Page 21 of The Duke's Mysterious Lover
Still…
Her lips curved. She’d helped him tonight, she was certain.
Kicking off her own shoes, she settled lower against the pillows and began to gently stroke the skin of his shoulders, humming one of the lullabies her mother used to sing to her.
And when his arm tightened unconsciously around her, Kit just smiled.
Chapter 4
Thorne woke slowly,which wasn’t uncommon after an evening of dedicated carousing.
He also woke with his arm around someone, which—while less common—wasn’t completely unheard of.
There were, however, several unheard-of things niggling at the back of his mind:
He was still wearing his smalls, rather than happily naked, as was his wont when it came to nightclothes. Especially after a night of…carousing.
The person in his arms, their arse tucked up against his stiffening cock, was still fully clothed, rather than being gloriously nude after a satisfying carouse with him.
That person was a male.
That personwashis valet.
What in theever-lovingfookwere ye thinking?
Thorne didn’t quite scramble away from Kit, but it was a close thing. Eyes wide open, feeling better than he ever had after too many glasses of whisky, he watched his valet, ensuring the lad stayed asleep.
When Kit didn’t move and his breathing didn’t change, Thorne slowly exhaled and rested his head back on the pillow.
Jesus fooking Christ.He’dsleptwith his valet?
Aye, it looks like it. But note the fact ye’re both dressed. It looks like that’s all ye did—slept. A bit of cuddling willnae harm anything.
Would it not?
A bit of cuddlingcould sure as shite harm the delicate employer-employee relationship.
Ah. The memories were returning.
Well actually, insisting the lad call yeThorneand drink with ye was likely the first step down that path.
And allowing Kit to guide him through anincrediblysatisfying self-loving session had been the next step.
