Page 41 of Her Devil of a Duke
“I was.” Rafe took the book out of Evie’s hand regardless.
So far, she had been at his house for a week, and to his relief, the snow showed no sign of disappearing or melting away. Four days before, it melted enough to let a lone rider through, who took some correspondence to London, but since then, the snow had returned with such vehemence, the rider hadn’t been able to make the journey back.
Deep down, Rafe was pleased about it. He didn’t want to think of Evie leaving this house. She made it light, whereas before, there had been only darkness.
“We can talk of Shakespeare another time.” He returned her book to the shelves in the library, not giving away the fact that he had actually loved their morning together.
They had talked non-stop about their favorite plays, and in detail had debated the virtues of the various Restoration comedies. There was something thrilling about arguing with her in such a spirited manner and seeing Evie come alive. She didn’t resign herself to sitting quietly in the corner of his library, but she sat beside him, leaning forward and talking with spirit.
She seems free. As she should always be.
“It is time for another lesson,” he said simply, turning back to face her and rubbing his hands together.
“What lesson?” She crossed her arms over the back of the settee and knelt on the cushion, turning to face him, with her attention riveted to him.
He reached a hand into the pocket of his trousers and slowly pulled out a thin strip of black material. He held it in the air for her to see.
“Are you going to blindfold me?” she asked with a sudden laugh. “What will that achieve?”
“All sorts.” He winked at her. He had a sudden image of laying Evie down on his bed with the blindfold wrapped around her eyes. Without her knowing what he was going to do next, he could tease her, kiss her where she wasn’t expecting to be kissed, and take the matter further.
That is not the aim though.
“Posture, mostly.” He urged her to stand straight.
“Are you saying I walk strange?”
“Far from it.” He laughed and went to meet her in the middle of the room. “You walk well and with complete propriety, but if you want to catch a man’s eye by walking into the room, there is a unique way to accomplish it.” He stopped behind her and wrapped the blindfold around her eyes, relieved when she didn’t pull back from him. He tied it softly at the back of her head, so she could get out of it if she wished to.
He moved his lips close to her ear.
“Are you ready?” he whispered, loving the way she flinched in surprise.
“Why do I have a feeling this lesson is just a way for you to be more mischievous?”
“Don’t put ideas in my head, or I’ll be pulling the curtains and showing you just how fun a blindfold can be.”
“Oh, you’re the one tempting me now!”
They laughed together as he placed his hands to her hips. Abruptly, the laughter died, and they both fell silent.
“What I want you to do is walk and accentuate these.”
“My hips?”
“Yes, but contrary to what you may think, I do not wish you to walk and purposefully sway your hips from side to side. What I desire… comes from here.” He slid his hands up to either side of her ribcage, holding onto her slim waist. She inhaled sharply but said nothing. “When you walk, project this forward.”
He urged her to take a step, pushing her waist a little so that she led in this way. Naturally, her chest was pushed forward, hardly pointedly, but just an inch more so that any man in the room would notice her slim curves. “Your hips will naturally follow.”
“Very well. But tell me this, what is the point of the blindfold?”
“To allow you to concentrate on your movements,” he said simply, moving his lips to whisper in her other ear. “Learning without sight can ingrain certain behaviors into you, make them come more naturally later. I also do not want you distracted by anything else in this room. Especially not me.”
“If you do not wish me to be distracted by you, then you should probably release me,” she whispered playfully.
“Very well.” He let go and stepped back. “There is nothing in front of you, nothing for you to trip on. Walk forward a little, as I have instructed, lead with your waist going forward. When I say halt, stop and turn. Then walk back to me.”
“As you wish.” She breathed slowly a few times, so near that Rafe just cocked his head to the side, inhaling her scent. Roses lingered in the air, making him lean toward her even more, not that she could possibly tell when she was blindfolded.
