Page 30 of The Viscount's Daring Cinderella
Her eyes flashed. “Precisely. I will just remind you that the rule is I will decide how to teach.”
“You are right, Lady Beryl. I will not interfere.” Theodore was struggling to keep a straight face. Her voice was so haughty and high-handed.
“I bid you good afternoon, my lord,” she said as she left him standing on the lawn.
Theodore could not tear his eyes away from her swaying hips. He felt considerably discomposed when he pictured himself holding onto those hips in the heat of passion. The cock that he was trying to tame strained against his breeches. Apparently,Lady Beryl was obsessed with the rules. He remembered them. How could he forget? If there was to be no kissing, he had no idea why his thoughts drifted to further intimacy. An odd feeling throbbed in his mind, yet he could not decipher what it was. This infernal longing to be with her was becoming intolerable.
The fact that she enjoyed being kissed did not help, but he must be the one to steel himself. What he just observed with Beryl and the children served to solidify what he was thinking earlier today. He would be a fool not to acknowledge how well she has done with the children. Surely, he could not ruin that for them by seducing Beryl. That would be utterly selfish, particularly as Theodore knew from experience that liaisons could turn bad quickly, especially with inexperienced ladies. Often after a liaison, a lady would expect marriage, and he would not offer it. He knew they both needed to maintain their composure under the circumstances, but when she stirred his blood in the way that she did, how the hell was he going to manage?
CHAPTER 12
Afew more days passed since Theodore played the hot potato game with the girls and Lady Beryl. Despite his resolve, his yearning to be with her, laughing and chatting, and certainly kissing and more, haunted his sleep. So what he did was try his best to avoid being alone with her. Theodore buried himself in work and had a later supper this evening alone. He wished it could have been with her and that he could have seen her smile or heard her tinkling laugh.
Theodore scowled, stood up from the sofa, and poured himself a glass of bourbon. He heard the library door open, and he spun around and came face-to-face with Lady Beryl.
A soft gasp escaped her. “I do apologize, my lord.”
“I did not mean to startle you, forgive me.” He was apologizing for being in his own library. Now, he was being really ridiculous.
A strained chuckle came from her. “I did not realize you were here. You are not usually here at this time, my lord.”
Ah, so it seems the lady was also avoiding being alone with him.
She fidgeted a bit under his regard and said, “I came to get a book to read before retiring.”
“Please come in.”
“Only if I am not intruding,” Lady Beryl said tentatively as she waited in the doorway.
There was an unfathomable watchfulness in her eyes that made his breath catch in his throat. He raked his gaze the full length of her. His first impulse was to send her away or leave the room because it had been such a struggle to keep her from his thoughts. He resisted the impulse and said, “I was having a nightcap, and you are not intruding. Will you join me?”
She came into the room. “A nightcap?”
He lifted the decanter. “Yes, bourbon. It is whiskey from America.”
A smile touched her gorgeous lips and enigmatic eyes landed on his. “How exotic.”
An odd sensation fluttered in his belly, and he struggled to dismiss it from his awareness. “Would you like to try it? I know you have a sense of adventure.”
She canted her head. “I will try it. But how did you conclude that I have a sense of adventure?”
Theodore poured her a glass and handed it to her.
Lady Beryl took a small sip. “Err … This is not to my liking.”
Theodore laughed. “I suppose it is an acquired taste.”
They were both standing close to his desk, gazing at each other. Everything else in the room seemed to blur and fade except them.
Something indecipherable flashed in her eyes. “You were about to tell me about my sense of adventure,” she murmured huskily.
“Are you certain you wish to know? It might shock you.”
Humor gleamed in her gaze. “Then I invite you to shock me.”
Did she realize her tone was like a sensual purr? By God, Theodore felt as if he teetered on the edge of madness. “Just before the start of the season, you attended a ball that genteel ladies do not usually attend.”
A soft gasp escaped her. He watched the emotions play over her features—alarm, doubt, and then caution, before her stoic expression returned. It was mere moments. How impressive. The lady would make an excellent gambler.
