My Lord Vampire by Alexandra Ivy

As with all of her gowns, however, it possessed a high back that cupped the back of her neck. She could not afford to allow a sudden shift in the shimmering material to reveal the scars that she hid.
    “Yes, I am quite pleased with the material,” she murmured in satisfaction. “No doubt it has been smuggled into London, but it is far too lovely to go to waste.”
    “Will you trim it with the satin roses you purchased last week?” the maid demanded.
    Simone briefly considered the delicate gown, then gave a firm shake of her head.
    “No, they are too heavy for such a gown. I believe the seed pearls will be the best.”
    “A wise choice, my dear,” a darkly familiar voice complimented from the open French doors.
    Spinning about, Simone confronted the intruder with an exasperated frown. Attired yet again in black with a smoke-gray waistcoat and snowy white cravat and with his ebony hair tied at the nape of his neck he appeared annoyingly refreshed—while she knew that she was pale and her eyes shadowed from a sleepless night.
    The disturbance of having Mr. Soltern in her home, combined with Gideon’s abrupt departure had been unnerving enough without risking a return of the nightmares that had begun to plague her. She had spent most of the long night pacing the floor of her chamber, or peering out of her window with a disturbing sense that she was being watched by unseen eyes.
    She had hoped that a morning spent finishing the lovely ball gown would ease the tension that gripped her. There was something very relaxing in simply working with her hands. Now, she felt that foreboding returning.
    Gideon was trouble walking.
    Whenever he appeared her nerves were certain to be shredded and left raw. Not to mention the vague sense of danger he carried with him.
    And yet ...
    Yet, she could not deny a swirl of sheer excitement that raced through her as she met that midnight gaze. She suddenly felt more alive, more vibrantly aware of being a woman in his presence.
    He might be trouble, but she could not deny a burning desire to brand him as her own. She wanted to ensnare him to her will, and ensure he was incapable of walking away.
    It was all vastly confusing.
    “Gideon,” she forced herself to greet him as he calmly stepped into the room and regarded the piles of discarded material and scraps of lace. “It is customary to arrive at the front door and await to have yourself announced. Do you possess no sense of gentlemanly behavior at all?”
    He shrugged as he lifted his head to offer her a faint smile. “Very few.”
    Knowing it was impossible to shame him into leaving, Simone waved a hand toward the curious maid. She did not wish her servants to realize she was nearly always at the mercy of this arrogant gentleman.
    “That will be all, Daisy.”
    With a longing glance toward the fiercely handsome gentleman the maid gave a swift curtsy.
    “Yes, my lady.”
    Waiting until they were alone, Simone folded her arms around her waist.
    “Well, now that you are here, what do you want?”
    Rather than answering her question Gideon reached out pale fingers to lightly stroke the satin of her ball gown.
    “Quite striking. You will be breathtaking in this, of course. The obvious question is why.”
    She frowned at his low words. “What?”
    The dark gaze abruptly rose. “Clearly you have a fortune to lavish upon yourself. Why would you choose to sew your gowns as if you were a pauper?”
    Simone determinedly kept her features expressionless. She had managed to keep her lack of a modiste a secret since coming to London. She could not allow all her efforts to be ruined now.
    “It is a task I enjoy.”
    He dismissed her words with an elegant wave of his hand. “I do not doubt you enjoy the task, you are very talented, but that does not explain why you would willingly perform such a menial chore. Ladies such as yourself are very careful to maintain the image of utter leisure.”
    Her jaw set at his unwelcome probing. Unlike most