Page 26 of The Secret of My Seduction
He hadn’t made the decision to go see her lightly. It had been over three weeks since she spent the night with him in St. John’s Wood, her soft warm body curled up next to his. Three weeks was more than enough time to realize what he wanted and formulate a cogent argument that would persuade her. He’d thought she would be receptive; there had been that moment when she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, for all the world as if she cared about him. That moment, Liam now recognized, had been his chance to tell her he hadn’t thought about that damned bargain in weeks, that he could only think of her and how much he wanted her.
But then his brother appeared and ruined the moment. Caught off guard, Liam had done the wrong thing, which was to send Bathsheba away and let Angus stay. More than once he had replayed the scene in his mind, wherein he ordered Angus away and swept Bathsheba back inside the house to explain at length why their affair ought to continue indefinitely, with a wedding thrown in for good measure.
So much for his plan to work gradually toward telling her he loved her. How could he be so decisive and bold in business, but second-guess every word when it came to a woman?
He reached Tottenham Court Road and scowled at the heavy traffic that blocked his way. He must regroup and try again. What would persuade her? He couldn’t get their conversation out of his mind, in the dark before dawn as she lay in his arms. She was clever and resilient and strong. In the face of heartbreak and trouble she had held herself together, caring for her brother and fighting to keep their business going. Liam admired all that tremendously, and yet it meant he had less to offer her. In fact, the only thing he had to offer…
Was the one thing she had asked of him. Passion.
Abruptly he spun on his heel, almost colliding with a plump matron behind him. He said a hasty apology as she squawked in protest, but his steps didn’t pause as he strode back the way he’d come.
He rapped loudly on the door of her house. It hadn’t been half an hour since he’d left, she must be still at home. When the wide-eyed maid opened the door, he pushed past her into the tiny hall. “Is Miss Crawford—?”
She appeared in the parlor doorway before he could even finish the question. Without hesitation he closed the distance in two steps and caught her in his arms as he kissed her, desperately, hungrily, longingly. She gave a startled squeak, but then her arms went around his neck and she kissed him back. Her mouth was soft and willing, and Liam promptly forgot everything else.
When he lifted his head, she blinked up at him as if dazed. “What—?”
“That’s what I meant to do before,” he said. Belatedly realizing the maid was standing behind him, watching avidly, he pulled Bathsheba back into the parlor and shut the door.
Her blush was beautiful. In fact,shewas beautiful, her hair disarranged, her eyes soft, her mouth rosy from his kiss. Liam couldn’t think how he’d never seen it before.
“But you said…”
“That was my mistake. I spoke when I should have acted.”
She blushed deeper, but without any sign of disapproval. His confidence returned in full force. Now that he had her in his arms, everything felt right again. “We’re good together, you and I,” he said, cupping her cheek in one hand. “Always have been. Always will be, I suspect.”
“Liam,” she said, her face scarlet. “I… I…” With a great effort, she seemed to gather herself, pushing back a little and finally meeting his eyes. “You wrote in my book.”
He’d stared at those pages in her little book for hours. “I couldn’t help but notice it was full of unanswered questions.”
Her face grew very still. “And you decided to answer them.”
“Yes.” How had he never noticed the tiny cleft in her determined chin? It was entrancing.
“Did you mean what you wrote?”
She’d read it. Even more, he belatedly realized it was clutched in her hand. His heart began a hard thudding in his chest, and a smile slowly curved his lips. He didn’t need to think of what to say; he’d already expressed himself. He plucked the book from her fingers. “Let me see…” He flipped through to the first page, titledSeduction. “Seduction is the art of making a woman fall in love with you, to bare her heart, to see her soul, to know her so deeply and intimately you would happily lose yourself in her and never want to be found. The seduction has succeeded when she wishes to do the same to you. It is the deepest sort of intimacy to bare one’s physical form as well as one’s heart to a lover, and there is also much pleasure to be gained in the removal of clothing by both.”
She was watching him, her eyes wary. He nodded. “All true.”
He turned the page toTiming. “Lovemaking should last until both have found their ultimate pleasure, whether this be accomplished at languorous length or in vigorously short order. After a lengthy separation, a man may hunger for his lover so desperately he would endure any inconvenience, risk any chance of scandal or condemnation, at one inviting glance from her. In other cases, it may better please both lovers to draw out the pleasure for hours. Sating this hunger in a variety of locales, and employing a variety of positions, will never fail to inspire a thrill of delight and prevent any trace of boredom. It is a firm fact, universally acknowledged, that any opportunity to please his lover, in any way he may, will be eagerly seized by a man caught in the coils of love.”
“The coils of love,” she whispered.
“It’s a very serious condition.” He turned another page and read what he’d written underLocation. “There is no place on earth I would not want to make love to you.”
“Truly?”
“Can you doubt it?”
She hesitated, her eyes shadowed. Liam cast off all subtlety. “I want you,” he said. “I want you in my bed every night, with no thought of scurrying away in the morning.”
“Only because of the lo-lovemaking?” Color rose in her cheeks as she stumbled over the last word.
Gently he tapped the notebook. “You must not have read all.” He turned to the last page, the one he had written only that morning before he went to Totman Street, the answer to her question about kisses.
“A kiss is the communion of one soul with another,” he read. “A sharing of breath, of life, of love. At first I thought you would not welcome it; you only wanted knowledge, you said. I believed you did not love me, nor want to love me, so I avoided it. I did not want to fall in love with you, so I resisted.
