Page 10 of Tempting the Bluestocking
He didn’t, and Clare could now attest to that. There was nothing weak or off-putting about him, something that became easier to accept now that her ire had cooled. The press of his body against hers had been hard, warm, and masculine, such a contrast to her own form in a way she’d never given thought to, even when lying with Baldwin Barnaby. Edward had kissed her with a commanding finesse, making her lose complete hold of her senses with nothing more than the touch of his mouth. Oh, but she couldn’t forget the hands now that her aunt had brought them up. His touch had sent electricity arcing over her skin, and an achy tightness to the tips of her breasts.
It had all happened so fast, she hadn’t been able to discern just what that heady, confusing feeling had been until now.
Desire. Edward had stoked passion in her with nothing but a kiss, something her first lover had failed to do while lying naked between her spread legs.
“CeCe?” Helene prodded when she failed to respond. “Are you all right? Thinking of Edward’s hands?”
She met her aunt’s wicked grin with a slow nod, though her mind took her far beyond that suggest.
Yes, I am thinking of his hands…and his mouth…and that ridiculously perfect body. And his cock.
She gave her head a swift shake before her thoughts took her any farther down that road. Entertaining the idea was all well and good, but she couldn’t lose her head over it. If she decided to go through with it, she would approach it just as her aunt had suggested: as an intellectual experiment. She would attempt intercourse with Edward as many times as it took for her to decide whether she was capable of the sort of fiery passion her aunt described, or whether a kiss would be the most she could ever enjoy. No other man had managed to bring such curiosity to the surface again, and now that Edward had, Clare was gripped with the need to explore further. It didn’t have to get in the way of her life if she did not let it. Nothing had to change beyond a new level of enlightenment and the thrill of learning something new.
“Do you know…I feared there might be something wrong with me,” she whispered. “For me not to enjoy it.”
Helene reached across the table to brace a hand on Clare’s shoulder, giving her a look heavy with innuendo. “My dear CeCe, if a woman doesn’t enjoy it, there’s nothing wrong with her…the fault lies entirely with her lover.”
Clare grinned. “So you are saying this is entirely Barnaby’s fault?”
“Yes,” Helene agreed. “It was entirely Barnaby’s fault. Give Edward a chance. Give yourself a chance. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. As well, I’ve already written a sizable bank draft to cover his expenses for the next month. You might at least give him thirty days’ worth of chances before deciding to put a stop to it.”
She huffed with disbelief, still grappling with this notion of men acting as courtesans. It was certainly convenient, she supposed. And, she’d always been a firm believer in equality between the sexes, even in a world that clearly belonged to men. If someone had thought to cater to women in the same way men were privileged to enjoy, then Clare could find no fault with it.
“Well then,” she said, peeling off her gloves and setting them aside. “If he’s already been paid for, there seems to be nothing left for me to do but get your money’s worth.”
The two exchanged mischievous grins before Helene rounded the table and pulled Clare into an embrace.
“Happy birthday, CeCe.”
Chapter 4
Edward arrived at the Dunnaby residence the following afternoon to find Helene descending the front steps with a valise held in one hand. A carriage waited on the street for her, and a liveried footman stepped forward to accept her baggage as she came off the bottom step. She smiled at the sight of him, the expression reminding him far too much of her niece’s wide grin.
“Edward, so good to see you again,” she said pausing before the conveyance and turning to face him. “Thank you for returning after yesterday’s disastrous beginning. CeCe and I have had the chance to talk it over and she has come to accept my gift.”
Relief swept over him at the same time his blood took up a rapid dash away from his brain and toward his groin. He had returned as Helene requested, but hadn’t expected to find Clare receptive to his attentions. It had been his aim to kiss her senseless until every protestation died from her lips. Now, it would seem that was hardly necessary.
Instead of voicing any of this, he circled back to the part of her speech that had caught his attention. “CeCe?”
“My pet name for Clare,” Helene said with a fond glance at the open front door. “Her middle name is Cecelia, so it only seemed fitting. Anyway, I am off and will not return for at least a fortnight. I thought it best for the two of you to have the house to yourselves while you…grow better acquainted.”
Edward raised his eyebrows, wondering how long it would take for him to stop being surprised by this woman’s odd relationship with her niece. “Is that so?”
“Quite so. I’ll be content in my quiet little villa on the outskirts of London, while the two of you do as you please without worrying that I’m listening. Do be patient with her, Edward. She’s as smart as a whip, but at times she thinks too much for my liking. But you don’t look like a man who’d have a hard time driving a woman out of her mind.”
Edward shifted under her pointed perusal, noting both amusement and appreciation in the eyes that raked him from head to toe. Clearing his throat, he did his best not to blush. “Of course not. She is in good hands.”
She glanced down at the hand hanging at his side and pursed her lips. “Good hands, indeed. Good day, Mr. Norton.”
“Good day,” he replied as she breezed past him, allowing the waiting footman to hand her into the carriage.
Once the vehicle rolled off down the street, Edward turned back to the house where a servant waited for him in the open doorway.
Taking a deep breath, he made his way inside, steeling himself for what would happen next. One thing he could say about this arrangement; he would never be bored. He’d thought the first day would have been spent seducing a virginal spinster, but instead had found himself experiencing her laughter, then her intoxicating kiss, before feeling the sharp side of her tongue. Not exactly what he’d envisioned, yet no less entertaining. He had a feeling no one ever left the presence of Clare Cecelia Dunnaby thinking that the encounter had been uninteresting.
Edward tried to think up some witty or charming greeting as he was led up the curving staircase, but his imagination failed him. Every time he thought of Clare, he remembered those bright eyes spitting blue fire, her lush mouth curling in disdain as she’d expressed her displeasure. While Helene had assured him that Clare had changed her mind, he didn’t feel as confident as he ought that she wouldn’t toss him out on his ear.
Don’t accept defeat,he chided himself.Desperate times call for desperate measures. You need the money and the only way to it is by getting inside that razor-tongued spinster.
