“But he was an older man?” Guy guessed.
“He didn’t take advantage, if that is what you’re suggesting,” Hattie protested, even now automatically trying to protect Henry. “I simply loved him more than he cared for me. No one can be faulted for that.”
Guy pressed the matter no further, kissing her hand before gently setting it on her stomach. It would be Hattie’s choice if she reached for him again, but it must be from sheer desire, not obligation. His silent, gracious statement indicated everything she needed to know about an important difference between the two ladies’ men, Henry Abernathy and Guy Hardy.
Hattie pulled down her skirt, still hiked to her hips, and rolled to face him. She traced his jaw and his lips with her fingertips. “Thank you for your candor. I believe I am not quite ready to go further. It would become too difficult to stop. My desire for you burns far too hot. I believe one day soon I will wish to.”
“At your discretion, milady. I am in no hurry.” Guy bowed his head. “Now. May I get you a glass of water or perhaps more wine?”
“Would you…?” Hattie hesitated to ask for the thing she had craved far more than sex in the years she had been alone in the world.
“Yes?”
“Could we simply lie together while you hold me?” Her need embarrassed her.
“I would love to.” Guy hopped off the bed and offered her his hand so he could pull her to her feet, then he drew back the counterpane to reveal creamy sheets.
In a trice, clothed only in their underthings, they cuddled together in the comfortable warmth of the large bed. Guy slid an arm behind her. Hattie rested her head on his chest with a sigh. It was sheer heaven to be held like this without expectation or prompting for more. Henry had never done so. Whenever he was finished, he had made excuses and slipped away. What a blind young fool she had been not to see what his actions implied.
Guy regaled her with an anecdote about his rowing crew and the time they’d nearly won a race, before accidentally capsizing in the final length.
“You box, fence, play tennis, and punt too. How do you find the time?”
“It’s just a few members of the old crew and we’re not in it for competition now.” He shrugged. “When one doesn’t have a job, the day is full of a surplus of hours. How was your work today? Any interesting customers?”
“One in particular. A good friend of yours. Lady Cromwell.”
His hand on her back stopped rubbing idly up and down. “At your store?”
“Oh yes. Apparently your gift was not quite what she wanted. Turbans are in her favor now, so I’m creating one for her.”
Guy squinted and grimaced. “How incredibly awkward.”
“She had wonderful things to say about the paramour who gave her the hat. Said he was charming and an amazing lover.”
“That does sound like me.”
Hattie would not mention the part about him being of no substance. “The first, I knew from the start. The second, I’m beginning to find out.” She glided her hand across the muscles of his chest, found a taut nipple and tweaked it lightly through his undervest.
Guy gave a little strangled sound of approval. “You are a tease! And I mean that in the best possible way.” He suddenly rolled her onto her back and started tickling until Hattie shrieked with laughter.
When he stopped, hovering over her, gazing into her eyes, he slowly descended to kiss her mouth. Many slow, succulent kisses later, he bundled her into his embrace once more, and they continued to lie chastely.
“I like you, Guy Hardy,” Hattie announced to the ceiling where a sprinkling of white stars scattered across the blue. “But can I trust you?”
“I will always be truthful with you,” he swore.
She fell silent.
Next time. Next time they were together she would relate the entire story of her girlhood and the affair that had ended that innocence. After she had confided that humiliating secret, she would trust him with her body and maybe even her heart.
Chapter Fourteen
Guy sat on a shoeshine’s chair, perusing a newspaper, while the man polished his shoes. But he wasn’t actually reading any articles. His mind returned to the other night with Hattie Glover in his bed. It was an amazing feeling to spend nearly an entire night with a woman, not have sex, and yet feel like he’d never been more amply rewarded.
That didn’t mean he would not gladly grow far more intimate with her, but simply holding her while they exchanged thoughts, memories, and jokes was a damn fine alternative. Hattie was smart, opinionated, and sometimes brutally honest, but also very sweet. She was everything a man could want. Everything he wanted, at least. Pity the fool who’d broken her heart and let her go.
Guy lowered his paper to observe the shine buffing his white spats. “Have you ever been in love, Jimmy?”
The cross-eyed fellow glanced up with a grin. “Me? Why I’ve lost me heart more times than a cat has lives.”
“That’s only one, or nine if you’re being colorful. I don’t think once or nine times is too often.”
Jimmy chuckled. “Too often and yet not often enough, for I’ve yet to find someone I’d take home to me mum. I keep giving it a go, though.”
Guy crumpled the newsprint as he leaned forward. “Have you ever felt a sort of hot air balloon feeling in your chest at the mere thought of a woman, found yourself wanting to do things to please her, or started really examining who you are? Have you been with a woman who makes you want to become a better man?”
The shine put down his cloth. “Can’t say as I have. Not like you’re talking about. I suspect it’s rare as hen’s teeth to meet someone who can make you feel like that. Best hold onto her, Mr. Hardy.”
“Sound advice, Jimmy. That’s what I come to
