder how many other lips they have kissed in his lifetime, Penny mused, or how many breasts have been sucked to distraction between his neat white teeth.
    Penny beamed at them all, for no matter who looked at her and what they said, tonight she was beautiful. Tongues confirmed what eyes already said. She radiated beauty and health, and with it, sexuality.
    The other person at the table was a woman who Alistair introduced as his sister, Nadine. Vaguely, Penny remembered seeing her at Alistair’s side in the VIP lounges at championship events.
    The two women exchanged greetings.
    Penny was immediately hypnotised and discomforted by this woman. Something in Nadine’s manner and the cool look in her eyes seemed to flow out from her. Whatever the nature of this strange current, it made Penny’s limbs feel weak and her sex pliant.
    With world-weary eyes, Nadine gazed at her with a curiously enigmatic expression and a half-smile on one side of her mouth. ‘I’m very pleased to meet you,’ she said slowly, elbow on table, chin supported in right hand. ‘Very pleased indeed.’ Her voice had a lazy buzz to it, like the idle droning of bees on a summer afternoon or the faint sound of a lawnmower.
    It was not just Nadine’s voice that was unusual. Her appearance was dramatic, if not eccentric. Her eyes were grey, her jaw strong, her cheekbones prominent. Her hair was very white and very short – just bristles over her skull. Her skin closely matched her hair. Her eyes were lined with kohl, her lids with dark-grey shadow.
    Perhaps it was the shadow that fell across her face, but Penny had the distinct expression she was being undressed with alarming familiarity by someone she had never met, but who seemed to know her and her body very well.
    ‘Another little jumper. Well, I shall soon put you through your paces, my dear, you can count on that,’ said Nadine. The trace of sarcasm was drowned with a sip of wine clasped in fingers whose nails were varnished black. Plush, thick lips pursed speculatively over a black cheroot. There was an exchange of looks between brother and sister that hinted at reproach.
    ‘Quite a good one, so I hear,’ Nadine added suddenly. ‘You have a good body, my dear. Fit, trim; ideal for what is expected of you.’ Now her smile was very wide and very warm. With the addition of more wine, her voice was deep, yet crisp as burned toffee.
    ‘I try to excel in everything, as much as is possible,’ returned Penny, unable to hide her unease that the wandering gaze inspired in her. Nadine had watched her behind one of those mirrors. She knew it instinctively. Determinedly, she declined to blush.
    As she smiled at Alistair’s sister, Penny took a deep breath. Her breasts struggled against the half-open bodice. It was a provocative move, one designed to suggest that she was both knowledgeable and available.
    Her eyes took note of their individual reactions. Auberon merely blushed, his eyelids fluttering like frightened butterflies.
    Experience and familiarity won through. Reggie licked his lips and made no attempt to stop his eyes from settling on her cleavage.
    Alistair, she thought, looked uncomfortable. It was as though he wanted to stare at what was on offer, but didn’t dare. There was an odd look in his eyes, a mix of desire and perpetual torment.
    Only Nadine’s gaze was steady, her lips smiling. There was absolute boldness in her look