CHAPTER FIFTEEN #2
Remembering he wore a wig, he resisted running a hand through his hair.
He was all too tempted to dissuade her from continuing her ‘education,’ but it would be the height of hypocrisy to deny her the enlightenment that he had been granted and a betrayal of the mission dearest to Abby, whose views were radical in the extreme but had at their heart good and selfless intentions.
“I can tell you are a gentleman. Are there not others who can fulfill your role?”
“I am persuaded by Abby, not many.”
“She is a very persuasive woman.”
They shared a smile.
“Ah, I forgot,” the young woman said of a sudden and rose to her feet. From her décolletage, she pulled out a handkerchief for him. “I washed it thoroughly. I imagine it is too fine for you to part with.”
He stared at it, soaking in the realization that the cloth had been pressed against her breast. “Keep it.”
“Are you quite sure?”
“My mother enjoyed embroidery. It was one of her favourite pastimes. This particular handkerchief she had made only a pair, but I am not short of handkerchiefs.”
It was not in the rules to assign tokens of one’s stay at Trenwith House, but it gave him some satisfaction to know that she had something of his.
She now stood within arm’s reach of him.
He felt he could seduce away whatever reservations he had helped stoke, but he was rendered immobile by the war between desire and mortification.
How could this woman not be Miss Elizabeth?
He wanted to ask her any number of questions to validate his suspicion but would not appear prying.
And yet, it was too fantastical, surely too much a coincidence, that he could make love to the very woman he dwelled upon over all others?
Perhaps he already had. He had barely dared to dream of her in that manner before.
How had Miss Elizabeth come upon Abby Trenwith?
It was enough to drive him mad.
“Are you certain you wish to continue?” he asked.
“You are uncommonly talkative tonight.”
“Perhaps I was uncommonly taciturn the night before.”
She allowed for that possibility, then decided to answer his question. “I had already embarked upon this path of peril when I agreed to the first lesson. While additional visits may improve opportunities for discovery—”
“Will improve.”
“I see no increase in jeopardy for the time being, as I am already here. I may as well proceed with the lesson. I can review the decision to prolong the education thereafter.”
He groaned silently.
“But I confess—and if I may be forward—that you, sir, appear in some distress. If it would ease your state to delay—”
“No, that is not necessary. I am up to the task.”
The last thing he wanted was the opportunity to be replaced as her instructor or compel her to make another trip. With a shaky breath, he prepared himself.
“Do you recall the safety word?”
“Montreal,” she supplied with confidence.
The tables had turned. The instructor was now more nervous than the student. He took an uncertain step toward her. Perhaps he could put it out of his mind that this was Miss Elizabeth, that Fate could not be so cruel.
Alas, circumstance would not abet him. He touched a tendril of hair that coiled about her collar. Despite the lighting, he recognized the colour.
“No powdered wig tonight,” he commented.
“My evening is limited. I ought return home before my absence becomes noteworthy.”
Then he had no time to waste. For her sake. And because he had a duty to fulfill. But he could only stand before her and regard her as if she were a porcelain doll that would break with too much contact. With much exertion, he finally put his hands upon her shoulders.
She waited patiently, then said, “My feelings are not easily hurt. If I am repulsive to you—”
“No!”
To prove it, he wrapped an arm about her waist and pulled her to him. The smell of her, the feel of her body pressed to his, all made his blood heat in an instant. It was his undoing. He lowered his head and captured her mouth.
By God. He was very likely kissing Elizabeth Bennet.
The realization that this might be his only occasion to kiss her deepened his embrace a little more forcefully than he intended as he drank in the headiness of her lips.
How soft and pliant they were beneath his.
How sweet and intoxicating. He took mouthfuls of her, his hunger growing with each bite, the primal urges roaring to life.
But judging her to be a little overwhelmed, he forced a rein upon his desire and trailed lighter kisses down her neck.
His lust was bested by a greater desire to satisfy her.
His own vanity demanded that he provide her an unforgettable experience.
Placing a hand at the small of her back, he fitted her closer to him.
His cock lengthened in response. He would grind her into his groin but deemed the action too coarse for the second lesson.
Wrapping his other hand around the back of her neck, he massaged her there, his fingers rimming the edge of her scalp.
She relaxed into his arms, a slight murmur of contentment escaping her lips.
“What do you seek in your lesson tonight, mademoiselle?” he whispered in her ear.
“What are my options and what would you recommend?”
The trust she was placing in him was no small responsibility. He answered, “We ought continue the exploration of your body. There are many possible points of pleasure upon a woman’s body. Shall we attempt to find them all?”
She inhaled sharply. He himself had found it difficult to speak fluidly of his own suggestion.
“Yes,” she pronounced.
God have mercy, he silently blasphemed. Gathering every ounce of restraint, he caressed her ear with his mouth with a gentle tug at the lobe, then flicked his tongue into the opening.
“Ahh,” she gasped.
He nuzzled the area behind her ear and planted hot, wet kisses down the side of her neck.
She moaned her approval. He cupped her chin with both hands, titled her mouth up to his, and paid homage to her lips with deliberation and tenderness.
If he did not desire her more, he would be content to kiss her for an eternity.
When he felt her lips moving with his, he slid his tongue at hers.
She jumped a little in surprise but quickly acclimated to his intrusion.
With more experience, she could participate in the dance of a kiss, but he was content to do the sampling and the leading, careful not to shove his tongue too deep but keeping it light and teasing.
When he lifted his head to give her a chance to catch her breath, she seemed almost disappointed that he had stopped.
Dropping his hands down to her shoulders, he ran his thumbs along her collarbone. He pushed aside the fichu to expose the décolletage. With the knuckle of his forefinger, he traced the swell of one breast. Her bosom lifted with her breath.
“I will undress you—completely,” he informed her.
She nodded.
How easy she could have made his life if she would refuse! The steadiness of his hand surprised him as he unpinned her fichu. Turning her away from him, he began to unbutton her bodice with a measure that belied an exhilaration he wished did not exist.
“If at any time you wish me to desist…”
“Is there a purpose to your drawn pace?”
“Prolonging the anticipation can intensify the excitement.”
He slid the garment from her, baring her arms. He liked the look of them: healthy and with feminine suppleness.
There was substance to her, not like some of the young women who appeared as if they were wasting away before one’s eyes or whose thinness made them as a scrawny as a shriveling old woman.
He felt it when they kissed, and in the hold of their hands as they danced.
He was certainly not partial to the women who felt as if they had as much solidity as porridge or who might melt away if he kissed too ardently.
Miss Elizabeth and his student had presence.
He unpinned her skirt next, then untied her petticoats until she was clad similar to the first lesson.
His heart began to pound as he saw the colour of her garters through the thin shift.
Being a man, he was not always indifferent to the physical charms of his pupils.
Nor did any sense of attraction disturb him.
But this was different. This was excruciating.
“Is something the matter? Or is this part and parcel of anticipation?” she asked after he had stood too long in awe of what he beheld.
“Merely admiring the sight,” he answered hoarsely.
Coercing his mind to task, he reached for her corset and methodically loosened the laces.
When he had freed her from its confines and dropped the article atop her other apparel, he paused once more.
A last article of clothing and she would be stripped to the buff save for her garters, stockings and mask.
Notwithstanding the disquiet he felt, his cock was fully erect and visibly stretching the tightness of his breeches.
He grasped her shoulders and kissed the nape of her neck.
He caressed the area with his lips till he heard her soft moan.
He grasped a breast in each hand and kneaded the thick, full orbs.
Her moan grew louder. He lightly pinched and pulled at the already hardened nipples.
She arched herself deeper into his hands.
With one hand, he rolled the little nub between his thumb and forefinger, while his other hand dropped down to cup her womanhood.
Though her shift remained between them, there was not a part of her that did not feel exquisite beneath his hands. The blood coursed strongly through his body, causing his erection to throb. He wondered if he had enough control to last the lesson.