Licking his lips, William put them behind her ear, and trailed them down the side of her neck. With a shudder of pleasure, she remained still, her hands on his shoulders, allowing this touch without permission. His punishments were wickedly fun for both of them, and she swore half the time he deliberately misbehaved to earn them.
Tracing the wide edge of her gown, his lips paused a mere inch from her nipple to tug on the neckline. When her bare breast popped into view, his head reared back a little, and she could hear a guttural whisper of, “Oh, Mistress.”
Then his lips were on her nipple and the warmth that had flared at the first touch of his lips exploded into a fireball, pulsing in her belly. She shivered again. Then realized her reaction was in part because he’d drawn her skirts up, catching them against his knee to pull them further with a second tow. His fingers skimmed the skin above her stocking.
She moaned. However, being seen in public together and being caught disheveled and rumpled coming from a room together would cause very different gossip. The first, she was willing to handle. The second she was not ready for. That thought doused her desire, and she put her hands on his chest, pressing into the door at her back. “William, no. Not here, please.”
He whined a little in his throat, making her smile at the puppy-like sound. At last, he raised his head, letting her skirts drop. His gaze roamed over her before he tugged her gown back up, covering her wet, rosy, stiff nipple.
“Come, let us mingle for a bit, then I will have you at my mercy.”
“Yes, Mistress.” He sounded grumpy, but complied, stepping away and adjusting his trousers.
He held the door for her.
Charlotte had not thought to ask him to check that the hallway was clear.
It was not. Two young men from the pile of rakelet puppies in the ballroom lingered in the hallway at the edge of the ballroom.
One glanced at her then past her to nod. She realized the youths were about William’s age and knew him. The man’s gaze slid back to her, and his eyes widened. He dug his elbow into his companion’s side without finesse.
Fighting panic, Charlotte stiffened her spine, raised her head, and marched past them as though she did not see them. Beyond them, she slowed her gait to hear their greeting to William.
“Stanton, well done. That dame looks good for her age.”
Another voice added, “Come, gents. She’s a tempting armful, but you can do better than an older widow, if you want to sneak off to the library for some action.”
She fled, not waiting to hear William’s response. Would anything he said make a difference?
No one wanted to be the target of gossip, but having already held a title, she understood the ramifications. Her fears were not only for her reputation, but William’s. He needed to maintain relationships among his peers in order to stay abreast of Parliamentary activities that could help or hurt his financial holdings.
Separate from all of that was her hurt. Call it pride, call it vanity, but the young men’s disparaging comments sent shafts of pain through her. His mother’s presence meant that she would hear about this, thus William was likely to be caught between them again.
Why had she agreed to continue until next Season? All this pain and fear would only worsen each time this sort of thing happened, and for what? They still had an expiration date.
* * * *
Needing time to regain perspective, she told him she had a megrim and needed to go home and sleep it off—alone.
When the butler came in to announce a visitor the next morning, she assumed it would be William.
“My lady, the Countess of Harrington is here. Shall I show her in?”
“The—what?”
“The—”
She shook her head. “I heard you. I am just shocked.”
Could she decline the countess? No, better to get this over with.
“Show her in, please, and have the kitchen bring a tea tray.”
Violet skirts rustled as Ruth stepped in behind Austin, coming forward to clasp hands with Charlotte and exchange cheek kisses. Charlotte was glad she’d chosen one of her nicer day dresses in a moss green.
“Ruth.” She couldn’t very well say it was an unexpected pleasure, so she settled on, “’Tis lovely to see you. How are you?”
“Charlotte, thank you for seeing me without notice. I’ve been well, dear. How have you been?”
