Page 55 of One Bed for the Bluestocking
She tried to brush it off.“I thought I was too loud.”Her voice emerged with a breathy quality rather than the breezy one she had been attempting.
He paused the trail of kisses he’d been pressing up the inside of her thigh to give her an evil grin.“You’ll just have to manage.”
He brought his mouth to the apex of her thighs, andlud!Kate liked everything she and Nathaniel had done together, but this act… It was almost too good, like eating pure icing.Her earlier self-consciousness forgotten, Kate spread her legs farther and scooted to the edge of the chair to allow him full access… and the blasted man stopped!
Nat gave her a reproachful look.“Now Kate, you have to stay quiet.”
“How,” she panted, “am I supposed to stay quiet when you’re?—”
He was already leaning down to return to his task.“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Kate gasped as he swirled his tongue over a particularly sensitive spot.She clapped both hands over her mouth in an attempt to muffle the squeals of pleasure emerging from her throat.Apparently, Nat had a point, and the situation only grew worse when he began massaging her with the flat of his tongue.That made it a thousand times more difficult to stay silent, but, on the plus side, it brought her to a quick, trembling climax that brought her intimate aria to a conclusion.
When she was next aware of anything, she found that Nathaniel was seated on the chair and she was cradled in his lap.“What happened?”she asked blearily.
His smile was full of masculine satisfaction.“You almost fell off the chair.It’s a good thing I managed to catch you.”
She smiled against his neck.“You were obliged to catch me.The entire situation was your fault.”
He shook his head.“Is that the thanks I get?”But Kate couldn’t help but notice that he was smiling.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence.Kate enjoyed Nathaniel’s warm hand stroking up and down her back.
She was debating whether she wanted to crawl into the bed and fall asleep in his arms or swing her leg across his lap and see what else they could manage to do in that chair when his voice rumbled in her ear.“Kate, something occurred to me the other day.I’ve been meaning to discuss it with you.”
“Oh?”A yawn slipped out.As tempting as another round of lovemaking with Nat sounded, perhaps they should have a short nap first.
When he spoke again, his voice was soft, and there was an undercurrent of dread in it.“I fear you will not like it.”
She looked at him then, took in the creases of concern on his forehead, and the tightness of his jaw.
“What’s the matter?”she asked.
Chapter26
Nat peered at Kate in the candlelit room, dreading what he had to explain.
The problem had only occurred to him while they were on the ship back to Stornoway.While they had been alone in the wilds of Lewis, they had been so excited about their future together that they could talk of nothing but how they would marry the moment they returned to Edinburgh.
But on the ship, Nat had started to consider the practicalities.Having a wedding was fine and well.But after the wedding came the marriage, and supporting a wife and family was an expensive prospect.Which meant that he needed to secure the Natural History Chair.
Nat was hopeful, especially in light of the research they had just conducted.But he couldn’t bungle this.Their entire future hinged on this moment.
And while the citizens of Edinburgh were a thousand times more cosmopolitan than those of the Outer Hebrides, the news that “Kit” was really “Kate” and that she and Nathaniel had spent the last month and a half sharing a room would ignite a huge scandal.And that was the last thing Nat needed while he was trying to make a case for himself for the Natural History Chair.Academic merit was a factor in choosing who would receive the professorship.But it wasn’t the only factor, and Nat knew that, especially as a Black man, he couldn’t afford to set a single toe out of line.
Kate was looking at him expectantly.
He steeled himself.“I have been thinking about what will happen when we return to Edinburgh.I know we have said that we will marry right away.But, upon further reflection, I fear that will not be possible.”
He had prepared himself for the possibility that Kate would respond with anger or tears.
The way she froze, the way her expression closed off, like a door shutting with a soft click, all while she remained perfectly calm and collected, was worse.“I see,” she said in a voice devoid of emotion.
“Only for a short while,” he hastened to explain.“It’s just… even in Edinburgh, the news that you are a woman and that we spent more than a month in close company will cause a scandal.Any scandal could prevent me from securing the Natural History Chair.And nothing is more important than my securing the Natural History Chair.”
Her features remained perfectly still, but a trace of shock came into her eyes.Her voice emerged as a hoarse whisper.“Of course.”
He could not bear to see it.“Wait, Kate.I phrased that badly.Of course, marrying you is more important than securing the professorship.What I meant is that I need to be able to support you.To give you the kind of comfortable life that you deserve.And the best way for me to accomplish that is by being appointed to the professorship.”
