Page 29 of London Dynasty

“Yes?” I prompted as we whirled past a group of onlookers who whispered as we passed.

“I didn’t expect you to be a virgin,” he admitted.

I stiffened in his arms, my eyes fluttering away from his. It wasn’t as though I had no experience with men, and I wasn’t certain why it seemed to matter so much. When it came down to it, I think I was more bothered by the fact that it seemed obvious to everyone. “Do I have a tattoo of virgin stamped on my back somewhere?”

“It was a hunch, which you just confirmed,” he admitted.

Of course, I had. There was something about Spencer that seemed to find its way under my skin. He was an itch I couldn’t scratch, and the longer he lingered, the deeper the itch burrowed into parts of me I wasn’t sure were reachable.

“I’m actually quite turned on by it,” he said.

“Really?” I craned my face back to his, unable to hide how his words made me cringe. “I don’t really see why it matters. It’s not a defining fact of my existence. Just something that is true for the moment—like being a certain age or having braces.”

Spencer’s perfect lips twitched, restraining another smile, but it danced in his eyes. “I suppose it’s leftover from some primal urge to possess and protect the female. You’ll have to forgive the primitive bits lurking in my DNA.”

“I guess I don’t understand what men find so fascinating about virgins. All I know is that I won’t enjoy my first time, it will hurt, and …” I trailed off before I could confess the truth: I was dreading it. I’d never met a man who made me want to face that rite of passage. Eliza had told me about her first time once. She’d laughed about it, but it sounded terrible to me.

“Is that what you think?” He pulled me a little closer, dipping his head so that his lips were near my ear. “I can only speak for myself, but knowing that no other man has penetrated you—been inside you—is consuming my every thought. Knowing that you saved the most intimate parts of yourself for me makes me so hard. That’s why you waited, isn’t it?”

His breath tickled across my ear lobe, sending a jolt of awareness through me. My eyes fluttered closed, and I soaked up the way he made me feel with his strong body pressed against mine, his hand holding me protectively. We continued to waltz, the music shifting to a rhythmic pulse in the background. I was dimly aware of the eyes on us even with my own closed. Each step we took, each turn we made, each word we exchanged was part of some esoteric ritual. We were binding ourselves to each other for all of London society to see, but beneath the ceremony of the moment, something else was stirring inside me.

Spencer spoke as if I’d made a conscious effort to wait for him—the man destined to marry Kerrigan Belmond for years. He had no idea that I’d never thought of him before this week, so how could he be right? Because as his question lingered in my thoughts, I kept returning to the same inexplicable answer: “Yes.”

There was a slight vibration in his chest as though the single word had roused more of that primal beast inside him. He managed to keep it locked away, but I sensed it there, hiding behind the sophisticated demeanor and expensive tuxedo. I shivered as I considered what it would be like to unlock Spencer’s cage and set him free.

“I won’t make you wait much longer,” he promised. He straightened and I missed the heat of his breath on my flesh and the closeness of his body. The music began to fade, and our pace slowed. “Kerrigan?”

My eyes snapped open to meet his green ones. They pierced through me, already penetrating me in ways I’d never experienced before.

“Don’t be scared,” he murmured, still holding me in his arms. “Your pleasure is my pleasure, and I promise you’ll enjoy every minute of it.”

I lost count of the times my fingers found themselves between my legs that night. Memories of the sensations Spencer had introduced me to kept me in a state of low, insatiable need. He’d told me that I would think of him and whether that was merely an idea he planted in my mind or the unavoidable truth, I thought of nothing else until I was too exhausted to keep my eyes open. I awoke the next morning, covered in sweat with the naked lower half of my body twisted in the sheets. I’d dreamed of him—dreamed of his mouth and hands on me. I felt a thrilling dread and ravenous ache as he moved to claim me. But every time his body covered mine, the dream shifted leaving me unsatisfied.

Sitting up, I grabbed my mobile and checked the time, surprised to see that it was so early in the morning. Dawn streamed through the windows, and I realized that I’d forgotten to draw them last night when I went to bed. I’d been too turned on to think of anything else but relief.

Despite the early hour, I found myself too high-strung to fall back asleep, so I wandered into the attached bath. After washing off a few lingering remnants of make-up I’d been too distracted to see to last night, I knotted my hair up and turned on the shower. The water felt good on my skin as I reached for a bar of soap and lathered it in my hand. Sliding my hand between my legs, I washed away the wet heat that had built there overnight and did my best to ignore the thrum of longing that remained. I was beginning to understand that there was only one way to deal with the way Spencer had gotten under my skin. The itch I’d felt—the one too deep to reach—could only be relieved by one thing. Something he promised to give me even as he made me wait.

I closed my eyes and let the water wash over me as I processed the subtle shift that had taken place overnight. When I’d agreed to take Kerrigan’s place, I had decided I was willing to sleep with Spencer. It was a part of the arrangement I hadn’t lingered over. It made me feel dirty like I’d sold my soul for the money Tod Belmond had dangled over me. But last night, that had changed.

I wanted to sleep with Spencer. Every part of me yearned to be in his bed. I longed for him to make good on the dirty promises he had made.

By the time I stepped out of the shower and dried off, my arousal had ticked up again, reminding me that I never managed to quench the desire I felt.

I explored the closet, somewhat relieved to have the space to myself without Giles or Iris picking out options and overseeing every choice. I’d barely paused to look at Kerrigan’s intimates yesterday. Now I opened every drawer and reveled in the delicate lace and skimpy garments I discovered. While Kerrigan didn’t own many white gowns, she had a surprising array of white lace undergarments. I found myself drawn to them, imagining myself stretched across Spencer’s bed in nothing else but the white lingerie, a symbol of the final offering of my innocence.

I chose a matching set in a dainty white mesh that had roses embroidered across the cup of the bra and along the waistband of the thong-style knickers. Perhaps, Kerrigan had picked her outfits starting with her shoes, but I found myself inclined to start here. Iris had told me that what a woman wore was her armor. It seemed to me that what I wore beneath was mine.

I did, however, begin choosing the rest of my ensemble with my shoes. Opting for a pair of canary-yellow Louboutins that laced at the ankle, I placed them on the stool and went from there. It was surprisingly easy to employ her method. The shoes were a statement that had to be matched but not overwhelmed. A few minutes later, I’d decided on a pair of wide-legged silk pants in a bold floral print that had pops of yellow and a cropped silk tank in a deep, complementary blue. The high waist of the pants revealed only a sliver of skin and paired with the shoes were just the right length.

Opening Kerrigan’s jewelry drawer, I paused, momentarily struck that every item in it was real. Real gold. Real silver. Real diamonds. I’d been entrusted with all of it.

“In a year, you can have real jewelry, too,” I reminded myself. It was mind-boggling to consider I might be glimpsing my future.

I opted for a simple pair of gold hoops and a necklace with a golden lock pendant. As I exited, I heard a faint knock.

“Come in,” I called, expecting Giles.

Iris peeked inside and her eyes widened. “You’re already dressed!”