Shayla Black by Strictly Seduction Read Free Book Online

do.
    “ My lady?” Matheson called on the other side of her door with a knock.
    Before she could reply, Aimee burst inside her room.
    “ Mama,” the girl called, skipping around her in a circle. “Mr. Taylor is here. Where are you going?”
    He had arrived already?
    Maddie knelt to Aimee and held her warm little hand. “The theater, dear. I promise not be gone long.”
    Dashing for her wardrobe, Maddie opened the doors, finding only serviceable garments. Brown and gray jumped out at her, worn fabrics with patches over patches. Even the respectable day dresses she had preserved and updated as possible were hopelessly casual for a night out.
    Maddie hadn’t cared much about her wardrobe since Colin’s death. Most of the ton thought her still in mourning, so the lack of funds to dress had hardly been an issue.
    Brock had changed all that.
    If Maddie could wear one of her own dresses without embarrassing herself she would. But a glance told her that was impossible.
    Her gaze fell upon the dress Brock had given her. With a sigh, she peeked into the hall and shouted for Vema, who had been kind enough to act as her lady’s maid since finances had forced Maddie to let her own go.
    Moments later, Vema entered the room with a cryptic smile. “So he is here, and you wish to look well?”
    Maddie harrumphed. “Presentable, and nothing more. Please help me into this dress so I can end this farce.”
    “ As you wish.”
    Maddie ignored the trickle of laughter she heard in Vema’s quiet words.
    Some minutes later, the Indian woman closed the last fastening. Maddie turned to stare at herself in the mirror, stunned by her own reflection. The muted green brought out the peaches in her complexion, giving her a flawless look that flat brown never did. And her eyes, always gray, took on the sparkle of the dress, appearing a unique shade somewhere between the two colors. As she stood mutely, Vema braided her hair before twisting the strands upon Maddie’s head. Auburn tendrils curled about Maddie’s neck. Golden light from the candlewicks made her hair shine a deep red.
    As Maddie attached the ear drops, Vema fastened the pearls about her throat, the orbs luminescent against her skin.
    “ Mama, you look like a princess!” Aimee exclaimed.
    Brushing a quick kiss across her daughter’s cheek, Maddie pondered the girl’s observation. She felt like a princess, like Cinderella on her way to a magical ball where anything was possible. It was untrue, and she must remember that Brock Taylor, no matter how intriguing, was no charming prince.
    #
    Brock stood in the same threadbare drawing room at Ashdown Manor that he and Maddie had occupied only the day before. Cursing the empty doorway, he turned his top hat over in his hands.
    Twenty minutes ago the butler had gone to fetch Maddie, and still no sign of her. Damn, what if she refused to accompany him? His pride wanted her to see exactly the life she’d missed out on by marrying Wolcott—the life she could still have, if only she would consent to wed him. Besides, for trifling with his affections and playing him for a fool years ago, she owed him.
    He intended to make certain she repaid him in full with her body and pleasure every night.
    The sound of soft footfall brought his gaze back to the door. He nearly swallowed his tongue.
    Maddie stood mutely in the portal, chin raised, looking every inch a delectable challenge in the pale green finery and pearls he’d sent. With her hair piled atop her head and curls dangling at her temples, her flawless face stood out like some painter’s masterpiece, almost too beautiful to be believed. Brock craved her naked, skin to skin, the force of his desire as subtle as an explosion.
    “ You look lovely, Maddie. Do you like the dress?”
    “ Mr. Taylor—”
    “ Brock,” he corrected with a raised brow. “We know one another well enough to warrant the use of first names.”
    Maddie stiffened. “This outing is ridiculous. There is no