Page 37 of The Duke of Desire
He chuckled. “Yes. But they don’t have to.”
She pivoted, arching her brow. “Are you saying there isn’t one woman who’s left your bed unsatisfied?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m saying.” His gaze was unflinching and unapologetic. “I will admit I’ve had a few challenges, but in the end, I win them over.”
Jealousy flashed through her again. She recalled what she’d overheard on the first day of the house party. “And what of children? Is it true that you’ve fathered several?”
“I don’t know aboutseveral, but there are likely one or two.” His cavalier attitude sparked her anger.
“You mean you don’tknow?”
He moved toward her but thankfully didn’t come too close. “I have my suspicions, but I don’t get upset about it because no one else does. And by no one else, I mean neither my paramours nor their husbands seem to give a fig.”
“Society seems to.” It was a silly argument, particularly when Ivy didn’t care what they thought. No, she cared thathedidn’t seem to be concerned over someone else raising his child.
“And why should I bother myself with that?”
“What about the children?” she asked softly. “Don’t you care about them? Doesn’t it trouble you that they aren’t yours?”
He didn’t answer. He stared at her and then averted his gaze.
She strode away from him to look at the view. Stretched out before them was the vale of Aylesbury. She could see the village in the distance, as well as Greensward. There were farms and rolling pastures and neat hedgerows. It was pastoral and serene. Which was rather the opposite of what was going on inside her. She was a jumbled mess of confusion. She ought to run far away from this man, and yet she was completely drawn to him.
“It’s too bad we don’t have a proper summer day. I imagine a bright blue sky would be marvelous from up here.” He’d come up beside her. Closer than propriety would suggest. She basked in the warmth of his body and inhaled his masculine scent.
She closed her eyes briefly and simply enjoyed his proximity. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at the gray sky and silently agreed with his assessment.
“I’ve never thought too hard about the children,” he said quietly. “And there’s only one I’m certain of. In fact, I’ve never even admitted that aloud. I know he’s loved and being raised well. I can’t find fault with that.”
“Nor does it prevent you from stopping your…activities.”
“I like helping people.” His tone was soft and simple. It curled into her with warmth and consideration. “And I like sex. Is that so bad?”
She turned toward him and edged back a half step. She wasn’t going to run, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t put some much-needed space between them. “Don’t the husbands mind your…involvement?”
“Some do, yes. We endeavor to be discreet.”
“And yet your affairs are legendary.”
“Legendary? Don’t you think that’s a bit of an exaggeration?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Perhaps.” A breeze rustled her skirt and the ribbons of her bonnet. “How would you feel if someone were to seduce your wife?”
“First of all, it’s not a seduction. It’s a mutually sought after arrangement.” He turned from her and looked out over the vale. “Second, I don’t have a wife.”
“And why is that?” she asked, finding him more intriguing by the moment. “Isn’t it your duty to provide an heir?”
He kept his attention on the view. “I have an heir. A cousin somewhere in Norfolk.”
“So you have no plans to marry?”
He turned his head toward her, his expression bland. “That’s correct. I do not.”
She wanted to ask why but decided against it. Asking too many questions might give him the idea to ask her too many questions. And she had no intention of answering any.
“I suppose we should head back down,” she said, turning. “We don’t want to be gone overly long.”
He joined her, and they walked back to the path. “Is this all you intend? You gave me a chance to change your life. If I wasn’t clear before, let me be now. I’d like to do for you what I’ve done for other women.”
