Page 38 of Watching the Earl

Suddenly, the cool air of the room brushed her legs from behind and she broke the kiss. But instead of stepping back, he continued to lift her shift from her body.

“Husband, what are you doing?”

He stopped, holding the shift at her waist. “I’m disrobing you so we can make love.”

That wasn’t how Ashfield had done it, but Philip was her husband, so maybe he preferred it that way. “Of course.” She lifted her arms, and he pulled the shift from over her head.

She froze, except to rub her thumbs over her fingers, while he turned away to lay the shift over a chair nearby. When he turned back, she stared at his feet and held her breath, knowing he’d be disappointed.

When he didn’t say anything for the longest time, she looked up to find his gaze roaming over her body. She wasn’t sure if it was his lack of a grimace or the way his gaze kept coming back to the juncture of her thighs that had a strange need growing between her legs.

“You’re beautiful, like Gustave Courbet’s Woman with a Parrot painting.”

She knew many paintings from taking classes under Lady Sommerset, but that one she didn’t know. She wished she did, as now she didn’t know what to say.

Fortunately, he didn’t wait for an answer, just untied the belt around his waist and shrugged off the dressing gown to catch it with one hand. Then he turned around to lay it over her shift.

She looked wide-eyed at his rounded behind and the muscles in the backs of his thighs. She’d never seen a naked man except for sketches in the books in class. When he turned back, she stared, her mouth falling open and her hands releasing. No sketch had prepared her for her husband. His chest was broad and muscled, as was his abdomen. Beneath that, above strong thighs, was his penis. It stuck out from his body, and was far larger than any sketch.

“Georgina, you look stunned.”

She forced her gaze to meet his. “I’ve never seen a man before. I mean, I have, of course, but not naked.” She licked her lips, the tension inside her far greater than anything she’d felt before.

He frowned. “But I thought you’re no longer a virgin.”

“I’m not.” Not comfortable discussing what happened, she didn’t inquire as to why he asked. But she did know one thing—his body made it clear, just as it had when she’d felt the hard ridge in the garden earlier. It was the same as what Ashfield’s pantaloons had told her. “You want to take me now.”

“I do.”

She’d hoped for something different, maybe something more, because the need inside her was far different from her last experience with intercourse. But as he was her husband, it was her duty to comply, and it was a small price to pay to be free of her family.

Giving him a quick nod, she turned around and bent over the bed so he could enter her.

“Georgina, what are you doing?”

She looked over her shoulder. “Waiting for you to take me.” She turned back to look at the quilt. It was a pretty lavender color, though that wasn’t her favorite. Still, it did have a soothing feel to it.

When she didn’t feel him grab her hips, she looked over her shoulder again, only to find that he’d donned his dressing gown and was walking toward her. She was more comfortable with that, as Ashfield hadn’t even undressed.

Then the bed dipped down beside her as Philip sat. “Georgina, turn around and sit with me.”

Old fears that she wasn’t good enough surfaced, and she quickly sat, pulling the quilt over her to cover her body. Why did he say she was beautiful if he didn’t want her? She clutched the quilt with both hands, refusing to cry over what she’d known was a possibility.

Philip pried one of her hands from the quilt and held it, but she couldn’t look at him. Instead, she stared at the chair where her shift lay.

“Georgina, you don’t have to tell me, but I’m going to guess. The man who took your virginity did not undress and did not undress you.”

She gave a short nod, glad he wasn’t making her talk, as her throat felt far too tight to do so.

“I’m also going to guess that he had you on all fours so he could enter you from behind.”

Shocked, she looked at him. “Yes.”

“That’s how a cad takes an innocent. That’s not how a man enjoys his wife.”

There was a certain amount of relief in knowing that, but also embarrassment that had her cheeks heating. “Thank you for explaining.”

“Georgina, look at me.”