Page 5 of To Heist and to Hold

Heloise stared up at the quietly elegant building that housed Dionysus, its soaring columns and intricately carved friezes and white granite shining in the sunlight in the middle of St James’s Street, and tried with all her might to dredge up the confidence she knew she would need for the upcoming meeting with the gaming hell’s owners.

But all she felt was a vague kind of nausea.

No, that wasn’t true. There was nothing vague about it. It was quite solid and horrible and causing a faint sheen of sweat to take up residence on her upper lip. But she would deal with the nausea, and gladly, if it meant she could save Julia.

“Are you certain about this, Heloise?” Laney asked.

Heloise knew the other woman wasn’t asking if she was certain about infiltrating Dionysus, nor about playing the part of Laney’s manager, which they had all agreed was the best way for Heloise to gain access to the club regularly.

No, she was referring to an additional part of their scheme, something Heloise had decided upon on her own.

For she had quickly come to the realization that her playing at a boxing manager could get them only so far, into public spaces that any vendor or worker might access.

Seducing one of the owners, however, could open the more private, secret areas of the club that would otherwise be closed to them—with the added benefit of gaining the trust of those men in charge.

She had tried with all her might to come up with alternatives to such a plan.

Yet with each hour that passed she had seen with increasing clarity that there was no other way, not if they were to succeed in this.

Dionysus, after all, would be very much like a fortress.

And she would have to use every weapon at her disposal to infiltrate it.

That did not make her any easier over her decision, however.

She scowled at Laney now, more to hide her own disquiet than anything else.

“You don’t think I’m capable of seducing someone?

” Not that she would blame Laney if she didn’t.

Even in her youth Heloise had never been exactly sought after.

She had not the softness and gentle curves that so many men preferred, instead sporting a leanness and muscled tone that her work at the anvil had built.

And even if one could overlook her form, her face was another matter entirely.

She was not what anyone would call a beauty.

No man would be inspired to ardor and devotion by looking at her, her features too strong, too stubborn.

And so she had possessed no dreams of undying love when she’d accepted Gregory’s suit, one born solely out of necessity.

Their relationship had eventually transformed into friendship, but regardless, their union had not been built on any great passion.

She had no experience in seducing a man, much less one who no doubt had all manner of women throwing themselves at him.

Panic clawed at her chest, making it hard to breathe. What had she been thinking, announcing that she would seduce one of Dionysus’s owners? She didn’t know the first thing about seduction, or what men liked, or how to be feminine and desirable.

In the next moment, however, common sense prevailed.

Or at least it tried its hardest to be heard over the uncertainty screaming away in her brain.

How hard could it be to seduce someone? Sex and desire were natural, instinctual parts of being human.

And while she wasn’t the most stunning woman in the world—not even close—she was not exactly disgusting to look at. She could do this. She hoped.

“Of course I think you’re capable of seducing someone,” Laney soothed with a fortifying smile. Her auburn eyebrows did not get the message of comfort that the rest of her was trying to impart, drawing together in blatant concern.

“Certainly I can,” Heloise reiterated almost defiantly, though whether for Laney’s benefit or her own she didn’t have a clue. “And with men who give themselves up so willingly to desire, it should be a walk in the park.”

“Oh, I have no doubt of it,” Laney declared bracingly.

“Not to mention,” Heloise continued, her words coming faster, as if the sheer speed of them would help drive home the questionable idea that she was capable of doing this, “that we have researched the owners extensively, and I am confident that, whichever man I’m to work most closely with during the preparations for the match, I will be able to seduce him with little trouble. ”

“Little trouble at all,” Laney said. And, by some miracle, Heloise found she was actually beginning to believe the lies they were telling themselves.

But whatever confidence she was able to drum up fizzled to nothing when they knocked at the massive front doors and those doors immediately swung wide to reveal a solidly built man dressed in an elegant set of clothes that would have done any Bond Street dandy proud.

One look at his rough features, however, and Heloise had the disturbing impression he had cracked more than his fair share of heads together.

Before they could say a word, the man spoke. “Mrs. Finch and Mrs. Marlow?” At their nods he bowed. “I’m Copper, the floor manager. The partners are expecting you. If you’ll follow me?” Then, stepping back, he motioned with one meaty hand for them to enter.

Laney, ever fearless, smiled wide and stepped inside with alacrity.

Heloise, however, was not so eager to be swallowed by the den of iniquity.

And swallowed she was as Mr. Copper closed the door behind them, shutting them off from all outside sound and light.

But this was not a heavy, cramped space, as she’d expected.

This front hall would rival that of any mansion in Mayfair, with a soaring ceiling, a wide, sweeping double staircase, and silk-covered walls.

But that was where the similarity ended.

There was nothing of the cold, sterile homes that the aristocracy used to show off their wealth.

No, this place appeared to be built on passion, the colors too rich, the materials too opulent, every line and curve seeming to have been formed by an artist bent on seduction.

As someone who had never allowed herself to explore that side of herself in all her two and thirty years, Heloise found that it fairly bombarded her senses, making her want to gasp for breath.

It felt as if Dionysus were a living, breathing monster and she had just willingly entered its gaping maw.

Before she could calm her overactive imagination and tell herself that she was being a silly ninny, Mr. Copper started off across the shining marble floor of the entrance hall, between the twin staircases, to another heavy door beyond.

He flung it wide, ushering them through.

To Heloise’s shock, the disconcertingly sensual hall was positively tame compared to this new room, which could only be described as the great, cavernous belly of the beast itself.

Their steps echoed on the highly polished dark wood of the floor as they crossed the space, bouncing off the empty tables, traveling to the vaulted ceilings.

A quick glance up and Heloise firmly expected to see the outline of a rib cage.

Instead she saw, just barely discernible by the dim lamplight, a bacchanalian scene of mythological revelry.

And the painted ceiling was not the only bit of excess to be found.

With opulent chandeliers that dripped like heavy constellations from the arched ceiling, walls that appeared papered in a rich red damask, furnishings of deep mahogany, and heavy velvet drapes hiding God knew what, this place was nothing short of extravagant.

They headed to one of the velvet curtains now, and the floor manager pulled it aside to reveal a sturdy, intricately carved door.

Even before he opened it, however, Heloise became aware of a deep rumble on the other side, like thunder, a sound that made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

But it was no such tame natural phenomenon waiting for them on the other side.

No, what was waiting was infinitely more treacherous, a collection of mismatched males who stood as they entered, each looking more dangerous than the last.

Goodness, but the owners of Dionysus were striking.

She’d done her research, of course, but even so she was not prepared for the combined allure of them.

They were not handsome in the same way, and one not handsome at all.

Yet each had his own special something that drew the eye, a magnetism that left Heloise tongue-tied.

How on God’s green earth could she hope to capture the attention of even one of them?

“Thank you, Copper,” the leanest of the four said, sending a flirtatious smile their way as Mr. Copper retreated. “And welcome, ladies. Please, make yourselves comfortable. We have tea coming momentarily.”

“Tea?” Laney said with a cheeky grin as she took a seat. “I did not know gaming hells had such innocuous drinks available.”

The man chuckled. “We have everything your heart could possibly desire. That is what we cater to, after all, the soul’s most secret desires.

” He raised a black eyebrow suggestively, his eyes heavy lidded in appreciation as he gazed at her.

“If you prefer, we can certainly supply something a bit more to your taste.”

“Oh, I have heard of you,” Laney said archly. “You must be Mr. Teagan.”

“I see my reputation precedes me,” he drawled, sinking into the seat beside Laney, clasping her hand in his.

“But what an honor, that the Mrs. Laney Finch knows who I am. I followed your career when I was a lad, and was lucky enough to witness you fight. It is an honor to have you in our establishment.”