Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
Juliet lay in the center of the massive bed, staring at the amorphic shapes the flickering lantern cast onto the ceiling. There was no way she could sleep with her mind jumping from one topic to another, so she’d probably spend the rest of the night tossing and turning.
It had been a mistake to look at the pictures in The Secret Life of Gentlemen.
For heaven’s sake, anyone in the household could have walked into the library and caught her.
She was fortunate it had been Eric, because other than his initial shock, he didn’t seem too horrified.
He’d even shown compassion when he’d put the book back without saying something judgmental.
Unlike the men of her class, Eric didn’t go out of his way to make women feel inferior.
In fact, he’d seemed sincere when he told her he didn’t think she was wanton, even after catching her looking at naughty pictures.
But since then, her indiscretions had continued to pile up, culminating in tonight’s shameful thoughts.
While her sister read, fantasies about Mister Brown Eyes suckling Juliet’s nipples like the man in the book illustration had bombarded her. For some inexplicable reason, she’d opened her eyes and sought out Eric.
His eyes were closed, and his body was relaxed.
Calling him handsome was an understatement.
Even with his bruises and swelling, the man was an Adonis.
Assuming he was sleeping, she’d boldly continued her admiration of his broad chest and chiseled jaw.
When his lids lifted and he perused the room, she’d been surprised, but she had not looked away.
After averting her gaze on and off throughout dinner, she had no desire to continue behaving like a milksop—especially since the man gave her butterflies.
His presence also made her breasts tingle, and her nether regions feel empty—which was entirely unacceptable.
She sighed. Perhaps it was time to face the truth—she was so wanton that she was attracted to two men.
Unfortunately, she had no idea what to do with the need coursing through her. She could explore her body like she had while bathing. Surely Esther wouldn’t barge into her chamber in the middle of the night. However, at the moment, the idea held little appeal.
Or you could borrow The Secret Life of Gentlemen, look at the interesting pictures, and learn how to make love to a man.
An overwhelming ache washed over her. More than anything, she wanted to study the book.
Of course, she shouldn’t.
However, the entire household was probably asleep. If she were quiet, no one would ever know about her clandestine trek through Chesterhill Manor. Besides, any woman brave enough to run from a powerful fiancé could sneak into a library and steal a book.
She flung her counterpane off and sat up. Doing her best to be quiet, she softly placed her feet on the carpeting. Lamp in hand and her step light, she slipped into the dark hallway.
As she suspected, no one was about. Practically holding her breath, she tiptoed on silent, bare feet.
Upon entering the empty library, she took in a full breath and let it out slowly.
Thank goodness she had the lantern, because the room was eerily dark.
Holding the light source in front of her, she approached the ladder.
This time she’d be more careful. After learning her lesson the hard way, she had no intention of flipping through the book while teetering on a toothpick.
Taking her time, she climbed. She held the lantern high so that she could read the spines.
It took her a few minutes to locate the book.
A tiny thrill shot through her as she plucked the volume from the shelf.
How fascinating to learn something new about herself.
Apparently, she enjoyed being a bit naughty.
Shoving the book under her armpit, she carefully descended the ladder.
She didn’t relax until her feet touched the ground.
Huzzah! She hadn’t crashed to the floor while toting a tiny fire in a room full of bookish tinder. Juliet performed a quiet, celebratory jig.
Emboldened by her success, she placed the lantern on Alexander’s desk and sat in his chair. After she took one little peek, she’d hurry back to her chamber. She flipped the book open to a page near the middle and brought her hand to her mouth. “Good gracious,” she whispered into her palm.
A woman lay on a bench in a flower garden. Her gown had been wrenched indecently high, exposing the top half of the dark triangle of hair between her thighs. A man had his mouth pressed to her cunny as if he were licking her feminine juices.
“How utterly scandalous,” Juliet whispered.
If these depictions of people wearing euphoric expressions instead of layers of clothing were accurate, men must enjoy devouring women’s bodies, and women must enjoy being devoured. Juliet’s thighs dampened once again, and she whimpered like an inexperienced fribble.
Enough was enough. She needed to return to her chamber and get some sleep.
At the same time that she closed the book, someone fiddled with the door handle. Her heart slammed against her chest. She simply couldn’t be found with The Secret Life of Gentlemen. Not again. Grabbing the book, she ducked beneath the desk and held her breath.
The door squeaked open. She strained her ears, just making out the faint rub of footsteps muffled by the carpeting.
Criminy! Her lit lantern sat on the desk. Whoever this was would see the light and wonder who’d forgotten it.
The barely audible footsteps approached the desk, halted, then faded. Thank heavens, whoever was in the room was moving away from her. Something creaked a half dozen times. She suspected the ladder, and if that was the case, the intruder was climbing it.
Robbed of her sight in the pitch-black cave she huddled in, sound became her only barometer, and unfortunately, the room grew ominously silent. Her heartbeat sped up as if she were a sprinting racehorse. No, that wasn’t quite right because it felt more like a flesh-eating monster was chasing her.
Silly girl, she chided herself. It was probably just her brother-in-law looking for a midnight read. Still, she didn’t want him to find her with his indecent book. Closing her eyes, she willed him to go away.
Time passed so slowly that one of her bum cheeks went numb. If this was Alexander, what was taking him so long?
Soon, pins and needles crept up the other side of her bum, alerting her that she needed to move. Since she didn’t want to be discovered in this humiliating situation, she ignored her fussy body and stayed right where she was.
Then, she waited.
The thump, thump of her heartbeat was the only sound she’d discerned in forever. Perhaps her visitor had descended the ladder and left, and she hadn’t heard them on the carpeting, although she doubted this since she also hadn’t heard the squeaky door.
A muscle in her hip cramped. The excruciating pain forced her to extend her leg. Despite trying to be careful, her foot bumped into the chair. The thunk seemed to echo in the quiet chamber.
Wincing, she closed her eyes and prayed this person hadn’t heard her. Then, she listened for the telltale sound of someone descending the creaky ladder. However, nothing disturbed the tomblike silence ensconcing the room.
And then, a ray of light appeared out of nowhere, illuminating a pair of men’s boots.
A massive hand reached for her. Her instincts told her to back away.
But what was the point? Caged like a trapped animal, she had two choices.
Emily would not appreciate her assaulting Alexander, so biting his fingers was out of the question.
Therefore, Juliet reluctantly crawled from her hiding place.