Page 19 of Seducing Sophia (Scholars of Seduction)

CHAPTER6

“Hip hip, hooray!”

Adrian held his hand to his forehead in salute as the little boy launched the toy boat into the water.

Henry stepped back and mirrored the salute. “Come on, Mama!” he cried. “You must join us. It’s bad luck not to cheer the launch of a new ship.”

Laughing, Mrs. Black lifted her hand in salute. Her eyes sparkled with mirth, the gold flecks mirroring the sunlight. Her son leaped up and down with joy, the light sparkling in his hair. Such a vivid shade of red! With his unusual coloring and intense green eyes, Henry would, most likely, break many women’s hearts when he reached adulthood.

But what prospects did the boy have? The son of a widow living in relative obscurity—he wouldn’t enjoy the trappings of a gentleman, therefore would have to find himself a worthy occupation. And, in a world where class, rather than effort or resolve, dictated one’s career, Henry would struggle to distinguish himself.

But the boy had a determined mother who, no doubt, would fight for him at every turn.

What had happened to her husband? She seemed confused about the regiment he’d fought in. Some mystery existed there. Why did she not even remember the name of his commanding officer—who, by rights, should have paid her a visit? Almost all war widows could picture the exact time and date of their husbands’ deaths—the details of their regiments and exploits in battle imprinted on their hearts and minds.

She claimed to love her husband—but her expression said otherwise.

And it was plain that her body reacted to Adrian’s touch.

Not only her body—her eyes had spoken of a need so intense it almost matched his own. Experienced in the art of seduction, he knew how to read the signs—the irregularity of breath, the darkening of the pupils, and the heady perfume that filtered into the air—the unmistakable aroma of female need.

At that moment, she laughed, and their gazes met. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight, their expression full of warmth. She smiled and a crackle of need ignited in his blood. Her lips parted and her eyes widened.

Did she feel it too? Might those lips part even farther with a sigh of pleasure at his touch?

Or perhaps she would cry his name—at the moment of her climax while he feasted on her…

“Mama!”

A sharp cry dissipated the fog of lust, and returned him to the present.

Henry stood by the water, his face distorted with distress. The toy boat had floated toward the middle of the water—too far for the boy to reach it.

His mother crouched beside the water’s edge and stretched out her arm, but the boat was beyond her reach. She picked up a stick and reached toward the boat, but it only served to push it farther away.

“Oh Mama—my boat!” Henry cried. “How can I ever get it back?”

“I’m sorry, my darling,” she said. “I’ll have to buy you a new one.”

“Nothing you buy will replace the boat Adrian made for me.” The boy moved to step into the water, but his mother let out a cry and wrapped her arms around him.

“No!” she cried. “It’s too dangerous. The Serpentine is filthy, and you’ll catch cold.”

“Let me,” Adrian said.

She turned her gaze on him. “No,” she said. “I can’t expect you to do that. Not when you’ve already gone to so much trouble making it.”

“Which is precisely why I must fetch it for you,” he said. “Not only am I invested in the fate of the boat, I am responsible for its loss.”

“How so?” she asked.

“Were I intelligent enough to realize that boats move with the current, I would have attached a string to it, to ensure that young Master Black here was not at risk of losing his vessel. I should have joined the navy—I rather fancied the uniform of an admiral.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I am sorely lacking in sea legs,” he said. “To my shame I never learned to swim, and my stomach always urges me to expel its contents at the mere sight of a boat.”

“Yet you fashioned one for Henry?”

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