Regency Society. Ann Lethbridge
for my good fortune?’
‘You are different.’
The way she said that word felt wonderful and strange, as though she thought it a good thing to be unlike one’s fellows. Perhaps it was, if it attracted such a woman to him. ‘I spend much of my time wishing I were not. But you seem to deem it an advantage.’
‘I am not talking about your sight.’
‘What then?’
‘You are more handsome than the others, for one thing. And more brave.’ Her voice still had the solid, matter-of-fact quality of the previous evening, but he could almost feel the warmth of her blush on his own skin.
‘And what would make you think that?’
‘The way you protected me last night. I doubt that the men who normally seek me out would have the courage to do that with two good eyes. But you did not think twice.’
‘Which proves me a foolish drunkard, more than a hero.’
‘I think it may be possible to be both.’
And he felt the little puff of pride, along with the desire coursing in his blood. ‘And you wish to reward me for my gallantry with dinner?’
‘I told you before that it was more than that. I invited you here because you seemed to desire me. But I was not sure, when you were sober, that you would wish to come. I thought it would be better, should I be wrong, to enjoy a nice meal, than to sit alone, en deshabille, waiting for a man who did not want me.’ The need in her voice was evident, though she’d tried to disguise it with a light tone. Without thinking, Adrian reached out for her, almost knocking over his water goblet in the process. She steadied it effortlessly, meeting his hand with hers on the stem of the glass.
‘I think I have had quite enough to eat,’ he said, guiding the glass to his lips for a sip of water before kissing the fingers that rested beside his on the goblet. ‘If I had known that you were dressed to seduce me when I entered, I doubt we would have made it as far as the table.’ He put down the glass again and stood. Then he took a step closer to her, listening to see if she moved away.
There was a faint hitch in her breathing as she rose. ‘I had not expected it to be so easy to trap you. Should I take it as a compliment? Or is it that you are none too particular about your conquests?’
Was that bitterness he heard? ‘Are you angry with me for coming when summoned?’
‘Perhaps I am angry at myself for doing the summoning.’ There was another pause. ‘Or perhaps, now that the moment grows close, I cannot maintain a facade of sophistication. While I might wish to pretend otherwise, to be with you like this frightens me.’
There was that hint of vulnerability in her voice again, and it drew him to her in a way that was very different than the simple lust of the night before. He closed the distance between them and put his arms around her body, feeling her stiffen, and then relax. ‘Do not feel the need to play the coquette to hold my interest. Or to continue with the act, should you change your mind. I wish to know you just as you are.
And I wish to give you pleasure.’ And for a moment, he took comfort at how good it felt to have something to offer her, and to know that the night might be about more than his needs.
‘Of course,’ she said. ‘The bedchamber is on the other side of the sitting room. If you wish to retire there, I do not mind …’ Her body tensed again.
‘There is no need to rush,’ he assured her, stroking her shoulder. ‘You were quite right to think that I desired you. I have been on tenterhooks the whole day, fearing that I misunderstood your offer. And if I seemed to rush through my meal, it was not because I wanted to be elsewhere. I worried that I would do something laughable, or give you a distaste of me.’
‘By dining with me?’ she said. ‘What a strange notion. I would never find you laughable, unless you sought to amuse me. And I’m sure that when you upset me, it will have little to do with your table manners.’
‘When I upset you? You seem most sure of the fact, madam.’
‘Of course. You will have your way with me—and then be off. That is your intention, is it not?’
And what could he say to that? For that had been his intention exactly.
‘But I am hoping that, after all of your bragging last night, that the experience is sufficient to assuage some of the pain of your departure.’
What had her bastard of a husband done to her that she was so eager to be used, and yet so convinced that she could not hold his interest for more than a night? It put him in mind to prove her wrong. ‘But suppose that was not my intention at all?’
She seemed to shrink, as though she wished to evaporate, even as he held her close. Then she said softly, with none of the confidence he’d grown used to, ‘Have I done something wrong?’
‘On the contrary. You are more right than I ever imagined. Why do you ask?’
‘If you do not want me …’
‘Of course I want you, my darling. But things have more flavour if we take the time to savour them. Is there a couch by the fire where we might take our wine and sit for a time?’ He could feel her taking a breath, ready to object. So he reached carefully and found the tip of her nose with his finger. ‘Do not worry. When the time is right, I mean to take you to bed.’ From there, he touched her chin with the same finger, guiding himself to her face until her lips met his. The briefest kiss was a taste of heaven, just as it had been the previous night. ‘As a matter of fact, I doubt I will be able to help myself.’
He kissed her again, slowly. Her mouth tasted of wine. He ran his knuckles over the curve of her shoulder, and felt the smooth fabric of her clothing. ‘What are you wearing? I think it is a dark colour. And it feels like silk. But beyond that …’
‘It is but a robe. Blue silk.’
‘Describe the colour. Is it like the sea? A robin’s egg?’
She thought for a moment. ‘I think it could be called sapphire.’
‘And what do you wear under it?’
He heard her swallow nervously. ‘My nightdress.’
Adrian wrapped his arms more tightly about her, stroking her body lightly, so as to satisfy his curiosity without arousing her. He felt no stays or petticoats. And he damned his eyes for their betrayal. He would not have been able to take food had he known that on the other side of the table there had been only a few layers of fabric between him and the softness of this woman’s body.
She was straining on tiptoe to match his height, kissing his ear with little licks of her tongue. He could feel each touch of it to the soles of his feet. ‘Let us sit,’ he whispered again. ‘Show me where to go.’
She slipped out of his arms and took him by the hand to lead him into the fog of the room, through a doorway, towards the glow of a fire. She sat him down on the grey blob before it, which turned out to be some kind of sofa, and he pushed her gently back against the arm of it. ‘Before I kiss you again, I would like to touch you.’ He wondered if it sounded strange to her. But there was so much he still did not know about her. It would not have mattered what she looked like if his intent had been to leave before the dawn. But with this woman? Somehow everything was different.
He could feel the hesitation as she tried to decipher the request. And then she said, ‘Where?’
He laughed. ‘Everywhere. But let us begin at the beginning, shall we?’ He reached out a tentative finger to touch her hair.
Curls, just as Hendricks had said. Although he’d thought he enjoyed long hair on a woman, the texture was interesting. He could feel the carefully styled ringlets at the side, the pins that held them in place, and the way they revealed the smoothness of her neck. He dipped his head close and found the place at its base where scent had been dabbed, inhaling deeply and touching the point