Free A Dangerous Game by Julia Templeton Page A

Nicolette watched for a moment, unable to look away at the sight, at the pleasure in both their faces.
    A strange stirring crept into Nicolette’s stomach, and lower to the flesh between her thighs.
    Charlotte reached back and grabbed Darian’s buttocks, her cries growing louder. He placed a hand over her mouth, no doubt to silence her. She sucked his fingers and Darian’s thrusts increased.
    His free hand found her sex, and the widow slammed back against him.
    Charlotte’s hand cupped her own breast, her fingers toying with a nipple.
    With a final glance, Nicolette left the two.
    Once safely behind the closed door of her bedchamber, she sat down on her bed and ran her hand down her face. Had Charlotte not come along, it could have possibly been her in that labyrinth with Darian.
    Thank goodness for Charlotte.
    Perhaps she should just come right out with it and tell Salvatore how she felt.
    She stood up, then sat right back down. How would he feel if he knew she had failed yet again? Secretly she hoped Darian kept his distance. Perhaps befriending Charlotte would make things easier for her. In fact, why could she not encourage Charlotte to continue her liaison with Darian at the party? She could help Charlotte, know their whereabouts, and then send the countess, or even the duke looking for the two. It would still mean Darian’s downfall, and she could leave with her conscience—and her virginity—intact.

    *****

    Darian walked back to his quarters, his mind racing. He had but a taste of Nicolette and now he knew it would never be enough. Her passion was overwhelming and the attraction between them was so fierce, it was disconcerting.
    Had he actually thought that one taste, one touch, would be enough? Damn, if Charlotte had not come upon them it would have been Nicolette he had fucked instead of the widow, a woman he had bedded before right under her husband’s nose. True, his body was sated for the time being, but it was not Charlotte that he craved.
    No, it was Nicolette.
    How would he get through the next week with her underfoot?
    He was so deep in thought, he nearly ran into his mother as he rounded the corner.
    Her gaze shifted from his, down the hall, toward Nicolette’s room where he was heading. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said, one dark brow lifted in question.
    Though she no more than whispered, there was a shrill-like quality to her voice that he had never heard before, and it made him uneasy.
    “What can you be thinking, Darian? You are cuckolding your intended right beneath her nose—and at your own engagement party, no less. Nicolette is a musician for God’s sake. The daughter of a trollop. Must I remind—”
    “I’ve heard enough, Mother. You forget she is here by your invitation.”
    She lifted her chin. “They invited themselves. I received word from Salvatore a fortnight ago. He asked to come.”
    Darian frowned. Nicolette had given him the impression that his mother had sought the duo out.
    “Come, Darian? She is a beautiful woman and she is attracted to you, that much is obvious. They could live very generously off your wealth if you were to become her lover. And think about this...they had a standing invitation to play at Brooks’ for the entire month, which would have paid quite nicely. Yet, here they do not expect or require payment, but rather perform as a favor. A favor to whom, I ask you? And, there is no one here that they would call a close friend. In fact, they are virtual strangers to most all our guests. Think on it...it makes no sense whatsoever.”
    He didn’t want to consider that her words might hold any truth, but as the minutes ticked by and he thought back over the last couple of days, he had to wonder if Nicolette’s affection toward him was indeed orchestrated. What if she and that too-pretty partner of hers did have an ulterior motive? He shook away the thought. Nicolette desired him—that was not too hard to believe,