Page 52 of A Duchess Bound
“Suppose that you do not provide me with sufficient pleasure?”
Oh, shewasfeeling brazen. If only she knew the punishment that he had in mind for her…
It would beperfect.
“I can promise you that.” Gerard leaned forward and placed his hands on her thighs, stroking her legs through the fabric of her gown. “If you will not agree to refrain from touching yourself, however, I fear that I will have no choice but to sneak into your bedchamber each night and bind you to the bed.”
She inhaled sharply. “You would do no such thing!”
“I would.”
He would not do it, but the thought was a provocative one. Gerard shivered, imagining finding Lady Dorothy abed, startled and eager for him.
Lady Dorothy laughed, the sound nearly breathless. “And how would you get into my bedchamber, Your Grace? You would certainly be caught.”
“You were not caught when you left,” Gerard pointed out. “But perhaps, I would climb the trellis by your window.”
“There is no trellis.”
He winked. “I would nail one up.”
Lady Dorothy laughed. “I am certain that no one would notice.”
“Excellent.”
The lady peered out the window of the carriage. They were leaving London, their only company the stars shining above the gentle ground.
“Is it safe?” she asked.
“Yes. I have never encountered any trouble on the road while going to my cottage.”
Lady Dorothy glanced at him, something thoughtful in her expression. “You have a cottage outside of London. Do you keep it just for your trysts?”
“How clever you are.”
She smiled, the expression a little anxious. “I worry that we might be caught.”
“I have never been caught.”
“That does not diminish my worries, Your Grace. On the contrary, I think it might heighten them. You cannot keep your activities hidden forever.”
Gerard hummed. He supposed that there was some logic in what she was saying. “You know…” he trailed off.
“What do I know?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “If you do not wish to continue this arrangement, you need only tell me. I will return you to your townhouse.”
She bit her lip and turned towards the window. Gerard waited, scarcely daring to believe. Sometimes, this happened.
Ladies wanted the pleasure he could offer, but after the haze of pleasure left them, they began to remember all the consequences of engaging in an affair. They wanted out. They decided that potential disgrace was not a price that they were willing to pay.
He waited silently, not wishing to influence her decision one way or the other. At last, Lady Dorothy sighed and shook her head. “I do want it,” she confessed. “It is only that I am terribly anxious, Your Grace. However, I also feel as though there is something terribly thrilling about this affair. I want to continue with it and see it to the end, wheresoever that may be.”
“Nowhere unpleasant. Of that, I may safely assure you.”
“May you?” she asked. “I am certain that all of your affairs have not concluded amicably.”
“Indeed, some have not, but most of them have. I can discern no reason why ours should not.”
