One Night of Sin (Mansforth Chronicles Book 1)

Lilliana nearly dropped her ruby earring on the vanity as Giovanni Tousseau shouted her name, making the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She could practically smell the putrid smell of stale whiskey on him all the way from across the room, a fact that had not gone unnoticed by herself, nor anyone else in the theater company. The man was an absolute cad and a drunken fool. And a whole host of other things Lilliana did not care to think about at this precise moment. All she knew was that if she played her cards right, only three performances remained before she would have enough coin to open her very own bookshop.

And at present, that dream was precisely the only thing that stood in the way of her boxing Giovanni’s ears.

“Lilliana!” he barked, racing towards her. “I do not wish to see you in this ensemble ever again!” He gestured wildly, flailing his hands through the air as he waved at her breasts. “This is simply a travesty!”

Lilliana stared at him blankly as she grappled with her words. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me!” he roared. “This bodice does not fit at all the way I had envisioned it!”

Lilliana stood motionless as Giovanni’s hand grabbed at the bodice, pulling it so low the taut peaks of her breasts nearly spilled out. “This is where the wardrobe designer should’ve had it, and I told you as much three weeks ago when it came back from alterations! Why did you not instruct them as I told you?”

Lilliana bit back the retort that threatened to spill from her lips. Oh, there were a great many things she would like to say at this precise moment! But she valued her life. And her dreams.

And she would simply not conceive of doing anything that would jeopardize either one of those things.

She forced her eyes shut, not willing to let herself see the callous way in which he’d fondled the gown.

“Look at me when I speak to you, damn it! Why did you not see to it that this was remedied?”

“I was rather busy rehearsing my lines,” she said coolly. “Perhaps you have forgotten the entire purpose of a play.”

Giovanni eyed her warily. “I do not need a lecture from a wanton little wench such as yourself!”

Lilliana’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. He, nor anyone else for that matter, had the slightest idea of her integrity.

And did not take kindly to such despicable accusations!

“Ah, yes, Mister Tousseau, but as you see, the more one is subjected to perpetual brow-beatings, the less likely they are to stay in your presence.”

Sheer, vehement rage zipped through Giovanni as he grabbed her by the shoulders. “Do not dare threaten me, you filthy whore!” he spat. “I can ruin your career in a heartbeat!”

Lilliana should not have been stunned by his behavior. The man was an utter lout if she had ever seen one. But she did not back down from a challenge.

And she simply would not tolerate such blatantly cruel remarks.

A loud thwack echoed through the air as her palm smacked against his jaw, and Giovanni froze, holding his hand to his face as he stared at her in bewilderment.

That no good, rotten whore! How dare she lay so much as a finger on him when he had given her so much!

Pure hatred filled his eyes, and he lunged at her, clawing at her gown as she started for the door. That wretched woman would not have the last word, nor the last blow if he could help it! He’d follow her to the ends of the Earth just to make her pay!

And pay she would, for all the damages he would incur with her not presenting herself on his stage!

Lilliana’s heart beat frantically in her chest as she flung the door open and shouted wildly in the hallway. Life was moving at the speed of sound now, her world a vibrant, blurry sea of color as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Somehow, some way, she had to escape. It didn’t matter now that she’d be the pariah of the acting world as a whole. She would not submit like an obedient slave, nor would she allow herself to continue being the object of such a vile man’s obsession. Those days were over, and, perhaps, her career was, too, at this point. One of those horrors she could survive from.

But the other would most assuredly not leave her unscathed. Not if Giovanni could help it.

Sheer terror pulsated through her veins as her feet pounded against the floor, dodging and weaving through the theater’s corridors. And whether or not her cast mates understood the mayhem going on around them, she did not care. She would leave this place and never look back.

Even if that meant she would likely never grace any stage again.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she collided with something hard. Or rather, someone hard, and for one finite moment in time, the world seemed to stop as she realized she’d run straight into a gentleman at the end of the hall.

And he was simply refusing to make way for her!

“I’m terribly sorry, sir,” she panted, “but I must—”

“Do you always make a habit of scampering down corridors?” he asked bemusedly.

Lilliana stared into his eyes with sheer disbelief, seething silently as he mocked her. Damn this infuriating, impenetrable man! Handsome as he was, she did not have time for his antics, nor did she have time for his wit.

“I am dreadfully sorry, but I have no time to explain!” she cried.

He stepped closer to her, and Lilliana’s back pressed against the wall as he lowered his voice. “Well, I’m afraid you have me quite curious as to where you are off to in such a hurry.”

Lilliana’s nostrils flared in irritation. “I do not believe that is any of your concern. Now, please, let me go. I’m terribly afraid that I—”

All coherent thought escaped her mind as Giovanni appeared behind the stranger, his eyes boiling with rage as he glowered down at her. How the devil he had arrived in this corridor, Lilliana could not begin to fathom. But he was indeed here.

And ready to strike.

“Look out!” she yelled.

Braxton turned to see a brooding, dark-haired man behind him. “Ah! I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of making your acquaintance,” he said coolly. “Then again, I do not generally associate with the likes of men who take pleasure in harassing women, so perhaps that is why we have not been introduced.”

Giovanni’s eyes widened in agitation. “Do not presume to know the situation with this dreadful little bitch!”

Braxton’s jaw tensed as he steadied the man’s countenance. Foolish men rarely faced repercussions for their actions. But it was Braxton’s lucky day, he supposed. It had been quite sometime since he’d had an opportunity to lower a man down a peg or two.

And as for the stranger…

Well, he was on the verge of having a very unlucky day.

With a single blow, Braxton’s fist collided with the stranger’s jaw, sending him stumbling backwards into the opposite wall, and with a swift kick, Braxton finished the job, landing a well-placed kick to the groin. With that sort of aim, he’d bought himself and the lady a few minutes, at least.

But what he didn’t know was that, quite possibly, he had bought this lovely lady’s freedom for good.