Page 17 of Mentor to the Marquess
By the time he pulled away, her neck and shins were aching from lifting herself to his height.
He wiped his lips with the back of a hand, then grinned. “I have wanted to kiss you from the moment I set eyes on you, Lady Allen.”
A nervous laugh bubbled up in her throat. “‘Olivia,’ please. I believe we are past formalities.”
He slid hands down her arms and tangled their fingers together. “Only if you use my given name as well.”
She licked her lips. “Thellusson?”
He snorted. “Only my mother calls me that. It’s ‘Thel.’”
“Thel,” she whispered.
It felt so intimate. A name she could whisper in the dark.
He tugged her to a couch and sat down, pulling her to sit beside him. He cleared his throat. “How… was it?”
Of all the things she had expected him to say, that was not one of them.
“It was lovely, but…” She wasn’t sure how to express her thoughts. She recognized the uncertainty in his tone, the skittishness she had dealt with countless times in the girls she sponsored. But what her instincts were telling her was impossible. He had been married. He had a child. This was no virgin, but a man nearly ten years her senior.
“When was the last time you were with a woman?” she blurted out.
He sighed. “Not since my wife passed. There are… reasons. I am not, ah, incapable, I assure you.”
She placed a hand on his thigh. “I do not doubt that.” His trousers were clearly tented. Whatever his reason, it was not a physical one. At the same time, she had been a mistress for enough married men who claimed to be satisfied with their wives that she had to ask the obvious question. “You never considered taking a paramour?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I did. Many nights. But every time I thought I was ready, I imagined what Marguerite would say.” His throat worked. “I loved her so much. When she died, it almost killed me. Compared to what we had, a quick tup—even with an experienced lady—felt hollow. Meaningless. I couldn’t do it.” He shrugged. “I’m afraid I am woefully inexperienced.”
The scenario he described was a stark contrast to the coldness of her own marriage. She could not imagine being so attached to a person such that parting from them would cause her such grief. She’d hardly mourned the deaths of her own parents. But that did not mean she was not empathetic to his situation. Her heart ached for the pain he must have felt.
She drew in a breath. What she was about to suggest was scandalous. Dangerous, even. She’d carefully cultivated amystique of an experienced woman, a lady whom a gentleman could take to his bed without fear of being blackmailed later. She’d managed this without earning scorn from society by carefully selecting her sexual partners. If even one of them spurned her, they could have her branded a loose woman. But despite barely knowing Thel, she felt she could trust him enough to give him what he so obviously needed.
“I could reacquaint you,” she said. “I am an expert in several… unusual techniques.”
“You would do that?” He frowned. “Your reputation…”
She laughed. “My lord, I am a widow. Becoming involved with you, a widower, is one of the least scandalous things I’ve ever done. If we are discreet, no one will care.”
“In that case”—he slid his hand up her back—“I would be pleased to have you as my mentor.”
She arched her back into his touch.
He added a second hand. “You like this. What else do you like?”
His eagerness would be the death of her.
“I believe we are wearing too many clothes,” she said.
He yanked the edge of his shirt out of his trousers and lifted it over his head. She put a hand on his chest to stop him.
“First lesson,” she said. “Undressing can be a sensual art. There is no need to hurry.”
He flicked the buttons of his shirt open. As each came loose, more of his chest was revealed, carpeted with thick, black hair. When he finished, he ran his fingers down her sides. “Should you take this off as well?”
She nearly choked but recovered herself. “No, it would take too much time.”
She cursed her choice of attire. Had she known what the day would bring, she would have donned a much more comfortable garment. One that was easier to remove.
