Simply Carnal Read Online Free

recovered.”
    Madame Helene gave her an encouraging smile. “That’s right, my dear. Go with Christian. He is an excellent teacher.”
    Elizabeth reluctantly followed Mr. Delornay’s broad, black-coated back out of the kitchen and along the many hallways to his office. He held the door open for her and waited until she took the chair in front of his desk before going to sit himself.
    “Mr. Delornay, despite how it might appear, I did not ask your mother for a position here.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “Why not? I believe that was your original intention.”
    She stiffened. “You’d already told me there was nothing I was sufficiently qualified to do here.”
    “Does that still rankle?”
    She took a deep breath. “Are you angry?”
    “Do I look angry?”
    She studied him carefully. He was dressed immaculately in shades of black and white; his cravat was modest and held in place with an unobtrusive jet pin. His guinea-gold hair was cut close to his head but still displayed a tendency to curl up at the ends. He looked like any other young man of fashion, apart from his hazel eyes, which were still radiating with cold fury.
    “You do look rather displeased, and I can understand why. No grown man wishes to be told what to do by his mother.”
    “How very astute of you.” He leaned back in his chair, one arm angled along the gilded top, but his relaxed posture didn’t reassure Elizabeth at all. “I am glad to see you have recovered both your appetite and your mettle.”
    “And I am very grateful to you for offering me that opportunity, sir.” A week’s worth of good food, warmth, and safety had taken the edge off her desperation and given her hope again.
    “Grateful enough to take the job?”
    She met his gaze. “Are you offering it to me?”
    He shrugged, the elegant motion utterly French. “I am my mother’s son. She still owns the pleasure house. I just work here.”
    There was a hint of bitterness beneath his airy words that made Elizabeth wary, but she had no choice. She needed to find employment too badly to complain about how the offer was delivered.
    “What exactly do you wish me to do?”
    Mr. Delornay’s hazel eyes met hers. “I’m not quite sure yet. I doubt my mother’s vision of your usefulness is quite the same as mine.”
    “I am willing to do whatever you require, sir.”
    He continued to study her. “So you said.”
    “That includes use of my ... of my person, sir.”
    “You seem remarkably eager to get into my bed, Mrs. Smith. Do you think to influence me more easily between the sheets? I can assure you that will not happen.” He leaned forward, his hands clasped together on the desk. “I’ve had every kind of sexual encounter imaginable. Nothing excites or entraps me any-more.”
    “Then we might suit very well, sir.”
    His smile was charming and made her set her teeth. “You are a woman of experience, then, Mrs. Smith?”
    “More than you might imagine, sir.”
    “Yet you look quite untouched.”
    “Which I understand is an asset.” She had to look away from him. “Apparently, my husband married me for that very reason.”
    He didn’t answer her immediately. She stared down at the floorboards, aware that he had the ability to unnerve her, something she’d sworn she would never allow to happen again.
    “May I ask you something, Mrs. Smith?”
    She gathered her resolve. “Of course you may. And as you are to be my employer, I will endeavor to be as honest as possible.”
    “As possible.” He considered her again. “You have lived abroad?”
    “For most of my life, sir. My father liked to gamble and I believe my mother was Italian, so they spent many years on the Continent.”
    “Was your husband English?”
    Tension coiled in her gut. “I would rather not answer that. I can tell you that he lived in France and considered that country his home.”
    “Do you consider France home?”
    “I’ve never had a home, sir, but I consider myself English.”
    His smile