Page 11 of Tempting the Bluestocking
That razor-tongued spinster happened to have the loveliest mouth he’d ever seen. He’d like to get inside it, too, almost as badly as he’d like to be bollocks-deep inside her cunny.
But first, he needed to keep from doing or saying anything that might cause her to change her mind yet again. Which meant he must comprise a strategy consisting of seduction and complete annihilation of the senses. The effect he’d had on her with a kiss had only worked for so long, which mean he must also be relentless.
The butler paused before a room one door down from the one he’d occupied the day before, and knocked. Clare’s muffled voice emitted from the other side, and the servant pushed the door open. The butler announced him, and she responded that Edward was to be shown into the room.
Though he could not yet see her, the timbre of her voice struck him bone-deep. It was as sensual as the rest of her, slightly deep, throaty. He could imagine her moaning his name, the voice growing huskier, higher in pitch, echoing from the ceiling.
He shook his head to clear it of the thought before he became too aroused to think clearly.
All in good time, Ed,he told himself as he stepped into the room.
His carnal thoughts dissipated the instant he found himself ensconced in Clare’s private drawing room. The chamber was unlike anything he’d ever seen, overtaken by a maddening disorder that made his left eye twitch.
Mahogany shelves lined every wall, most of which overflowed with books. Among the tomes were interspersed maps and charts rolled and tied in bundles, a variety of chests in different sizes, ceramic pots and vials, as well as the occasional decorative bookend or paperweight. There were also stacks of books and sheaves of paper covering every available surface—the two desks sitting perpendicular to each other in one corner of the room, the low table near the hearth surrounded by an assortment of mismatched furniture, on the end tables flanking the sofa.
A coat tree stood amid a sea of discarded articles of clothing, enough for her to dress herself as well as several other young women.
The rest of the room was comprised of an assortment of things that seemed out of place, yet somehow a harmonious part of this room. There was a collection of Meissen and Sevres figurines lining the mantle, three pedestals holding white sculptures, and a glass-fronted cabinet displaying an Oriental tea service along with several other pieces in the same style such as jugs and vases. Everywhere he glanced, his eye caught some new thing, until he hardly knew where to look.
The sound of a throat clearing solved the dilemma for him, drawing his attention to the woman he’d come to visit. She’d been sitting in one of the armchairs near the hearth, and had left a book face down on the seat when she came to the center of the room to face him.
She wore white today, a color that served to enhance the darkness of her hair and the brightness of her eyes. Those soft, ebony locks teased playfully along her jaw in whimsical waves that made him want to twine his fingers through them and kiss her again. The woman proved as formidable now as she had the day before—back erect, chin raised, eyes boring into him as if analyzing his every trait.
The beginnings of a smile tickled the corner of his mouth as he noticed she wore a pair of spectacles today, the round frames perched on the bridge of her pert nose. They did nothing to hide the things he’d noticed. On the contrary, they enhanced the attributes that made her so damned riveting. The coming smile almost turned into a wicked grin as he imagined her lying beneath him, wearing nothing but those spectacles.
“Good afternoon,” he managed before the silence grew too uncomfortable.
“Thank you for coming,” she replied. “And I apologize if I was rude yesterday. I’m certain you understand that I was caught off guard by my aunt’s little surprise.”
He attempted a step in her direction, then another once he realized she wouldn’t retreat. “I hope you weren’t too hard on her. She meant well.”
A little huff of laughter escaped her, tickling his cheek and sending another jolt of need straight between his legs. Christ, this woman was making a mess of his senses with very little effort.
“That’s what she said. Once she explained her reasoning, I could no longer hold a grudge.”
That stoked his curiosity, so instead of drawing her against him to pick up where they’d left off, he decided to probe a little deeper.
“Do you mind if I ask what those reasons were? There was not much by way of an explanation, you see. I was simply told that I was being hired for you as a birthday gift. Nothing more.”
Clare rolled her eyes and paced away from him a bit, fiddling with one of several glass figurines shaped like flowers lining the edge of one desk.
“I suppose you ought to know, so you can understand my reluctance to enter into such an arrangement. First, I assume you’ve realized by now that Aunt Helene and I have a most unusual relationship.”
“Really?” he teased. “And here I thought it was standard practice for an aunt to purchase a courtesan for her niece.”
That sumptuous mouth of her curved with a grin that made him want to stroke his tongue at the corner of her mouth. “Would that other nieces could be so fortunate. She has always been a bit eccentric, and as the woman who raised me, I suppose she passed the trait along. One of the best things about her, though, is her complete honesty and frankness with me on a variety of subjects. There was never a question I could ask that she wouldn’t answer, which has led to a relationship in which we talk about absolutely everything.”
Helene’s blunt manner of speech and disinterest in propriety had become evident the moment Edward had met her, and aligned with Clare’s assessment with her perfectly.
“A rare woman, your aunt,” he said. “I take it ‘everything’ includes the secrets of the bedchamber that are typically kept from young, well-bred ladies.”
She chuckled, shaking her head in amused disbelief. “Nothing is a secret with Aunt Helene. She never wanted me to be ignorant about anything, and did not hold back when explaining to me how things work. Well, being the inquisitive person I am, I set out to discover for myself what it was all about.”
Edward shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d known many bold women in his life, and had even bedded a few. Most were widows, or lightskirts, not virginal chits one might expect to find in a ballroom. To know that she’d gone about taking the rest of her sexual education in hand herself left him both stunned and impressed.
“I see,” he replied, for lack of anything better to say. “And the experience was…”
“Unremarkable,” she filled in, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “The man I chose was a friend. Handsome, intelligent, and nice enough. I expected far more than I got from the encounter, and left it thinking that none of it had been worth it. Aunt Helene insisted it would not always be that way, but I had no desire to try again in order to find out. I have far too many interests holding my attention at any given time to worry over such trivial matters.”
