He stood still before her, eyes slowly drinking in the sight of her. His fingers twitched, a muscle in his jaw worked, and his lips hung open. When he raised his gaze to her, she saw his emotions move swiftly from shock to confusion and finally, desire.

Satisfied with the effect she had on him, a small smile played on the edges of Gloria's lips.

She wasn't ready for a divorce, not now anyway. And she wanted Howard to know just how much she was willing to sacrifice to stay in the marriage, at least until she achieved her goal of getting married.

She watched in satisfaction as he slowly made his way to where she stood by the door. Eyes scanning his face as he moved, she stood there in anticipation of the victory she was guaranteed to have.

He leaned forward, and his cologne filled her nostrils. His warm breath tickled her ears, causing tiny goose pimples to break out on her skin while a strange shiver ran down her spine. It was a wave of emotion that shocked, yet thrilled, her. She stood, waiting for him to make his move, perhaps even desiring it. But after a few seconds of waiting, he still stood there, breathing against her neck.

Impatiently, she reached forward and pressed her palm against his bare chest, the warmth of it causing a soft sigh to escape her lips. Pulling her eyelids shut, she blindly ran her palm up his chest.

"You don't have to do this." He grabbed her wandering hand, forcing her eyelids to pull apart.

She stared wide-eyed at him and swallowed the lump that was now clogging her throat.

"What?" she murmured.

"You don't have to do this. This is not your job, Gloria!"

Stunned, she gawked at him as he released his grip on her. His resistance and lack of interest in her rendered her speechless and utterly shocked. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, horrified. Her horror came from a place of fear, fear that she was losing her sense of control.

Howard leaned down then, gathering her dress and dragging it up her form until she was once again fully clad. He held the fabric to her chest, and taking her shaky hand, he pressed it against the fabric to keep it in place.

Without a word, he released his hold on her and walked past her.

Her heart pounded wildly in her chest as she listened to him slam the door shut behind her. The feeling of rejection washed over her, sending a chilly shiver down her spine as shame clung to her.

*

It was a while before Gloria got over Howard's rejection — two days. But it was a fact Gloria would never admit to. She'd die before she would admit to the fact that a man rejected her body or that his rejection left her feeling ashamed.

No!

Gloria was a prostitute who took pride in her profession and just because a man could behold her stark naked and still resist her, did not negate the fact that she was desirable; it just meant Howard had a problem. Which was why she wasn't offended when he took his belongings and moved into another room. If avoiding her was his decision, fine! She'd never beg! Never! She'd stay married for one year and not having to look at Howard the entire time would make her job a lot easier and a lot less unpleasant.

She tucked the last strand of her hair into her tight bun before turning to her drawer to retrieve her dress. Slipping into the pink cotton masterpiece, she stared at her perfect image in the mirror. She could tell just by running her hands down the classy fabric that it had cost the Sullivan men a lot of money.

Gloria was getting used to living a life of comfort and wealth, an experience that didn't require her to earn her comfort through devious means.

She reached for the gold choker necklace that sat on the dresser. She placed it on her neck and offered her breathtaking image one last look; she was perfect. Her beauty had caused many prominent men to fall. Heck, her beauty caused the fall of the entire town of San Francisco. Yet Howard, the man she was married to, had somehow withstood it.

Deciding she wasn't going to focus on such nonsense, she pushed her bedroom door open and made her way through the house. She was walking past the entryway to the living when a voice stopped her.

"Heading out?"

Turning around, she found Howard seated on a sofa in the living room, his gaze resting on her. She placed her hands on her hips and offered him a small smile.

"You look beautiful, Gloria."

His words both surprised and filled her with a tingling feeling on the inside. She frowned, annoyed by her reaction to his words.

"Very well, Howard, if you need me, I'll be spending my day on a tree." She made to walk past again.

"And your night?"

She paused in her tracks. Was he finally interested? A coy smile settled on her face. Straightening, she turned to offer him a welcoming smile. "My night is wide open." She raised a teasing brow.

"Good. We have been invited to the annual ball tonight."

He didn't want her body. Disappointment washed over her at the thought. She nearly kicked herself for feeling that way about his rejection yet again.

With a sigh, she said, "Why am I being informed so late in the day?"

"The invitation came two months ago, Gloria. We weren't married. My intention was to have Father go with me." He frowned slightly. "Obviously, to get out of it, Father insists he isn't feeling well, and I cannot back down now, not when I have already passed across my intention to attend."

A frown settled on Gloria's face at the mention of Stuart. She couldn't say she had spent a lot of time with him since the dinner two nights ago and she knew his health was getting worse. She saw the way his hands trembled as he tried to handle a fork. She would have to see about Stuart later.

"Alright, I'll go." She nodded.

Perhaps if Howard saw the way other men swooned around her — because she'd be sure to make them all swoon and bow — he'd want her, too.

She turned from her position by the doorway. If she didn't already know herself, she'd think she was desperate for Howard's attention. But she did know herself, and Gloria Grande had and would never be desperate for a man.