*Barkley*
I listen to the slow ticking of the clock, each second an eternity. I have not seen Jayne since I left her in the bath, appearing so delectable with the dew coating her exposed skin. I want to skim soapy hands over her, and I was prepared to do just that. I shouldn’t take offense at her embarrassment for being found in my company, and yet I do. I have always been so careful to protect every other lover, to ensure our relationship is not the fodder of gossip. Why not Jayne?
I want her to want to be with me because of me, not because of something I might gift her.
“It’s not often I see you brood.”
I glare at my mother, sitting on the sofa beside Leo. She wears a burgundy velvet gown that accentuates her dark features. She does not look her age of fifty-two, although I notice th
