Not Quite A Gentleman

in her throat. But the groan turned into a moan when he moved in front of her. Their lips met in a lush open- mouthed kiss, tongues mating, while his hands skimmed down her back, then forward to cup her breasts. Breaking off their kiss, his lips blazed a hot trail down her neck, then lower, to her breasts. He drew her nipple into the silky heat of his mouth, a delicious tug that elicited an answering pull deep in her womb. Immersed in sensation, she gripped his shoulders, searching for an anchor, then let her head drop limply back.

After lavishing the same attention to her other breast, he slowly sank to his knees, his tongue tracing a line down the center of her torso then dipping into her navel. He kissed his way across her belly, and she heard him pull in a deep breath, then softly say, “Roses.”

His hands circled around her ankles, then slowly moved up her legs, caressing her thighs, then cupping her buttocks, lightly kneading her flesh. He feathered kisses along her abdomen, then lower, until his lips, his tongue, caressed her as his fingers had. Her grip on his shoulders tightened in direct proportion to her knees weakening. A gasp escaped her at the stab of shocking pleasure. He insinuated his shoulder between her thighs, spreading them wider. Her legs trembled, but his strong hands on her bottom supported her, urging her hips to move against him. The pleasure built to an unbearable pitch then exploded, dragging a cry from her throat as tremors pulsed through her. As the shudders waned, they stole her strength, leaving her sated, satisfied, and utterly limp.

Without a word he rose and scooped her up in his arms. He carried her to the bed, depositing her on the turned-back bedding with a gentle bounce. She looked up at him, expecting mischief in his gaze, but he regarded her through very serious eyes. After pulling up the sheet to cover her, he hitched his hip on the mattress and tucked a curl behind her ear with fingers she noticed weren’t quite steady.

“Revenge is indeed sweet,” he murmured.

Her heart skipped. Something in his tone, in the way he’d covered her, made it seem as if he intended for their interlude to now end. Summoning her courage, she said, “But surely you’re not done.”

Something flashed in his eyes. “You wish to continue?”

“Don’t you?”

“You’re answering a question with a question. Have you thought on the matter?”

“Extensively. And not while I was, as you put it, sexually aroused or basking in the afterglow of pleasure.”

“You’ve considered all the ramifications?”

“Yes. Under normal circumstances I would perhaps not enter into an affair, however, there are extenuating factors here.”

“Such as?”

“Our location. It would be difficult to maintain discretion in London, but no one knows me here. I’ve no intention of ever returning here, and it’s not as if any of my Society acquaintances are in the area.”

“If we were discovered, there isn’t any distance great enough to protect you from the scandal. Then there is also the matter of pregnancy.”

“There are ways to prevent such an occurrence,” she said. “Surely as a doctor you know that.”

“Of course I do.” His eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t aware you did.”

“I’ve gleaned an enormous amount of knowledge from my reading of the Ladies’ Guide.”

“Ah, yes, the Ladies’ Guide. Clearly it is a cornucopia of information. I must admit I found the snippet I read quite titillating.”

“It isn’t merely titillating,” she said, driven to defend the book that had come to mean so much to her. “It provides information to women that we would otherwise most likely not be privy to.”

“Such as how to touch a man? Seduce a man?”

She raised her chin. “Among other things, yes.”

“Hmmm. In that case, I believe I owe the author a note of thanks. However, there are other things to consider as well. Even if an affair wasn’t discovered here, now, the fact that you’d engaged in one will be revealed on your wedding night, lending the evening a dubious outcome. I suspect that neither Branripple nor Dravensby would be pleased to learn their bride had had a lover.”

“The Ladies’ Guide suggests several ways to handle such a situation-a situation which the author firmly asserts is none of the gentleman’s business, by the way. Certainly men are not expected to come to the marriage bed virgins.”

“Perhaps not. But I am all curiosity. How does the author suggest you handle the situation?”

“My personal choice is enthusiasm. The Guide states that if a bride is an active, willing participant in the wedding night lovemaking rather than simply an inert mass, her groom will be so enthralled he won’t have the presence of mind to question the, er, details.”

His expression was unreadable, but a muscle ticked in his jaw. “I see,” he said in a neutral tone.

“I cannot see why the outcome of my wedding night would concern you.”

Something flashed in his eyes, but was gone before she could decipher it. “I’m concerned because I wouldn’t want you to be hurt. In any way.”

A frown formed between her brows. “Thank you. I appreciate your concern. But…”

“But what?”

She huffed out a breath. “Well, for a man who claims he desires me, you are frustratingly reluctant to become my lover. And unfortunately, in my numerous readings of the Ladies’ Guide, I do not recall any mention of how to deal with an unwilling gentleman.”

“Unwilling?” His eyes darkened and he stood. Pinning her with his gaze, he slowly unfastened his shirt. “My darling Victoria, I am most assuredly not unwilling. I simply wanted to make certain that you knew full well what you’re getting into.”

He shrugged out of his shirt and dropped it carelessly on the floor. Her gaze tracked over his chest, resting on the silky whorls of dark hair that narrowed to an ebony ribbon, bisecting his flat, ridged belly. His arousal was clearly outlined beneath his snug breeches. Oh, my. There was nothing about him that looked unwilling.

“And what would I be getting into?” she asked, her pulse leaping.

“A lover who won’t be satisfied to simply have you once. I’ll expect our liaison to continue for the duration of your stay in Cornwall.”

“I see.” She sat up, pushing the sheet off her, then rolled onto her knees. Reaching out, she trailed a single fingertip down that fascinating ribbon of hair. “Then, in the interest of fair play, I’d best warn you that you, too, will be taking on a lover who won’t be satisfied to simply have you once. I also shall expect our liaison to continue for the duration of my stay in Cornwall.”

She trailed her finger around the skin just above the waistband of his breeches. His muscles jumped beneath her light touch. “A hardship I shall endeavor to bear with a smile.”

“Of course, if you don’t think you have the stamina…”

One dark brow climbed up. “You doubt my vigor?”

“If I say yes, will you prove me wrong?”

“I’m afraid it would indeed compel me to rise to the challenge.”

“Yes,” she said without hesitation.

Eighteen

Today’s Modern Woman should choose a gentlemen who will be a generous, thoughtful lover, a man who will make certain to see to her pleasure. It is equally as important that she always see to his pleasure. And realize that by doing so, she will increase her own.

A Ladies’ Guide to the Pursuit of

Personal Happiness and Intimate Fulfillment

by Charles Brightmore

Nathan didn’t hesitate. He already felt as if he’d waited forever to hold her skin-to-skin. The thirty seconds it