Page 89 of Love and the Shameless Lady

Chapter 14

Daisy shoved herself off Julian’s lap and stood.

“What . . .?” He stood as well. What had he just said?

She turned away. “I can’t. I don’t have the stamina. I don’t know how other women put up with it.”

Slowly, he exhaled. So far, it seemed that her former lover had hurt her and spent a long time about it. “Daisy, before we do anything, you’ll have to tell me exactly what went wrong with your smuggler. Otherwise, anything I say may set you off.”

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Then she nodded.

“Good.” Julian shucked his coat. “Let’s get into bed and lie together, just holding one another. That’s as important as lovemaking. In fact, it is lovemaking, in its own way.”

“How can that possibly be?”

“Because we can cuddle with one another all night, every night.” Quickly, he added, “If we want to, that is. It’s one way of showing by our very closeness how much we love one another.”

“That sounds . . . cozy. And very pleasant.” But she didn’t loosen her hold on herself.

“Lovemaking is by nature a . . .” He was getting tired of walking on thin ice. “A more vigorous but perfunctory activity.”

Perfunctory. That sounded good, but hard to believe.“Truly?” She wasn’t hugging herself quite so tightly now.

He put his arms around her, and slowly hers slackened and came around him.

“This is delightful,” he said.

It was indeed delightful, Daisy decided, or would be if she weren’t so anxious. She tried to concentrate on the pleasurable aspects of hugging Julian. His warmth, his strength, his male aroma, mingled just now with the smell of the outdoors.

But this wasn’t the same as before, when he’d held her for comfort . . .

Well, he was doing that now, but in anticipation of the aforesaid vigorous activity. Which he more or less promised would be over with quickly.

But not if she didn’t tell him all about Reggie.

Abruptly, he let go and swept her off her feet. She laughed, astonished at how much she liked it. He carried her to the bed, set her on the edge, and removed the flannel-wrapped brick Mrs. Reams had so solicitously put under the coverlet. “We’ll be cozy enough without that.” He motioned her to move over, and she felt like a fool. She wasn’t a baby, needing instructions for everything, and yet she felt frozen inside, unable to do anything without encouragement.

He climbed in next to her, supporting his head on one elbow, and smiled down at her. “One step at a time, love.” He leaned in and kissed her.

Oh, such pleasure. The warmth of his lips, his hot breath, the sensual flicker of his tongue. Longing coursed through her. She put an arm about him and moved closer. They kissed and kissed, and she pressed her body against his, savoring the sensation of her breasts against his chest.

She needed to feel his arousal, to get used to the idea that he would put it inside her, for she had already decided she would not back out of this from fear. She wrapped her leg across him and encountered the bulge of his hard cock. It sent a bolt of anxiety through her . . . and yet, her privates began to throb.

They’d throbbed with Reggie, too. At first.

She broke the kiss. She would have to deal with Julian’s cock soon, but he was right. For his sake, she should explain herself.

She sat up and set a couple of pillows against the headboard, and invited him to join her. It gave her an illusion of control.

“We didn’t have anything in common but lust,” she said.

“Not an unusual reason for sexual intercourse,” he murmured.

“And although I encouraged the gossip that says I seduced him, I think it was equal on both sides. I couldn’t abide the thought that people would feel sorry for me afterwards. I preferred to acknowledge my misbehavior out loud and in defiance of everyone.”

He grinned. “A family trait, perhaps?”

She couldn’t help a small smile. “We have a long line of scandalous ancestors, and the present generation is much the same. Even Gloriana, for all her obsession with propriety, is the most contrary person I know.”