Page 36 of The Duke of Desire
“I’ve always loved the name Mary. It’s a happy name and very beautiful. It’s also simple and feminine—like you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You think I’m simple?”
He chuckled. “Not like that. You’re uncomplicated. Most women of my acquaintance are excitable or…difficult in some way.”
She started up the path once more, and he walked beside her. “Women of your acquaintance,” she repeated. This was a perfect opportunity to ask him about that. “The women you have affairs with?”
“Mostly, yes.”
“Why are all your paramours married?”
“Because I’m helping them have a happier marriage.” He said this matter-of-factly without a trace of irony.
She nearly tripped again. “How on earth do you do that?”
“Do you really want to know?” he asked.
“You like to ask me that question.”
“I want to be certain you wish to hear what I have to say. Some women—most women—would rather not discuss my past liaisons.”
She didn’t particularly want to either—she felt a bizarre jealousy but also a perverse curiosity. “How could having an affair possibly improve a marriage?”
“Because the marriage is either sexless or lacking in a sexual nature.”
She stopped walking entirely and turned to look at him. “You’re serious?”
He pivoted toward her. “Quite. I help the lady find her release and show her ways to increase her pleasure, which will, in turn, increase her husband’s. However, the focus is on her. Many men don’t pay attention to the satisfaction of their lover, to their own detriment.”
Good God.She could scarcely believe what she was hearing. The heat in her cheeks indicated her face was probably crimson. And really, he could be describing her experience with Peter. Emotionally, he’d given her nothing and physically, he’d awakened a passion in her that he hadn’t really ever fulfilled, not that she’d realized that at the time. No, she’d been besotted, and he’d used that to serve his own selfish desires.
She abruptly turned and started walking again, at a faster pace than before. Perhaps because her mind was moving very quickly trying to make sense of what he’d just told her.
It was several minutes before either one of them spoke.
“I shocked you, didn’t I?” he asked, startling her. She’d quite lost herself in memories of the past and…ideas about the present.
“I want to say no so that you’ll find me sophisticated, but I cannot.”
“Why do you want me to find you sophisticated?”
She shot him an irritated glance. He was far too astute. She was—or had been—the opposite. She’d been naïve and stupid and completely inexperienced. When she’d resurrected herself, she’d made a point of striving to be the opposite. She’d hoped she was sophisticatednow, but she realized how hopelessly wrong she was.
“Miss Breckenridge”—he exhaled—“I still don’t know your name—I don’t think any less of you. I’d be surprised if Ihadn’tshocked you.”
They were nearing the top of the hill, and the trees had become quite thin. She could see the summit boasted a large open area.
“I find that I’m…curious.” There, she’d said it. When he spoke of helping these married women, it almost sounded like an awakening of sorts. And she found herself wondering if he could do that for her. But of course he could. He’d said he could change her life, and now she knew how he purported to do so. “In a sense, it seems as though you offer a service to these women.” Goodness, that almost made him sound like he was in trade. Sexual trade. She looked at him sharply, her pace slowing. “They don’tpayyou?”
“Bloody hell, no.” He looked over at her, his dark eyes glittering in the shadow cast by the brim of his hat. “My apologies, but I do not sell myself.”
“I meant no offense.” But she could see how he could react that way. “Truly, I didn’t think that was the case. My mind got a bit ahead of me. I’m trying to understand. Why do you help these women?”
He didn’t immediately respond, and she longed to know why he was hesitating. Was there a truth he wanted to keep buried? She was of course the queen of buried truths.
He paused at the top. He didn’t look at her. Instead, he surveyed the wide, treeless space. “I determined at a rather young age that I enjoyed sexual activities. I like giving a woman pleasure, and I’m quite good at it.”
His arrogance was astounding but also seductive, if she were being honest with herself. “Because they all tell you so,” she said, stopping a few feet away.
