Has he ever even had sex before?She groaned. That thought definitely did not help. Now she could imagine introducing him to all the joys of sex, that eager gaze absorbing everything.
Not since Charles was alive had her body sung this much. Her rare self-induced orgasms were foothills compared to the mountain of this onslaught of desire. Her body had fully awakened—for a rakelet, no less.
Why this completely unsuitable young man could breach her walls and test her control, she could not fathom. Alone in her room, she was too tired to fight it. She rolled to her stomach then rolled back with a sigh. The best way to alleviate this was self-pleasure. It would not take long tonight, at least.
Sitting, she drew her nightrail up and over her head before lying back. Propping her feet on the bed, she spread them wide.
She pinched her nipple with one hand and slid the other down her belly to pet her nether lips, smoothing over them a few times before parting them to dip in to the wetness created from her daydreams.
Giving in entirely, she pictured William, cravatless, unlacing his shirt to show a firmly muscled chest. Hands still tied, they dropped to the fall of his breeches, peeling them away from his cock as it sprang free, pointing right at her as it dripped with readiness.
Moaning under her breath, she gathered her moisture on a finger and dragged it up to the tight bundle of nerves just above to make slow circles. She arched a bit as pleasure zinged through her. It had been a year since feeling like this. Lord, she missed Charles. Her hand stilled at the thought. But her body was too primed, it needed release.
She rubbed, dipping in to wet her finger every few strokes. Her flesh swelled and heated under her touch, becoming more sensitive. She imagined Charles’s face between her thighs, waiting for her permission to lick and suck. When she closed her eyes, though, she gasped. William’s face had replaced her husband’s in the vision, dark eyes eager as ever. Mouth agape, panting, hot breath against her sensitive flesh.
She conjured his spiced rum deliciousness layered over the thick scent of her arousal. Her eyes slid open, head turning as her hips bucked and her orgasm built beneath her hand. Imagined he was there in the window frame, silhouetted against the darkness, front lit from her candles. His gaze roamed her naked form end to end, silently begging.
She murmured, “Watch and learn, rakelet.”
His response was to scramble over the windowsill.
* * * *
What in the world?Conjured images were not that uncoordinated, nor did they make that much noise. He almost fell on his face getting over the casing.
Sitting up, she grabbed one of her many pillows and held it in front of her. Her embarrassment at being caught performing such an act was tempered by her fury at him invading her privacy. This was beyond bold, even for him.
Belle’s voice whispered in her head, “You invited him in.”
Ignoring it, she focused on the fact that he should never have been at her window to begin with. “Lord Stanton! What do you think you are doing?”
“’Tis William.” He grinned at her unapologetically. “I’m obeying your command, Mistress P. Watching and learning. Please proceed.”
Oh no. He was not the one who would give orders in this bedroom. Nor would she be swayed by his pretty words like “please” and “obey.” He’d climbed the trellis just as Belle had imagined and was in her bedroom! The audacity, the rudeness—he wanted to watch? A lingering spurt of arousal shot through her at the idea.
He continued to stare at her from where he’d frozen a few feet in from the window.
Did he like what he saw?
Focus, Char. You have a strange man in your bedroom.
Yes, but he obeys orders, at least sometimes.
She clicked her teeth together. He needed to obey the rules of civility. She snapped, “Turn around.”
He whirled.
Ignoring the skip of her heart at his alacrity in obeying that command, she reached for her nightrail and tugged it over her head.
Gnashing her teeth, she needed to send him away. Her anger ebbed, replaced by mortification. He’d not only seen her near-decade-older body naked, this near-stranger had witnessed her self-pleasure. No matter how satisfied she was with her looks, and how beautiful he said he found her, she looked quite different than girls his age. Grasping at her anger again, she whisper-yelled, “Get out! How dare you climb into my bedroom without permission.”
He turned back, his mouth turning down when he saw she was covered. “Mistress. Your statement implied consent, as I was struggling to see enough to learn from there. Would it help if you tied me again, so I do not disobey…?”
Still fighting the burst of pleasure from his inability to look away, she was undone. His words evoked images that shoved the last of her anger and embarrassment aside. Heat flared in her, igniting her sex again, nipples hardening to stiff points.
Oh God, him tied close enough to watch but not allowed to touch.
William must have noticed her reaction, as he stepped forward and asked, “Mistress, pray continue so that I may learn. Please?”
