Simply Sinful by Kate Pearce Read Free Book Online Page B

wait!”
    He hesitated as he heard Anthony shout his name and reluctantly stopped. To his relief, Anthony was alone. He held Peter’s hat and cloak and was breathing hard.
    “You forgot these.”
    “Thank you. I didn’t want to ruin my dignified exit by creeping back in to retrieve my belongings.”
    Anthony grinned at him. “I know. Valentin would never let you hear the end of it.” He hesitated and touched Peter’s arm. “I don’t understand why he is so angry with you, but I’m sure it will come out right.”
    Peter struggled to find an answering smile. “I’m sure it will, Anthony. Val and I have been friends for a long time.”
    Anthony stepped back. “Come back soon or I will probably ruin the business.”
    “You won’t do that. I have great confidence in you.”
    “As you taught me everything I know, I should hope so.”
    Peter hesitated, then drew Anthony into a rough hug. “Look after Val for me, won’t you?”
    “As if he’ll let me.”
    “Try anyway.” Peter released Anthony and walked away, determined not to look back. Would he ever be able to face either of the Sokorvsky brothers again with the same degree of ease? He wasn’t sure.
    If he ended up staying with the Beechams and sharing their bed, it would give him the perfect opportunity to decide whether he and Val could continue as business partners or whether he would have to resign and move on.
    He walked through the maze of haphazard streets, ignoring the street hawkers and beggars, until he reached one of the busier thoroughfares and hailed a cab. He’d agreed to go down to Beecham Hall in Essex this weekend to meet James’s wife. If she proved to be as shy and retiring as he suspected, he imagined his visit would be fleeting.
    Would James Beecham be as eager to continue their liaison if his wife took a dislike to Peter? Even though James was exceptional, Peter wasn’t sure he wanted just another male lover. He needed a challenge to make him forget Valentin and twenty-four years of hard-won friendship that appeared to have turned to ashes.
    In the Turkish brothel, Valentin had refused to compromise. He fought every male lover forced on him. Sometimes Peter would willingly take his place or take his punishment because he knew that Val would rather die than give in. Peter had also known that he wouldn’t survive if he didn’t have Val.
    They had proved big business for the brothel owner. Two fair-skinned foreigners, one dark, one blond. Women paid ridiculous amounts of money to have them both in their beds. Val kept fighting the men and fucking the women. Peter relied on opium and a growing dependency on Valentin to see him through each day.
    With a start, Peter realized they had arrived at his modest house on Half Moon Street. He handed over some coins to the cheerful driver and got down. He studied the leaden gray sky. If Lady Beecham didn’t like him, he’d take off up north. He had a vague idea that was where he originally came from, although his memories of the time before he met Valentin on board the ship bound for Russia were sketchy at best.
    Thanks to the efforts of Valentin’s wife, Sara, his narrow town house was decorated with quiet taste and elegance. Peter stared at the gold damask curtains she had laughingly persuaded him to put up in his morning room. Was she secretly relieved not to have to face him again? He’d believed they were friends. Had all her trust in him disappeared simply because she was pregnant? Her desertion was almost as painful a blow as Valentin’s.
    He wandered into the room and studied the landscape painting above the fireplace. Sara had been careful not to choose any portraits, as if she knew Peter would hate being asked if they were his family. Perhaps Valentin was more astute than Peter realized. Maybe he had sensed Peter’s yearning for a relationship and a family of his own even before Peter became aware of it and was merely forcing him into moving on.
    To Peter’s relief, Adams, his