The Song Bird (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Online Free PDF

you were lying.”
    “Then I don’t need to answer the question.”
    The flash of white from his smile showed genuine amusement. Eli brushed his lips against her skin before letting go of her arm and stepping away. She felt the slight kiss all the way to her soul.
    “And no answer at all is, of course, all the answer I need,” he murmured. He winked at her, then turned and walked away without once looking back at her.
     
    * * * *
     
    Still contemplating the odd yet disturbing exchange she’d had with Eli Masters, Avilon went to the auditorium. Yesterday she had been so focused on accomplishing her mission, as well as performing in front of strangers, she had missed how intimate the room felt. Since no chandelier hung in the room, oil wall sconces were spaced evenly around the walls, and candles were placed on every table to provide a sensual mood for the patrons.
    The theater platform lay higher than the tables, with a set of small stairs to the right. A blood-red velvet curtain framed the area in heavy scallops with gold fringe hanging along the edges. The piano sat off to the side, in front of the drapes.
    Avilon took the stairs up to the platform and stared out, eyeing the empty room, trying to envision it filled with the raucous cacophony of men too deep in their cups, and wondered why Eli Masters thought they would want to hear opera. She took a deep breath. She had sat in the audience of many performances, the last one being La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice. She had heard the first performance had been jeered and ridiculed, so Verdi had revised some of it, and she couldn’t imagine a more wonderful piece of music. She and Aunt Verity had decided to travel to Vienna to hear it again when they had received the news of Cousin Odell’s passing.
    Now she stood in a disrespectable gaming club, about to perform the same piece of music she and her aunt had loved, and a flash of shame poured through her. Ruthlessly, she pushed it aside. She had no time for any type of remorse or regret. The only family she had left needed her, and she’d be damned if she let anything stand in her way.
    Turning, she moved offstage and saw a door. Curious, she opened it to a dark dressing room. A small vanity stood along one wall with a velvet-lined bench tidily pushed into the table. Above the vanity hung a large mirror, slightly fogged with age. A well-worn chaise lounge and an armoire completed the furniture.
    The heavy footfalls on the stairs had her turning to see Jason Braddock walking toward her. He held up a lantern.
    “Would you like some light?”
    “Thank you,” she murmured and stood aside as he walked into the room and placed the lantern on the vanity table. He pulled out a small cylinder container of lucifers and proceeded to light the lantern before laying them down next to the lantern.
    “Now you’ll be able to see as you get ready,” he murmured, looking her up and down. “Is that the only garment you have?”
    “What’s wrong with my dress?”
    “Nothing. If you’re getting ready to join a cloister.” He raised his hand when she opened her mouth to correct him. “Yes, I know you’re not. Lucky for you there’s a dressing room full of acceptable dresses.”
    “There is?”
    “In the armoire. Go ahead and take a look,” he said and took her arm to gently guide her toward the wardrobe.
    Avilon felt her heart stutter at his touch and then race like a runaway horse. Thoughts flooded her mind, scorching-hot visions that made her breath catch in her throat as she suddenly envisioned her and Jason. Together. Naked.
    She removed her arm from his hand. He gave her a knowing look, as if he were very aware of her thoughts. Warmth suffused her cheeks, and she turned away from him to hide her embarrassment.
    Avilon opened the armoire door and saw a collection of colors. Dresses bunched on top of each other, spilling forward like a rainbow. Slowly, one by one, she started pulling the