Page 48 of The Confessions of a Lady
But she was exhausted with all the unanswerable questions. All the confusion. Her attraction to Liam was easy. Undeniable. A clear point in the mist and mystery of her investigation. Because she wanted him too. Just as fiercely as he wanted her. And for just one, simple, sweet moment, she wanted to forget everything else except that.
‘How do I fascinate you, Lord William Renquist?’ It was a dangerous question. His answer could so easily dismantle every wall Penny had built against him.
Liam’s eyes flicked over her features as if he would memorise each one. His regard was intoxicating, and her head buzzed. She was drunk on his desire for her. On her desire for him.
‘You value honour and honesty in others because you embody such ideals within yourself.’ He leaned close, his nose skating along her jawline. He whispered the words into her ear like a wizard weaving a spell. ‘You don’t shy away from difficult tasks. You don’t make excuses for your own failures. You don’t expect anyone to offer you success. You fight to claim what victories you have earned.’
Penny tried to keep her head and not be swept away by his words. ‘I am no better than any other member of your staff. No more honourable. No braver.’
Liam pulled back, but his fingers massaged her neck gently. He squeezed her hip. ‘Truly? Would Mrs Harding have faced off against those two brutes in the alley?’
For a moment, Penny tried to imagine it. Strangely, the image was not so difficult to conjure. She failed to hide her smile. ‘If she had, I doubt they would have survived the encounter.’
Liam’s own lips twitched. ‘Perhaps Mrs Harding wasn’t the best example. But it still stands, Penny. You are an amazing woman.’ Liam cupped her face. His fingers were both gentle and firm as he drew her closer. He pressed a kiss to her mouth, butthen he waited. Refusing to take. Instead, he was asking her permission.
And that was impossible to resist.
Liam. I don’t know if you are guilty of the crimes I investigate, but you are nothing like your father.
Penny was tired. Her ankle ached. She was scared she wouldn’t find evidence to earn the reward money to save her mother, and equally terrified she would. The amount of work needing to be completed in the next few days was daunting, and despite her slice of pie, she was still hungry. But when Liam kissed her like that, everything else disappeared.
A new yearning blossomed low in her belly. An ache creating a rush of wet heat between her legs. A hollow need pulsing in her core. A hunger for something far more decadent than pheasant pie or vanilla blancmange.
She wanted Liam. And she could actually have him. For a fragile fragment of time, her desires were simple and attainable.
So she let go of everything else and sank into the moment. Leaning into his body, she opened her mouth and let his tongue dart inside, swirling with her own, tasting and tantalising. His heat washed over her skin, increasing the inferno raging in her blood. But when his hand grazed over her breast, the reality of what they might do engulfed her. She froze, and he immediately broke their kiss.
‘What’s wrong?’
As an intelligent woman with more responsibilities than resources, Penny had protected her virginity. Not out of some misguided moral estimation of value, nor out of lack of opportunity. If she were willing, there were no shortage of available men who would divest her of the virtue she so viciously guarded. But Penny wasn’t a fool. Laying with a man led to pregnancy. And pregnancy would end her work opportunities. It would take away the limited options she toiled endlessly tocreate. It would doom her to a life of destitution. The same life her mother accepted when she fell pregnant with Penny. And so, she remained intact because the risk incurred from a passionate affair was far greater for her than her male counterpart. And far more likely to destroy her carefully created world than any potential pleasure she might gain.
She reluctantly pulled away from him. ‘I can’t risk pregnancy.’
Her mysterious marquess’ mouth turned up in a wicked smile. ‘Ah. A wise woman. But rest assured. There are a million ways to receive pleasure, Penny. To give it in return. Only one of those ways can result in pregnancy; I swear, I will never ask that of you.’
Penny’s brows drew down in confusion. ‘I don’t understand.’ She was illiterate, but far from ignorant. She had seen and heard many things in prison, on the streets of St Giles, even in the houses where she worked. But always, there was thrusting, grunting, panting… penetration. That is how all men – and a few lucky women – found their pleasure. Her mother had explained this to Penny and warned her of the dangers inherent in sharing one’s body with another. What trick was Liam trying to play?
Penny pulled his hand free from where he loosely gripped her neck. She took his other hand from her hip and placed them both on top of each other in her lap. ‘I won’t be made a fool of, Liam. I might be a virgin, but I know what happens between a man and a woman. And I know that pleasure often results in pregnancy. I refuse to put myself in that position.’
Liam exhaled. Turning one hand over, he toyed with the edge of her apron. His other hand traced down her thigh from hip to knee.
Dear God. I should have left his hands where they were.
‘Penny, did you know a man can use his mouth on a woman’s quim to bring her pleasure? And when he does, there is no chance of her falling pregnant.’
What the bloody hell? No, I did not know that!
Penny shrugged. ‘Yes. Of course I know that.’ She refused to give him an advantage. Even if it meant bluffing.
Lying.
Bluffing.
Liam’s smile grew wider. He licked his lips and squeezed her leg, his questing fingers trailing from the outside of one thigh to the inner point where they pressed together.
‘Then I’m sure you also know the intensity a woman can feel when she reaches her crisis this way.’
The fire must be raging. It was stifling hot, and all the air in the room had been consumed in the blaze. Penny fought to suck in a shallow breath. ‘Exactly,’ she squeaked.
