This encounter had certainly taken a drastic turn he’d not anticipated. He’d assumed she’d ask for a few more pounds, a carriage for getting about, a new wardrobe. That she continued to hold his gaze indicated she was serious regarding her request.
“For what purpose?” he finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
She gave him a small, teasing smile. “To seduce.”
“I’m deadly serious, Miss Stanwick. Why would you ask this of me?”
He saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes. She set her sherry glass on a low table near the chair in which she’d been sitting, and then lifted her chin defiantly. “Because it will give me the freedom and the means to be my own woman.”
She took a step toward him. “You yearn to be free of your current circumstance. Help me gain what I desire.” Another step.
Everything within him urged him to move away, but he held his ground as she came near enough that the silk covering her bosom brushed up against the satin of his waistcoat. His hands, once relaxed against his arms, now gripped them with such intensity that he was certain to discover bruises later.
“You could show me how men like to be kissed—”
He’d failed to notice before how full her bottom lip was, what a plump cushion it would be. If he rounded his shoulders, lowered his head, he could take that mouth gently, tenderly at first. Then once she’d become accustomed to him, he’d take complete possession, and deepen the kiss.
“—touched—”
The gown revealed the upper swells of her breasts. He could dip a finger or his tongue between the hollow where they met. Stroke one breast, then the other.
“—held.”
Naked, on a bed. She couldn’t reach all of him, but her head to his shoulder, her feet to just below his knee, would suffice. Her breasts flattened against his chest. His large hands cupping her buttocks.
Taking hold of one end of his neck cloth, she pulled until the knot he’d carefully created earlier was no more. She gave a little tug that brought him a fraction nearer to her. “You could turn me into a man’s fantasy.”
How could she not realize that she had already achieved that goal? The temptation of her was almost more than he could stand.
Never taking her gaze from his, she splayed a palm against his chest where his heart thudded, and no doubt vibrated against her fingers. “You. You could teach me how to bring exquisite pleasure.”
But at what cost? Having had her, could he let her go?
Althea couldn’t believe she’d been so bold as to make such a demand of him. It amazed her that he could stand so still and give away nothing, not his thoughts nor his feelings. She wanted to be able to do that.
“I don’t think you’d find it a hardship to teach me.” She kept her voice low, a little raspy like Jewel’s, and could have sworn she heard his breath hitch slightly.
He lowered his head, and her lips tingled in anticipation of his mouth claiming hers. “The first lesson”—his voice was equally low, equally raspy—“is not to give anything too easily.”
When he stepped back, she stumbled forward, realizing too late that she’d been leaning into him, balancing herself against him. She’d been seeking to seduce him, and it seemed she’d been the one seduced. She might have been embarrassed if he’d gloated or given any indication that he knew the effect he’d had on her. But he merely studied her in that calm, assessing way he had.
Then his gaze went to her hand, still clutching one end of his neck cloth. She released it as though it had suddenly caught fire.
“I need more scotch for this discussion,” he said. “More sherry?”
At least he wasn’t dismissing her request completely out of hand. “Yes, please.”
After snatching up her small glass, he headed for the decanters. She lowered herself into the chair, glanced over at the fire, thinking the flames were probably cooler than her skin right now. She did hope she hadn’t turned a blotchy red beneath his studied stare.
He set her glass on the table beside her, and she wondered if he’d done so in order to avoid any risk of her touching him. His neck cloth was still dangling loose; he hadn’t bothered to retie it. She liked the look of him a bit mussed but could hardly countenance that she’d begun disrobing him. Whatever had come over her?
She took a sip of the sherry. She’d never had a libation this early in the day. Perhaps it had influenced her.
“Other ways exist to gain means and freedom.” He was settled back in the chair, keeping his distance from her, andshe feared she’d destroyed whatever easy comradery they’d finally established.
“It’s important I have a protector.” Otherwise, her brothers would continue to feel responsible for her. She was striving to free them as much as herself. “If I am accomplished, skilled at pleasuring, I will have a choice in selecting the one lord I will welcome into my bed, and can be particular regarding the man whose favors I will accept. To that end, I need to be one of the most sought-after courtesans in all of England. Which means I must have mastered seduction.”
“The occupation you are seeking is not an easy one. Why travel that path when you could be a governess, a lady’s companion, something respectable?”
