Page 5 of The Rake and the Muse
Not that such a thing would be possible. She was an unmarried young lady of his society, and it would be far too scandalous to strip her clothes from her. But her beautiful face and her luscious body were that of a siren, calling out to him and luring him in with its song. Theo imagined that her chocolate-colored hair, with strands that almost shined gold, would fall down her back in delicate waves that reached just above her lush bottom.
He had managed to get an introduction, then chastised himself for doing so. Theo was playing with fire, and his body would continue to be as unsatisfied as he had been with each of his finished drawings. He released a low growl behind his snifter of brandy. It was going to be a very long fortnight.
The next morning, he entered the breakfast room. He didn’t take note of who all was seated and went straight for the sideboard. Theo made his selections, loading his plate. He’d always had a healthy appetite, especially at breakfast. A good day began with a good meal. He turned to take a seat and noticed Lady Juliet sitting at the table with an open seat to her right.
Unable to resist the opportunity to be in her presence and gaze upon her, and ever a glutton for punishment in the form of pain between his legs from unsated desire, he set his plate in front of the open seat.
“Might I join you, my lady?” he asked, pulling the chair out so he could sit.
She looked up at him, and something stirred in his ungentlemanly places—or very gentlemanly, depending on how one might look upon it. She was even more beautiful beneath the light of day than the lowly lit salon from the previous evening. And he had been practically ready to play the fool throwing pebbles at her window last night.
When he caught her gaze, he decided that he’d be content to fall into and swim in her grey eyes, which in the morning light took on an almost light purple color. He would sweep their plates to the floor and lay her across the table to feast on her if he weren’t in better control of himself. She was alluring, to say the least, and he had to take his seat before she saw the telling ridge growing in his breeches.
“Of course, my lord.”
Her voice was melodic and further threatened his good sense. He nodded to her and took a seat. Taking a bite of his eggs, he willed his desire to subside.
“I planned to ride this morning, my lord. Are you going to come?” she asked.
He choked on his bite of egg and took a drink of the glass of water in front of him on the table, pushing aside thoughts of what a ride from her might be like. “What was that?” he asked once he recovered, losing all wits to understand what she meant to ask about him. He didn’t dare to hope she had asked about straddling him.
“There is a riding party departing after breakfast,” she replied, eyeing him curiously. “I was just asking if you were going to join.”
He drew a deep breath, clearing his mind of the nefarious thoughts that had crossed his mind at her previous words. “I believe I shall,” he replied before he could thinkof the consequences of doing so. “Do you think you might wish to accompany me on the ride?”
What was he doing? She was erasing all of his good sense. Putting himself in her presence would not help the tension he now carried in his neck and shoulders. Horseback riding with a steel rod between his legs would be uncomfortable, to say the least.
“I would, my lord,” she replied.
“Do you ride often, my lady?” he asked. His cock throbbed from the question. It was almost as if his dim-witted brain was torturing him on purpose, not allowing him to relent on imagining her in all manner of salacious positions.
She smiled at him, and his powerful reaction to such a simple expression bothered him far more than the notion of her taking a ride on his cock. He wouldn’t allow himself to ponder that for a moment.
“I do. There is nothing quite like the wind blowing in one’s hair and galloping across a field.”
“I quite agree.” He took a bite of his toast, doing his best to avoid the visual of her long hair flowing in the wind.
“Other than perhaps painting,” she said. “That is the one thing that keeps me from spending as much time outdoors.”
“Oh, so you paint?” he asked, genuinely curious to learn more about the subjects of her art.
“Juliet,” Lady Eliza said from beside her. “We must change if we are to go on the ride.”
Juliet nodded. “You are right,” she said to her friend before returning her attention to Theo. “I shall see you shortly, my lord.”
The ladies took their leave, and he sat at the table with a few other gentlemen. He kept his attention trained on his plate, not wishing to speak with any of them. His thoughts were consumed with the woman who became more intriguing to him by the minute, and he wasn’t certain he cared to acknowledge it. No, he was certain. He didn’t care to acknowledge it.
A half an hour later, Theo stood beside a large grey stallion that had just been saddled by a groom. Juliet stood nearby, holding the reins of a brown gelding. He watched as she used the mounting block and climbed atop the horse to sit side saddle atop the beast. Her movements were some of the most graceful he had ever seen.She had a fluid way in which she moved, and he found he couldn’t look away from her.
What in the devil was wrong with him? He wasn’t the type of man who pined after a woman. He drew their form on parchment, he fucked them—sometimes twice—and he moved on to the next one. But his siren—no, not his—drove him to distraction, and he hadn’t even had a taste of her sweet flesh. And as much as it pained him, he never would. She was a virgin, an innocent, and the most forbidden fruit if he wished to avoid scandal or marriage. Even if this particular fruit could be compared only to ambrosia.
Theo mounted his own horse, hoping that being in the saddle would give him something else to focus on. No such luck when she directed her horse to come up beside him, and he took notice of the way her chest moved as she trotted. He was a cad, looking at her as such, but he mentally defended himself in that he was equally drawn to everything about her, not just the large globes floating beneath her riding habit.
“It’s a beautiful day, is it not?” she said, joy radiating from her. Her energy drew him in, and if he weren’t more careful, he’d hang on her every word like one of the simpering misses he was so skilled at avoiding.
“It is,” he replied. “Looks as if it might rain later, but we should have a pleasant ride.”
The group departed and their horses fell in step together.
