Page 21 of Impeccable
She stiffened, and his nerve started to falter. “What sort of proposition?” Her voice sounded stilted.
“I like you—a great deal, in fact. If you hadn’t made it clear that you aren’t interested in marrying again, I would have asked to court you. But since that is not an option, I wondered if we might still spend time together as friends.” He worked up his courage. “Verygoodfriends.”
Blast, that wasn’t at all what he’d meant to say. He couldn’t seem to form the words. Because it was too brazen. It was almost scandalous.
She stopped and took her hand from his arm. “I sense you are nervous.”
He relaxed slightly. “I am. Thank you for noticing. Why do I feel as if you already know me better than almost anyone I’ve ever known?”
“I’m sure I couldn’t say,” she murmured.
“I’ve particularly enjoyed our mock flirtation, and in the interest of honesty, I should tell you that it hasn’t been practice for me. I mean, it has, but it’s also been genuine. I find myself attracted to you in ways I’ve never experienced. I’ve never wanted to be…intimate with a woman before.”
Her eyes widened briefly. “Oh. Well.” Pink bloomed in her cheeks. “Never? As in, you haven’t…?”
Gregory shook his head. He sometimes felt embarrassed about his choice to remain celibate, but it depended on the company he was with. His father had encouraged him to do so, saying he would make a better bishop if he waited until he was wed. That sentiment had been encouraged by Clifford’s excessively profligate behavior after he’d left Oxford. Both their father and mother had been horrified by his gambling, drinking, and philandering. They’d cautioned Gregory against following his brother’s path, and Gregory hadn’t wanted to emulate his brother in any way. It had helped that Gregory truly hadn’t been moved to even try to bed a woman.
“I want to make sure I understand,” Mrs. Renshaw said. “You’re a virgin?”
“Yes.”
“Are you hoping to change that state?” She paused, her entrancing blue eyes holding his. “With me?”
Now he grimaced. “This is really too beastly of me. Forget I mentioned anything.” He started to turn, but she closed her hand around his forearm.
“No. I’m flattered. The truth is that I am also attracted to you. In ways I haven’t been in a very, very long time. Perhaps ever,” she added so quietly that he wasn’t entirely sure she’d said it.
Now it was his turn to feel a rush of heat to his face, and he wondered if his cheeks were also turning pink. “That’s rather lovely to hear. What should we do?”
“I think, perhaps, we ought to start with a kiss.”
Chapter5
Run. Away.
The words repeated in her mind, growing louder but still not able to drown the persistent thrum of desire that had overtaken Evie. She was standing on a precipice facing something she’d never encountered: her own passionate response to someone.
“Have you ever kissed anyone?” she asked, feeling as though she hadn’t, which was of course absurd. But the nervous tilt of her stomach, the heightened speed of her pulse, and the perspiration beneath her arms and between her breasts reminded her of when she was young, of when she’d been faced with the decision to sell herself.
This was wholly different, even if some of her body’s responses were similar. She knew what would come next physically, but for the first time, she understood there might be more to it than that.
The word “smitten” came back to her from the day before.
“Yes, I’ve kissed someone—rather, someones—before,” he said, his eyes dark with his own desire. “But I want to know howyouwant to be kissed.” Oh, this was dangerous.
Stepping close to him so that they almost touched, she gingerly placed her hand on his chest. Though she’d done this more times than she could count, she was apprehensive. Her mind kept screaming that this was different. That Lord Gregory was different.
LordGregory.
She looked up into his face. “Would you mind if I call you Gregory? You may call me Evie.”
“I would like that very much.” He put his hand on her waist. His touch was light, not nearly what she craved.
And what was that?
For him to grasp her in his arms and haul her against his body so that she could feel him through their clothing. Then to claim her mouth in a searing kiss. Except she was supposed to be the one teaching him.
She had to stand on her toes so she could reach her hand up to cup the back of his neck. “Lean down,” she murmured, heat pooling between her legs, making her sex pulse with want.
