This book is about to go off the market in the next two weeks ( I am assuming). Make sure you get it now or it will be February before you can get it again.
Lessons in Seduction (Book Two-Once Upon an Accident)
A moment later, he heard Fitzgerald’s retreating steps. Sinking further in the chair, savoring the creature comfort, the creaking as the chair adjusted to his weight, Douglas closed his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and tried to ignore the pain.
Why did he have to pick last night, of all nights, to drink too much? He’d actually arrived home early, slinking out of the ball, avoiding Cicely and Felicia. His relationship with Felicia had not been the high point of his life, but he had never felt as disreputable as he had when he realized just how Cicely saw him. For some reason, her disappointment made him feel worse about his behavior.
Last night, as he lay in his large bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. The feel of her against him, the way her face lit up when she smiled, the way it had fallen… He couldn’t fathom why his regard of her had changed, but he’d begun thinking about things he had no right thinking about her. Like, what did she look like with her hair down and just when had she started thinking of him as a candidate to take her virginity? Why had she decided to give that gift away? Why did she have a list of prospects?
What did she sound like when she moaned in pleasure?
He groaned when he realized he was half aroused. Again. Shifting in his seat, trying to ease the tightness in his trousers, he decided it had just been too long since he had bedded a woman.
Disgruntled with the whole situation, he rested his chin on his chest and tried to go to sleep. But, as his mind drifted and he felt his body relax, a feminine voice drifted to him.
“Darling, just what have you got there?”
The female voice was low, throaty, and it shivered down his spine. There was something vaguely familiar about it, but he couldn’t figure where he had heard it before. He didn’t know who she was talking to; he heard no male voice answer. His body, already aroused, shimmered with heat as the woman continued talking.
“You are such a naughty boy, you know that?” She laughed. There was a hint of coyness in it that most courtesans would have killed to be able to imitate. “You shouldn’t pull on my dress like that. You might ruin the seamstress’ hard toils.”
Again, her laughter reached him. Ignoring the pain pounding through his brain, Douglas got to his feet and moved stealthily toward the door. He couldn’t fathom what pulled at him, why he had to know who she was, but for some reason he did.
“You know, one of these days you will get in trouble for that, my lord. Naughty boy.”
Her tone teased his brain. Perhaps he had met the woman some time before. A house party or maybe a dinner that Colleen and Sebastian had held. The Wares were not that big on entertaining, but they did have a few parties, and Colleen always made it a point to invite him.
“Now, if you will be a very good boy, I will give you a treat.”
Her voice deepened and coaxed him closer. Normally, he would have been completely embarrassed by his actions, and he was certain he would be at some point, but he was too enticed by just who this woman was to care about the ramifications of his actions. Douglas inched closer to the door, trying not to make any noise. He stepped to the opened doorway and drew up short as he came face-to-face with Cicely.
She took a step back. “Your Grace. I hope you will excuse that I do not curtsy since I have my hands full at the moment.”
It was then that he noticed Charles, Viscount Penwyth, Sebastian’s heir in Cicely’s arms. And just for a second, one little split second, he wanted to believe she wasn’t the one he’d heard, that he was mistaken. He wanted the woman with the teasing laugh to be someone accessible, not someone he would never dally with. But he knew she was the one. To top it off, he felt like a reprobate because he was still half aroused from her chatter to a young boy. Charles pulled on her neckline and she winced.
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