Tempted by You Read online

  Tempted by You

  By Tiffany Clare

  Copyright © 2014 by Tiffany Clare

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM, which may be applied to this work.

  Cover design © by Chalmers Photography

  Cover photograph © manifeesto | Shutterstock.com

  Formatting by Champagne Formats

  Digital Edition 1.0

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9937176-0-8

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Thank You!

  Coming Soon: Desire Me Now Trilogy

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Other Books by Tiffany

  To my friends Ang & Di. A shared love for music brought us together and defined us even at so young an age.

  London, 1855

  “YOU COULDN’T HAVE COME AT a better time.” The duke took Rosalie’s ermine-lined cloak and passed it to a waiting footman. “I leave for Maidstone first thing in the morning.”

  Rosalie grasped his arm in greeting. “I thank my blessings to have caught you at home at all.”

  Nathan, the Duke of Vane, kissed her cheek lightly. Threading his arm through hers, he took her deeper into his town house. “What crisis brings you here so late in the evening, Rosa?”

  “I had no one else to turn to. Not for this matter.”

  Nathan’s gait matched her smaller steps as they walked the length of the corridor.

  “It’s Daniel, isn’t it?”

  On hearing the censure and disappointment in his voice, she nibbled her lower lip. How often had she turned to the duke for help? Too often, but it was second nature for her to seek him whenever something was awry with her brother, which of late was happening with frightening regularity.

  “He’s never been absent from society for longer than a week. I’m worried he’s found himself in deeper trouble than he has in the past.”

  They paused in the hall so Nathan could lift the door latch to admit them into the sitting room. “Your brother has a heart for adventure. Give him a few more days to turn up. He always has in the past.”

  Her brother was her weak spot and had been since the day her father had forced her to leave her childhood home. She’d done her best to watch over Daniel, trying to keep him out of trouble. But her brother had grown more reckless over the past year.

  “You should have sent a note with your maid, Rosalie. I’m in no shape to assist anyone in my current mood. That’s why I’m escaping Town for some fresh air.”

  What would she do if she couldn’t rely on the duke? Who would she go to?

  Nathan’s hand squeezed her wrist before he released her. “Anna left me.”

  Rosalie’s hand covered her mouth too late to muffle the sound of shock that escaped. “What do you mean, she left you? When did this happen?”

  “A week ago. I thought she’d have come back to me by now. I haven’t been myself for days.” His declaration was so calm that she thought he was teasing her, but Nathan would never jest about Anna leaving him. His voice turned colder. “This is not a discussion I want to have, Rosa. I’ll be of little help to you right now.”

  Oh, God, how could she not have known? Word must have spread about the duke’s mistress of ten years leaving him. No wonder her worry for her brother seemed inconsequential.

  But it was of no less importance.

  She reached for his arm and pressed it comfortingly. “I’m so sorry, Nathan. I had no idea.”

  “Thank you, love. I’m working it out in my own way.” There was an underlying determination to his voice that had her rethinking the reason for Nathan’s escape from Town.

  “You’re going to go after her aren’t you?”

  The duke chuckled. “I should have known I wouldn’t be able to keep you in the dark for long.”

  “Do you know where she went?”

  “I think she is at her sister’s, which is the other reason I’m heading for Maidstone. I’ll be closer to her.” With a hand resting over her lower back, he led her to a settee. “Enough about my troubles. Let me reiterate my thoughts on Daniel. Your rogue brother will turn up sooner or later. He always has in the past—and when you least expected it.”

  How did she explain the gut feeling she had? Nathan was right in a sense, but this seemed different from the other times Daniel had disappeared because he’d taken on too much debt or thumbed his nose at the wrong man.

  Rosa took a deep breath, closed her eyes to collect herself, and to stall the tears threatening to make her a veritable watering pot. She needed a level head and histrionics would help no one. “This feels different, Nathan. Can you assist me before you leave tomorrow? I can’t go into the places you can, or ask the right questions of the right people.”

  Was it selfish of her to request his help when he had problems of his own to work through? As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she dismissed it. This was her brother—she would do anything to make sure he was alive and well—and Nathan had never been the type of man to turn his back on a friend in need.

  “I can’t do this alone,” she pleaded.

  The cushion next to her lowered as the duke sat beside her. He settled his hands over her fidgety fingers, his steady warmth calming her nerves. “I can ask around tomorrow. But if I’m going to make Maidstone by nightfall, I won’t be able to ask at many places.”

  A huge sigh of relief washed over her. “That’s all I need to hear.”

  “Stay for dinner, Rosa. I’ll have a guest room made up for you. You’re too far from home to head back tonight.”

  The invitation to stay the night caught her off guard, but it made sense if he only had a short time with her in the morning. “I had no intention of intruding, especially considering everything that has happened in your life. I don’t want to inconvenience you if you’re closing up the house.”

  “Don’t apologize.” He brushed his hand over her arm and grasped her hand again to squeeze it reassuringly. “I don’t deserve your kindness when I’m abandoning you in your time of need. Stay the night. We can discuss over a cup of ratafia what you last remember your brother doing. We’ll send out notes first thing in the morning to those we trust to see if they’ve heard of his whereabouts.”

  He made a good point that was hard to argue.

  “Allow me your company. It’ll make up for me acting like a boor,” Nate insisted.

  That got a smile out of her. “I can’t refuse your generous offer.”

  “I should warn you that we have company.”

  That put a damper on her plans to stay. She would not interrupt a dinner affair. “Guests?”

  “My brother is here and some friends arrived a few hours ago—to cheer me up, I’m afraid.”

  Thaddeus was Nathan’s younger brother and a renowned composer. They’d never officially met, but she knew of him. “I hope they are providing some cheer.”

  “No, but I can’t seem to
get them to leave. I invited them to dine so long as they leave me shortly after so I can at least wallow alone for the remainder of the night.” His comment was said in good humor.

  “They don’t know you plan on leaving, do they?”

  “That would ruin my element of surprise. I can’t risk word getting back to Anna, not when she’s done a fair job of staying away from me this long.”

  “I don’t mind waiting for your dinner to conclude before we discuss my situation further.” She didn’t care to dine with men she didn’t know, close friends to Nathan or not. Her profession as a muse and courtesan made men think they could treat her as though she were easily bought property. And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

  “I insist you stay,” Nathan said.

  As he made his way to his feet, she clutched the sleeve of his jacket and stood with him, wanting to tell him how appreciative she truly was. “I can’t thank you enough for this, Nathan. And I couldn’t ask for a better friend. I will dine with you this evening and take you up on your offer to stay the night.”

  “I wish I could do more, but I have plans that cannot be changed. We’ll figure this out.” He kissed her cheek, the brush of his lips brotherly and kind. “The piano is yours if you wish to play until we dine. I’m going to try and rid myself of my other company, though I can’t promise anything.”

  She ducked her head with a small smile. “How well you know me.” He knew she was selective in who she would dine with.

  “Always, darling.” He pinched her chin with his thumb and forefinger. “I’ll see you in short order.”

  He walked out of the room, clicking the door shut behind him.

  The invitation to stay calmed her nerves a great deal. Her heart slowed to a less frantic pace as she took in a deep breath. It had been a smart decision to come here, though in reality she should have done so much sooner.

  Nathan appeared to be many things to the casual observer, but she knew the man beneath that carefree persona he presented to society. He was loyal, considerate, and he would never let a friend down. Intuition had led her here for that reason alone and she was glad for it. Nathan would do what she could not do alone. He would find her brother.

  Rosa backed up a few steps, until her skirts hit the chair tucked under the piano. She turned and curled her hands over the rounded top of the chair and pulled it out so she could settle herself under the keys. While she waited for Nathan to come back to the music room, she could forget her troubles in her music.

  THADDEUS DE BURGH FELT LIKE a voyeur. Technically, he wasn’t a voyeur but an eavesdropper; he had actively listened to his brother talking in hushed tones with a lady Teddy did not recognize. While he could have walked away and left his brother to his newest guest, he’d been intrigued by his brother’s change in character on seeing this woman; he was gentle and kind with her even though Nathan had been gruff and moody since Teddy’s arrival. Teddy didn’t know who she was, though he thought he’d seen her before, perhaps at a play or musicale.

  While he might not know her, he had felt the weight of her grief and concern as she’d begged for Nathan’s assistance to help her find her brother.

  The door between the library and music parlor was slightly ajar. Gaslights flickered orange tendrils up the walls and along the floor, giving him a clear glimpse of the lady within the music room.

  The lady’s dress was of fine cornflower blue silk and scooped invitingly off her shoulders, tempting a man to trace the delicate lines of her collarbone and shoulder blades where they peeked out above the fabric at the back.

  Rich, black curls piled atop her head, and a few enticing strands fell here and there down her neck, practically begging for his fingers to tuck them back beneath the bits of lace and matching blue silk ribbons woven through her locks. The line of her neck was graceful, her skin snow-white, not a freckle or beauty mark in sight. Even in profile, he could tell she was pretty, with her high cheekbones and her plump, kissable lower lip.

  Who was this mysterious and fascinating creature? And what could he do to help her once his brother left for Maidstone?

  The temptation to talk to her—not only to distract himself from a composition that was going nowhere, but also to find a way to help her—was a bloody siren singing in his ear at a deafening volume. Without making a sound, he slid the pocket door completely into the wall as he entered the music room.

  The woman’s posture was perfect, her arms slender, elbows held aloft at the right angle as she started a series of simple scales and arpeggios with her right hand, followed in succession with the left hand as she warmed her fingers on the old family Broadwood.

  He clasped the top edge of a chair and held firm as he listened to the music she all but sang with her hands as she moved away from scales and into a romantic sonata. He had never heard a more moving or passionate pianist. And she played for no one but herself. What would she sound like playing for an audience?

  Her technique was flawless, her talent inarguable. Her mind seemed swept away by the music; that was clear in her body language, and in the way she moved gently in synchronization with the slow-paced larghetto. There were no sheets of music to aid her. She simply played where her heart led.

  Again, he asked himself: Who was this woman? Why hadn’t he ever heard her play before now? Why hadn’t Nathan told Teddy of her natural brilliance?

  He took another step closer when the chords changed to a familiar concerto. How tempted he was to sidle up next to her and place his hands on a higher octave and join in. Would she welcome him to play a piece for four hands?

  She bent slightly forward, shoulders leaning close to the keys, and started a new piece. A smooth melodic cantabile, and a very picturesque tune. He could quite literally stand here all day and listen to her play. This was a piece she knew well. Sadness and joy danced around each note, as though she yearned for something long gone or out of reach. Was she thinking of her brother as she played the music? The melody diminished to a softer, quieter tone but remained as stunning as the rest of the piece had been.

  He walked over to stand by her right side. The smell of lilacs teased him, the scent light and pleasant. She’d taken off her gloves to play, revealing long, delicate fingers, nails buffed short—ideal for playing the piano. Those slender fingers danced seamlessly across the keys as if she were born at the piano, as if she spent day and night pounding at the keys.

  Every nerve ending in his body came alive with awareness, and his heart picked up in speed the more she played. The passion, the beauty of her music struck him speechless.

  She didn’t acknowledge him, so he assumed her to be so involved with the piece that she didn’t realize he stood next to her. He couldn’t help but reach for the keys in front of him. Taking the higher register, he mimicked her melody half a beat behind. The piece was simple, yet made complex with complementary harmonies playing over and with one another. And it was incredibly beautiful, as beautiful as Beethoven’s Eroica the first time he’d heard it in concert.

  She stopped suddenly with a sound of fright and fell off the side of the small round chair. She landed hard on the floor in a flounce of blue-and-white silk, the wash of color like a Mediterranean wave throwing itself onto a sand-covered shore.

  “Let me help you up,” he offered, reaching for her before she uttered a word.

  “You’ve caused me to have the worst palpitation!” She took an audibly deep breath as she pushed herself up from the floor.

  “My apologies—”

  He couldn’t finish his words when she looked up at him. She had the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. A clear, topaz blue that was easily four shades lighter than her dress. Yes, he’d seen her in passing from time to time in her brother’s company, but they’d never been properly introduced. It seemed odd to him that he hadn’t noticed her condition before.

  The emptiness that met his gaze drained him of all the warmth that had infused him the moment he’d heard her playing.

  In his mind he had
pegged her as an undiscovered virtuoso, but that simply couldn’t be the case. In fact, such a thing was damn near impossible for someone who obviously couldn’t read sheet music, no matter how beautifully she played.

  She could not see him, not even an outline of him. It was evident in her vacant, blind gaze. But the way she played...

  She intrigued him like no other person ever had and he had a sudden desire to know everything about her. It struck him that her conundrum with her brother was the perfect reason to learn all there was to learn about this woman. This woman’s music had inspired him to a whole new level. He wanted to write his composition with the same passion she exuded in her own music. Emulate it in such a way that those listening to his music would feel as he felt listening to hers.

  ROSA GRASPED THE GENTLEMAN’S STRONG, warm hand. His grip was firm and steady as he pulled her easily back onto her feet. The tantalizing scent of amber and sandalwood filled her lungs, awakening her senses. Her skirts were twisted about her legs, and she released her hold on her rescuer to right her dress. His other hand slipped away from her arm the moment she was steady.

  “I didn’t hear anyone enter. I must apologize for the fright I surely gave you.”

  He chuckled, the timbre an uplifting baritone. The laugh was so similar to Nathan’s that she was instantly put at ease in this unfamiliar man’s company.

  “It is I who must apologize for the awkwardness of this introduction. I beg your pardon and forgiveness for giving you such a scare, madam.”

  “I had forgotten where I was for a moment.”

  “I had thought as much. But that doesn’t excuse me for listening at the door instead of letting you know of my presence.”

  She smoothed one hand over the polished top of the piano in search of her gloves. She was unsure how she should respond to him. She wanted to ask how long he’d listened to her playing, but the words stuck in her throat. Once again, the stranger’s warm hands clasped around hers; this time he placed her satin gloves into her palms.