Chapter Eight
Kitty smiled as Hazel helped Mrs. Donahue load books about female reproduction into a satchel.
She was a woman who ran a home for unwed mothers-to-be and was a regular purchaser of their illicit books.
Larson Bookshop and Printing Press wasn’t the only business selling illegal works, but she believed it might be the only one catering to women.
Mrs. Donahue mouthed “thank you” to her and waved goodbye.
A giggle erupted from the other side of the room where women surrounded Beth Martin.
She wrote steamy, mature romances deemed vile by the government.
Kitty had read them and found them beautiful.
In her stories, Beth focused on women finding pleasure during intimacy.
She blushed, her mind flashing to one scene where the man had run his mouth down his wife’s form, including her most intimate areas.
Kitty and Oliver’s kisses were becoming more earnest as the days went by, but she wanted more.
Kitty yearned to get swept away by his touch and their desire. Was that wrong?
Beth had been speaking and signing books for over an hour.
Kitty needed to break up the gaggle around her.
It was interesting who attended their underground book events.
It was a mixture of ladies’ maids, working women, and wives from all classes.
She suspected most came for the romance novels, but plenty still shopped for literature on health and science, to-do books, and philosophies that the government found lewd or inflammatory.
Sighing, she made her way to Beth and the ladies, clapping her hands. “Mrs. Martin needs to wrap up for the evening. I will be locking up the building soon. Do not fret; she will be here next month with a brand-new novelette.”
Groans and giggles escaped from the crowd, but they all moved along.
Shannon and Hazel stood by the door, collecting their payments as they left.
Beth grinned at her. “Thank you for creating a space where I can visit with my readers. It feels different than having to smuggle my romance novelettes discreetly to them.”
When Kitty’s father and mother had begun to involve her in the illicit book side of the business, one of her first suggestions was to open up the back room for customers to peruse books.
Previously, women picked up their pre-ordered purchases and hurried off, as if their reading choices were shameful.
Kitty hated that any woman would feel such an emotion.
Her mother had suggested inviting the authors to attend the events, and that increased the number of attendees even more.
Still, it was dangerous, making Kitty always careful about who she invited.
An unspoken rule among all their women readers was that no one shared anything publicly about the underground book events.
“How is married life?” Beth asked.
It was wonderful. Well, except they hadn’t been intimate with one another. Beth had become a dear friend over the last few years, so when Kitty blushed, she lifted a brow. Kitty fidgeted with the front of her skirt, unsure what to say.
“What are you trying to share? You do realize I write about sex, have been wed for almost two decades, and have birthed four children,” Beth stated.
“We haven’t shared the marriage bed.”
Beth’s eyes shot up, but then she shrugged. “You have just met. I’m sure he is giving you time. Do you kiss?”
Kitty nodded. Her friend questioned, “Do you enjoy it? Does he?”
His touch made her achy but not in a bad way. “I believe so.”
Beth’s eyes twinkled with mischievousness. “Perhaps, you should entice him for more.”
“I would have no idea how,” she blustered.
A tinkle of laughter escaped her friend.
Beth walked to the tables with several books laid out.
She selected one and handed it to Kitty.
The title read, Seducing One’s Husband. Kitty felt her face heat even more, and her friend winked.
“You sell the most useful literature but don’t peruse them yourself? ”
“I read many of our underground publications. Just not this one. Until recently, I haven’t had a husband to seduce.”
“Well, that how-to book is insightful on how to pleasure one’s spouse as well as ways they can please you. The right man will enjoy both.”
Was Oliver that man? She hoped so, but now even her ears were heating, making her wonder if she should be thinking such things.
“There is no shame in enjoying a good tupping from your husband.”
“Beth!” Kitty exclaimed.
Her friend grinned wickedly. “Read the book and begin your seduction. I suspect your husband is waiting for a sign from you that you are ready.”
Perhaps Beth was correct. Oliver had been tempting her since they married, but was also always holding back. At least, it felt that way. She couldn’t be sure. But was he waiting for her to act first? “I think I will try.”
Beth’s eyes went dreamy. “The first year of marriage is special. Exploring and learning each other’s wants and needs is nothing short of magical.”
Kitty wanted that for her and Oliver. She clutched the book to her chest, hopeful Oliver would desire such a connection as well.
“I did have a question for you. A Dominic Larson requested an appointment with me. Is he related to your family?”
Her words snapped Kitty out of her romantic thoughts about Oliver.
Why was her uncle reaching out to Beth? “He is my uncle, and before I married, he hoped to become my and my sisters’ guardian.
He is unhappy that I’ve wed and he can’t control me or the business’s finances.
He has threatened to expose that we print and sell illicit books unless I pay him an absurd amount of money, and often. ”
Beth frowned. “I will refuse.”
“Thank you,” Kitty said. She couldn’t prevent the concern flaring in her at her uncle’s actions. His trying to connect with her partners in the underground book market was highly unusual and boded nothing good.
Oliver held his arm out to his wife. “Would you join me for a respite on the terrace?”
Kitty nodded. “A bit of a break would be marvelous.”
They were hosting their first ball together.
Well, truthfully, his mother was in charge of the spectacle, but Kitty didn’t seem to mind.
He glanced across the ballroom where Kitty’s sister, Hazel, and Julia chatted.
They, along with Kitty’s youngest sister, had become fast friends while residing with his mother at the smaller family townhouse.
Eventually, everyone would move back here, but his mother supported his decision that he and Kitty have some privacy to become better acquainted.
Most of the people who greeted them tonight were part of the ton.
Kitty had invited a few individuals, but she’d suspected the majority wouldn’t attend, and she was correct.
Even her lawyer, whom she was close to, had sent a missive declining but hoped to meet over tea later in the month. Their social circles were so different.
He supposed there was some truth to the gossip swirling about the huge divide between families of old money and new money.
Still, he didn’t care about any of that.
Oliver was simply thrilled that he and Kitty enjoyed each other’s company.
He hadn’t been sure that would be possible when he’d first reached out to Mrs. Dove-Lyon about finding a wife.
Surprisingly and happily, Kitty was starting to matter a great deal to him.
He adored chatting with her. Oliver glanced at her.
She also took his breath away, especially tonight.
Her brown hair was elegantly tied up on top of her head, and a light-blue ballgown accentuated her curvy figure.
Hunger coursed through him, imagining what it would be like to touch her and to get lost in her body.
Last night, he’d dreamed of her being in his bed and awakened with a rock-hard cock.
He’d almost used the door separating his bedchamber from hers.
Take it slow, he’d silently scolded himself.
He wouldn’t rush his wife; there would be time for all of that.
First, they needed to get through this ball.
They reached the terrace and stopped. The area was also packed with people. Disappointment flickered across Kitty’s face, and Oliver grinned at her. “The beauty of playing host is you can go where guests can’t. Shall we take our break on one of the garden paths?”
Kitty beamed at him. “I would love that.”
They hurried down the stone steps, rushing to a path with tall hedges bordering it on both sides. Oliver laughed once there. Kitty continued to hold his arm. She asked, “Do you think anyone saw us?”
He shrugged. “Who cares? If I want to sneak away with my wife, I’m well within my rights to do so.”
Their eyes connected, and desire sparked between them. She squeezed his forearm with her hand, and he was tempted to kiss her. Loud laughter startled them, and he guided her further down the path, lit only by the moon.
“It is a lovely night,” he said.
She stopped, and he turned to her. “Is something amiss?”
Kitty glanced around. She bit her lip, as if she were contemplating something. Finally, she whispered, “Will you kiss me, Oliver?”
“Of course.”
He could never deny such a request. She placed her hand on his chest, stopping him from coming any closer. “Passionately.”
The hum of desire crackled between them.
He lifted a brow, waiting for her to explain.
She took a deep breath, drawing his eyes to her smooth throat and to the crests of her breasts pressing up from the neckline of her gown.
How Oliver hungered to run his mouth along her silken skin.
With a soft, timorous voice, she said, “We kiss, but it is always so controlled. I suspect you want to kiss me differently, and you are holding back.”
“You are an innocent, Kitty—”
“I am, but also a woman who wants to know what passion feels like.”
He pressed against where her hand still rested on his chest. Kitty’s openness and frankness enthralled him. Everything this woman did only added more to her allure.
Oliver ran his thumb across her lower lip. “You want passion, my wife?”
She nodded ever so slightly, and he allowed his eyes to openly peruse her.
He started at Kitty’s mouth, imagining her plump lips kissing him and wrapping around his shaft.
Then his eyes moved further down her throat, back to the swell of her full breasts.
Oliver reached and ran the back of his knuckles across them, feeling their softness and heat.
Kitty gasped, and briefly, his eyes connected with hers. They were filled with desire. His hand slid down the front of her gown before halting at the curve of her hip.
“You’ve never looked at me as you are now,” she murmured.
He grasped her hip more firmly and leaned forward, sliding his lips along her jaw and ear. “Kitty, I look at you this way far more than you realize.”
Her hand clenched the fabric of his shirt.
Oliver groaned, and he dipped his head down, claiming her mouth.
It wasn’t a sweet kiss but one filled with pent-up need.
His tongue sparred with hers as he deepened the touching of their mouths.
Her hand went around his neck, and Oliver gripped her bottom, pulling the apex of her thighs against his hard cock.
She broke the kiss and let out a throaty moan. He trailed his lips down her throat, and he palmed one of her breasts, hungry to free it and the other from their constraints. God, he wanted this woman. His fingers grasped her skirts, needing to touch her more.
The moment was interrupted by a female calling his bloody name. His mother! He took a step back, running both hands through his hair. Kitty, still breathing heavily, giggled. Oliver shook his head. “That woman has the worst timing.”
“She will go back to the other townhouse later this evening.”
He studied his wife. They were becoming closer, but some could argue they were still almost strangers to each other. Still, he said, “I need you in my arms tonight, Kitty.”
“I want that as well.”
Oliver kissed her one more time. “Come, before my mother sends out all the footmen to hunt us down.”