The Hunt Club Chronicles Bundle by Heather Boyd Read Free Book Online

touch of another man held sway until he got a good look at his steward’s poor battered body.
    There were bruises on Stackpool’s ribs and hips. Ugly purple shades that made Nathan’s blood boil in anger, dousing his lust in seconds. Over some were whip marks. Nathan wanted to go back and beat the life out of Lewes for losing control, yet he couldn’t leave Stackpool just yet. Not until he was certain the other man was well.
    When Stackpool lingered at the window, Nathan grew impatient. He squared his shoulders and walked in. “Are you hungry?”
    The expression on Stackpool’s face was priceless. His skin flushed, eyes quickly darting downward, then snapping back to Nathan’s face. Intrigued, Nathan placed the tray on the bed and took a step in his servant’s direction.
    Stackpool’s bare prick filled, thickened until his impressive length stood tall. Nathan’s own flesh responded in kind. Pleased that his servant was attracted to men, or at least to him, he’d see whether Stackpool’s employment could be altered to include the occasional pleasure once Stackpool had recovered his health.
    Nathan’s pleasure had to wait.
    He crossed to where Stackpool had stilled like a hunted fox. Nathan smiled and the other man seemed to come alive again. He hurried across the room, slid beneath the covers, attempting to hide his body’s response from Nathan’s eyes.
    Nathan followed, draping himself across the foot of the bed, watching as Stackpool made a show of eating. “What the devil were you doing with Lewes?”
    “I, ah, was invited to dine with him,” Stackpool stammered.
    “It is not like Lewes to entertain the common man without some form of compensation changing hands. Were you there by your own wish?”
    Stackpool shifted. “Of course I was.”
    Nathan gestured to the bruises encompassing Stackpool’s arms. “And these marks of restraint? Were they willingly accepted?”
    At that, Stackpool finally appeared uncomfortable. Nathan wondered if he’d lie.
    “No. But Lewes never made them.”
    Nathan shuffled down the bed, arranging his body more comfortably. “Of course not. His habits are simpler, direct. Like the whip marks on your skin. No doubt that bruise forming on your jaw is courtesy of him. Did you try to leave?”
    Henry dropped his head. “No. He wanted information.”
    Nathan sat up, leaning forward towards his servant. “About whom?”
    Up close, Stackpool’s green eyes, flecked through with gold, mesmerized Nathan.
    “About an old friend of mine.”
    Nathan rubbed his jaw, considering. “In all the time you’ve worked for me I’ve never heard you mention friends, or family for that matter. Where do you hail from?”
    “ London .”
    He’d known that. “Where is your family?”
    Stackpool sighed. “Dead. I’ve taken care of myself since I was seven.”
    Now that was news to Nathan. If he remembered correctly, there had been a glowing reference from several respectable Londoners, all attesting to Stackpool’s character and reliability. There was no mention of him being an orphan. “And this friend of yours that Lewes is so interested in. Who exactly is he to you both?”
    “A friend, and a whore.”
    “A woman?” Nathan was surprised. Lewes had little use for women. He couldn’t imagine him searching for one unless he’d been swindled.
    Stackpool’s face reddened. “Rather than have you guessing all day until you get your damn answers, I’d rather get this over with. My friend is a whore from London ’s Hunt Club, a place where I worked until I entered your service.”
    Nathan stilled as his mind connected Hunt Club with a distant memory. “Hell’s teeth, were you employed there as a whore?”
     

 
    Chapter Eight
     
    Henry flinched. Byworth had learned of the Hunt Club’s male companions.
    Heart pounding, he wriggled off the bed and searched for his trousers. When he didn’t find them, he turned around. “Where are my clothes?”
    The duke sat up and swung his legs