Page 48 of A Duchess Bound
“Perhaps, the fault lies with both of you.”
Gerard hummed. “Perhaps, you are right.”
He thought of Lady Dorothy. She was not a naive, young miss. She was someone with enough age and wisdom to know the danger of rakes. Lady Dorothy would know that he did not intend for her to be anything more than a flight of fancy, the object of his desires for a few months, who would be soon replaced by an equally beautiful young lady.
“So when am I to meet the next object of your desires?” Pontoun asked.
Gerard hummed and pretended to mull the idea over. “Soon,” he said.
But in truth, he had no idea.
CHAPTER 17
Dorothy considered the two bolts of fabric beside one another, trying to decide whether the blossom or lilac would look better with her sister’s coloring. Bridget stood before the modiste, presently dressed in a white gown. It was expertly cut to show Bridget’s body to its best effect. Dorothy could already imagine how the suitors would swoon at the sight of her sister in it. They would be breathless.
Ordinarily, Bridget would have filled the modiste’s shop with conversation, talking about how she felt the suitors would respond, but today, she was quiet.
“You seem distracted,” Dorothy said, abandoning the fabrics.
She was certain that blossom would look better with her sister’s complexion.
“Do I?” Bridget asked.
“Yes.” Dorothy paused. “Did something occur at Lord Bryton’s ball?”
Color rushed to Bridget’s face. “No, nothing happened. It was an entirely ordinary ball,” she said quickly.
“Was it?”
“Entirely.”
Bridget did not act as though it were an ordinary ball. Dorothy grinned. It was quite apparent that her sister fancied someone. Or perhaps, she had engaged in some mild flirtation with a handsome man.
Dorothy might have seen if she had not been engaged in something far more scandalous herself. Her body still grew hot when she thought of what she had done with His Grace. She had spent the night unable to sleep, thinking of the things he had said to her and the way he had touched her.
That man had licked between her thighs and made her experience pleasure unlike any she had felt before! Dorothy had thought that agreeing to his terms and experiencing another night with him would sate the lust roaring inside her, but instead, it had turned her desire into a raging inferno from which there seemed to be no escape.
“I believe I have everything I need,” the modiste said. “You are free to remove the gown, my lady.”
Bridget nimbly stepped from the pedestal before the mirror and slipped through the curtain that divided the shop from a dressing area. Dorothy glanced at herself in her mirror, considering her body in a way she never had before. She had not purchased a new gown in many years. There was little need, for she was not attempting to attract a husband. If she looked respectable, that was all that was needed.
Now, she had a lover. The thought sent a shiver of delight mingled with apprehension surging through her body. Perhaps, she might try something new, meant for his eyes. Her face burned when she imagined His Grace’s intense hazel eyes leisurely tracing the curves of her body. She pressed her thighs together.
These thoughts needed to stop. They had consumed her whole being and were interfering with her daily life, but even though she knew that she ought to cease thinking about the Duke of Greenway, she found herself unable to resist his allure.
“Perhaps, something for you, my lady?” the modiste asked, as if she had sensed Dorothy’s thoughts.
“No,” Dorothy said. “I fear that my best Seasons are behind me. No man is looking for a bride my age.”
“You never know,” the modiste said. “You do not look so old to me, and careful tailoring can do a great deal for improving a lady’s looks. Not that there is much to improve in yours, of course.”
Dorothy bit the inside of her cheek, thinking of the Duke of Greenway. She had never considered dressing herself in a manner that a man might find especially attractive. What would it be like to wear something she had chosen whilst thinking of the Duke of Greenway and what he might find desirable? She shivered.
It would be exciting and brazen. “Perhaps, another time,” Dorothy said, as Bridget emerged. “Our brother will be waiting for us.”
Elias had gone to purchase another bottle of his favorite cologne from Dr. Harris & Co., and Dorothy knew that the errand would not take much time.
“You should buy a new gown,” Bridget said. “It has been some time.”
