Page 52 of Desire and Discipline
Diana opened her mouth. Closed it again. Looked at him sidelong as he pulled up to another landau, this one full of another pack of matrons.
Marry him because she wanted to.
Did she want to?
It truly depended on why he wanted to marry her, and she was… unsure. Yet, Evie had mentioned courting her, and here he was, engaged in some kind of courtship ritual. Perhaps not one Diana fully understood since she had not had the benefit of a Season, but she did comprehend thatsomethingwas occurring.
Maybe she could ask Evie. Not that Evie had had a Season or a conventional courtship, but she had studied thetonin a way Diana had not. She had never felt the need to because she’d never thought she would be in a position to be courted by a gentleman of theton.
She felt wildly out of her depth.
Not only that, she felt singled out by his attentions. Which, she supposed, was the point. But what was she supposed todowith that?
“Ladies. Have you met Miss Rutherford?” The Marquess smiled widely as the ladies in the landeau all perked up with interest. Diana sighed inwardly as she pushed a smile onto her lips again… although this time, the smile felt a little more natural.
9
Diana
Flowers were part of courtship.
Though it took the housekeeper explaining the meaning behind the bouquets that arrived daily for Diana to understand the full messages the Marquess—Oliver, as he now insisted she call him—was sending her.
Devotion
Admiration.
Love.
Carriage rides and promenades were part of courtship. They’d gone out every day for a week, always under the guise of exercise or looking for information. Both goals were met, but that was not the sum of the outing. London had been rocked by the news of the dukes, yet life went on.
The colors of mourning were everywhere as funerals were arranged, but there were still other colors as well and not just in her bouquets. As she was out with a marquess, Diana wore more muted tones so as not to draw attention to herself, but being beside Oliver always did. If anything, thetonwas even more starved for gossip and distraction in the face of so many unexpected deaths in so short a time.
So far, there was no hint of it being anything but an accident.
Despite Oliver’s obvious frustration with the lack of information, his impatience with waiting for Anthony and Evie to return, and his daily meetings with the Crown, he carved out time for Diana each day. Every night after dinner, he walked her to her room, where he’d steal a kiss… then leave her there.
Which was far more frustrating than if he’d tried to seduce her again.
Point of fact—she was beginning to want him to try to seduce her again. She was not entirely sure how to go about seducing him, or she would have already done so, but she was beginning to think she would need to make an attempt. The last time had just… happened.
She’d begun fantasizing about punishing him for his manipulations the morning he’d faked his heart issue. Other times, she fantasized about having him focused on her pleasure again rather than her on his pain. She’d wake up from heated dreams, aching to the point where her hand slid down to relieve herself. But it was not the same.
Exactly ten days after the Society of Sin masquerade, Diana decided she’d had enough.
When Oliver walked her to her room and leaned in for the kiss, she reached up to grab hold of the lapels of his jacket… and did not let go when he started to pull away. There was only a moment of hesitation, then suddenly, he was kissing her back so hungrily, so feverishly, he pressed her up against her door. Diana gasped as liquid heat poured through her when his tongue delved between her lips. She kissed him back, deepening the kiss, clutching at his jacket as his hard cock dug into her stomach.
He lifted his head just enough to end the kiss, though his body remained against hers.
“Inside,” he said roughly, reaching for the door handle. It swung open. Only then did he hesitate. “If that is what you want.”
“It is.” She did not let go of his jacket as she stepped back, pulling him into the room with her. The door slammed shut behind him.
Then his mouth was on hers again, and they were devouring each other as they moved toward the bed. He groaned as she moved her lips down to his chest, nipping at his skin. She wondered if his nipples were as sensitive as hers and set to find out. From his groans when she ran her tongue over the small bud, then dragged her teeth across that same path, she surmised they must at least feel close.
This time, when they made it onto the bed, she rolled so he was on top of her. She wanted to know how it was different.
Less control on her part but also more freedom on his. He took his time, playing with her breasts, licking and suckling, the tip of his cock rubbing along the seam of her cunt while he pleasured them both until Diana could not take it anymore.
