Page 38 of Temptations of a Wallflower
His cousin heaved a sigh. “All right, old man, let’s discuss how to act like a rake.”
Jeremy grimaced. “Must we?”
“We must,” Marwood insisted. “Approach it like you would a theosophical conundrum. Besides, perhaps afterwards you can use what I tell you to find yourself a nice, wicked little vicar’s wife.”
“I won’t do that,” Jeremy insisted at once, but inside, he paused. Could he? Use his cousin’s skills at seduction to secure himself a woman? The only woman he wanted was Lady Sarah, but he couldn’t have her. Still, it would be nice to approach her with more confidence, more self-assurance, instead of feeling as though he was blundering and lumbering around her like a bear in a clerical collar.
“Are you going to take my advice or not?” Marwood pressed.
Jeremy exhaled. “Bestow it upon me, O wise one.”
Marwood pointed to a chair by the fire. “Have a seat, and take copious notes.”
Deciding it was best to humor his cousin, Jeremy sat in the suggested chair and held up his notebook, poised at the ready.
Seeing that he had Jeremy’s full attention, Marwood clasped his hands behind his back, assuming his most professorial manner and tone. “First of all,” he intoned, “you have to know that you can give a woman the best night of her life.”
“Seems an odd way of starting a conversation,” Jeremy said, looking up from his notes. “‘Pleased to meet you. I can make you see stars in bed.’”
Marwood made a scoffing sound. “You don’tsayit, dunderhead. You think it. Youfeelit. Then it shows in your face, your movements.” He planted his hands on his hips. “Let me see your best smoldering look.”
“What?” Jeremy set his notebook on his knee.
“Justdoit.”
Jeremy attempted to smolder, imagining he was channeling all the sexual energy of Lothario and Casanova and Byron at some distant point across the room.
“You look like you want to murder someone,” Marwood exclaimed in disgust, and Jeremy deflated. “Imagine that you’re looking at someone you desperately desire, someone whose skin you long to feel, someone you want so badly, every part of you hurts. And you’re trying to communicate to her that making love to her would be the pinnacle of your worthless existence. Can my virtuous cousin attempt to imagine such a woman?”
Jeremy imagined trying to impart to Lady Sarah through looks alone all the pent-up longing he felt for her. Letting her know just how much he desired her. How greatly he wanted to worship her body for as long as she would let him. That she would become the sole object of his universe if only she gave him the chance.
“Jesus,” Marwood muttered. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Jeremy shook his head, coming back to himself.
His cousin continued, “It almost makes me think . . .” He peered at Jeremy. “As if you were thinking of a specific woman when you gave that look.”
At once, Jeremy said, “There’s no one.” He didn’t want Marwood considering Lady Sarah in any way.
“Shame,” his cousin said. “A woman would want to be looked at that way.” He smiled. “If I wasn’t married, related to you, and inclined toward the amorous company of women, you’d have me in a heartbeat.”
“Thank God for all those ‘ifs,’” Jeremy said wryly,but inside, he exulted. Perhaps it wasn’t impossible for him to play the part of the rake, after all. He only needed to imagine every woman he came across as Lady Sarah. Of course, he wouldn’tacton any of the signals he would be sending out, but it was good to have a plan. He wouldn’t be swimming in completely uncharted waters.
“You’ve got your smolder down,” Marwood continued. “That’s good. But it’s about more than the lure of sexual satisfaction. You must remember that every woman you encounter is a human being, with thoughts, feelings, and ideas of her own. Treat her with respect, never as an object for sating your lusts. There is no such thing as a conquest. Conquering is for bullies. A seduction is for both parties, not just the man’s gratification.”
Oh, all this was good. Jeremy wrote hurriedly, trying to keep pace with his cousin’s advice.
“Take your time,” Marwood went on, fully warmed to his topic. He paced back and forth, expounding. “Nothing is less appealing than a man who’s in a hurry. Which brings me to my other point—”
“Slow down!” Jeremy exclaimed as his pencil flew across the notebook page. “I can’t keep up.”
“Look lively, damn it!” his cousin barked. “Genius doesn’t dawdle.”
After stretching his hand to relieve a cramp, Jeremy continued taking notes. “Go on.”
“My other point,” Marwood said with a pointed look in his direction, “is to leave a woman wanting. Never give her everything she desires all at once. Women like the chase just as much as men do, and if there’s anything they cannot abide it is a desperate man. A manwho clings like wet muslin is just soggy, not seductive.”
“How on earth am I supposed to remember all this?” Jeremy asked when his cousin paused.
