Read Online The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella by Dorian Mayfair - Free Book Online Page B

lit a fire inside her. No woman should be allowed to be so tantalizing. The flames she had sparked in Jany would rage until they were released, but for now, she would only gaze up at the baroness in wonder.
    “So have no fear,” the baroness assured her. “I shall tell no one. But I’m afraid I have asked you to come here for a much darker task.”
    Grateful to change the subject, Jany rose again. “The maid,” she guessed.
    “You are a clever woman, so I will be direct.” The baroness nodded towards the bed across the room. “The vampire’s mark is evident on the maid’s throat. Unless the curse is removed, she is doomed. It is awful, and getting involved is foolish, but I simply cannot stand around and watch her die. I was hoping there is an alternative.”
     Jany glanced at the woman on the bed and wondered if she understood what the baroness was hinting at. “She must know love,” she said. The words sounded strange to her, as if spoken by someone else.
    “Exactly.” The baroness’s expression turned irritated. “Unfortunately, I cannot grant her that.” When Jany looked up sharply, the baroness nodded and continued. “Yes,” she said. “The maid is one of us. She showed me some attention earlier today, and even though she is a common servant, I was flattered. Such a delicate, beautiful creature. Her advances were both pleasing and, I will admit, stirring.”
    The baroness’s expression turned angered. “Then this happened,” she said. “Now she is set to burn at the hands of that filthy man and his awful cage. Unless, of course, she can be rid of this macabre disease.”
    Jany nodded numbly. It was easy to see what the baroness was suggesting. Someone would have to make love to the woman. And if it was true that the maid’s heart was shaped like Jany’s, it had to be another woman.
    “Sadly,” the baroness said, “I can never be the one to set the maid free. Someone else will have to do the grim task.” Pausing, the baroness looked Jany’s in her eyes and lowered her voice to a whisper. “And this is why I called you here.”
    Jany was speechless. Usually, she prided herself in her reasoning; she could often see details and clues long before the police noticed them. Sometimes she even had to help them along to see how a murder or theft had happened. But this twist had been more violent than she had expected. Reeling from the sudden turn, she swallowed and lowered her eyes.
    “I don’t know what to say,” Jany whispered. The idea of undressing and joining the maid in the bed fanned the flames of her desire until her skin burned. Taking advantage of the poor woman was depraved and cruel, but her lust cared nothing for right or wrong. Tension was beginning to wear down Jany’s defences and give way to her suppressed needs.
    There was a beautiful woman nearby, and if the baroness was right, someone had to make love to her. And to her astonishment, the idea of doing this, while the maid was bound to her hands and feet, turned the fire in Jany into a powerful blaze.
    But it was still a terrible thing to do. She had to get out of this situation, and for that, she needed to steer the topic away from herself. “How come you are unwilling to sleep with – I mean, to save the maid?” she asked.
    “Not unwilling,” the baroness said. “Unable. If I could, I would not hesitate for a moment.”
    “But why?” Jany insisted, not caring that it was improper to press the baroness.
    The baroness turned away and started at the fire in the hearth. “You will think that I am awfully old-fashioned,” she said. “Misguided, even.”
    “Absolutely not!”
    The baroness was silent, then spoke in a weak voice. “Very well,” she said. “But you will not pass on what I say, or I will be extremely dissatisfied.”
    “You have my word,” Jany said quickly, and she meant it. When aristocrats were ‘dissatisfied’, sensible people ran for cover.
    Nodding in acceptance, the baroness turned to face