Page 138 of Ironvine

“Yes, Her Grace asked me to paint…whomever Your Grace wished for me to… paint.”

“Hmm.” A noise rumbled in his chest, the edges of his lips curling. “Yes. To paint.”

Her mouth dried. He was positively unsettling.

“Countess, I must tell you. When I first saw you with Hugh at that ball in town, I was quite taken by you. You have a boldness and elegance about you that are not a common pairing. You are passionate about the things you care for and feel no reserve in expressing your opinions.”

“I have been told many times it is a fault I have.”

The Duke leaned in closer to her. “I find it most refreshing. Innocent and eager, like your flesh.” His fingers brushed over her bare shoulder.

Her chest tightened. “Your Grace, I am a married woman who is dedicated to her husband, and he to her.”

His two fingers brushed her lip. “Oh, I do not wish to tear you from your husband, my lady. Only to enhance.”

Georgina’s breath cut at his delicate, illicit touch, his choice of words. “Enhance?”

“I would wish to exalt you, adore you, unleash the greatest of pleasures in you.” His voice rolled with relish over the words he spoke as his warm fingers trailed over her shoulder.

She met his gaze, her feet firmly planted on the floor. There was no other way but to be direct with this man. “I assure you, sir, my husband accomplishes all those things. Unleashes all those pleasures in me.”

“I assure you, Countess, I am a good teacher. It would not be time lost nor stolen from your husband, for you will then beguile him with all you’ve learnt. It is about the experience, that is what I offer.”

It would be so easy to be seduced by this man, so easy, she thought. “Ah.”

“I am a seeker, my lady. For me, heaven lies somewhere between peril and pleasure—one anticipates the other, they cannot be separated. Only you must be bold enough to seek, and I feel you are. I would invite you on this journey. Be your guide to such an experience.”

“Your invitation is most generous, Your Grace.”

“It is. I do not propose it lightly.”

“Yet I would be unable to accept such generosity.”

His eyes glinted over her, lips twisted into an odd grin that made her insides twist. “You were to marry Hugh, were you not?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Hugh would have encouraged you in this, if not insisted. Indeed, he would have given you to me, and both he and I would have taken you on a journey beyond anything you’ve ever imagined.”

Her pulse charged. He meant to shock her but she would not give him the satisfaction. She only smiled as serenely as she could. “A remarkable proposal, to be sure. However, I am not married to Hugh, and my husband is a different man. I know of that wild journey beyond of which you speak, for I am on that exquisite journey with the Earl,” she replied. “I…I love him.”

The breath burned in her lungs. She didn’t expect to say such a thing, especially to the Duke, but it was true. And the truth was the mightiest sword. She was falling in love with Charles.

A slight grin grew over the Duke’s lips as his gaze darted over her shoulder for a moment. “May I offer one word of advice to you then, Countess?”

“I am all anticipation, sir.”

He leaned in closer, his rich, spicy scent that she remembered from dancing with him at the ball in London filled her nostrils, was it clove and cinnamon? His warm breath scoured her neck, his lips brushing the tip of her ear. Every inch of her flesh, every muscle, every limb was on sharp alert. “Never stop seeking together. Never. There is always something new and untamed to discover in seeking a heaven of your own making with your beloved. Always.”

Their gazes met, and there she saw no more of that urgent challenge, but calm solicitude. She bowed her head at him. He took her hand and kissed it.

“Darling.” An arm coiled about Georgina’s waist.Charles.Her rigid spine eased.

The Duke released her hand. “Ryvves, your Countess is utterly charming.”

“She is, sir, and more.”

“You must come to our house in the north and be our guests, for if you do not, my wife would be deeply disappointed, and that is one of the few things on this earth I never forgive.” Slanting his head at Charles, he left them.

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