He kept his touch light, soft caresses of both her breasts now. She might not have found release in her husband’s bed, but it was clear her body yearned for it.
She was rocking against his cock now, and he returned the motion. Her soft, breathy murmur of assent had him continuing his assault. One hand remained at her breast while the other trailed ever so slowly down to her waist, then her hip. He was kissing her again, rewarded by her fervent response, when he began to inch up the fabric of her dress.
He drew back and allowed a fraction of space between their mouths. “I’m going to touch you between your legs, but only with my hand. Do you still want me to continue?”
She drew back, and her brow was furrowed again as she weighed the request. “Only your hands?”
“Yes.”
“Can you kiss me while you do it?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I’d kiss you forever if you’d allow me the privilege.”
Her laugh was short, shaky, and it was clear she’d surprised herself that she could find anything about this situation amusing.
“You haven’t won your wager yet, my lord.”
His breath mingled with hers as he spoke against her plush lips. “No, but I will.”
There was no soft exploration now. He couldn’t take her body, but he could have her kisses, and so he plundered her mouth, his desire reaching a fever pitch as they drowned in each other. She was grasping his shoulders now, and he braced her against him with one hand low on her back as he trailed a path up her inner thigh.
When he reached her folds, she was wet for him.
Her breath stuttered as he stroked her there, just above her opening, where she was most sensitive. He continued his assault on her senses, and when her breath hitched again, he plunged one finger inside her. His thumb continued stroking that small bundle of nerves.
It didn’t take long before she wrenched her mouth from his, her lips falling open with a soft cry as her entire body stiffened. He could feel the pulses of her release against the finger that was still inside her, and he wanted to shout out a cry of victory.
All too soon it was over. He allowed the fabric of her dress to fall again, and he took her mouth in another long, lingering kiss before allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder. He held her like that for some time.
“I didn’t know.” Her voice was soft against his body; then she tilted her head back. “I didn’t know that was possible. And you didn’t even…” She reached down to cover his erection with one hand, and he almost spilled in his trousers.
He grasped her wrist to stop her from bringing him to an embarrassing finish and brought her hand to his mouth. “Today was all about you.”
Lucy’s entire world had just turned upside down.
Now she understood why her married friends were so happy. Clearly their husbands shared the same intimate knowledge that Holbrook possessed.
Which left her wondering if Mansfield hadn’t known how to please a woman or if he just hadn’t cared about seeing to her needs. Given his general selfishness, she suspected it was the latter.
Holbrook took his leave after dropping a soft kiss on her lips and promising to call again. She watched him go without a word and then made her way to the armchair he’d recently occupied. A befuddled haze had settled over her senses, and she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do about it.
Now she knew exactly what lay behind the many different ways her brother and her friends showed their love for their spouses. The casual touch of hands, a warm smile that seemed to convey things Lucy hadn’t understood. The way they stood a little too close to one another, their lingering gazes and whispered conversations.
It seemed every one of them possessed the knowledge that marital relations didn’t have to be one-sided. That women could have just as much pleasure from the marriage bed as their husbands.
Lucy drank the rest of her tea and then poured another cup. At least her hands weren’t shaking. But given the lassitude that had settled over her body after Holbrook had brought her to release, she was surprised she didn’t drop the teacup.
When she finished the second cup, she placed it carefully on the table before settling back into the armchair with a contented sigh. She knew she’d play every moment of her encounter with Holbrook over and over in her mind tonight. But first she needed to do something she found even more difficult than approaching a man she barely knew and proposing an affair.
She needed to break the cardinal rule that had been in place since the moment her closest friend had fallen in love with her brother. She had to question Charlotte about her love life because it was now very clear to Lucy that her knowledge in that area was woefully inadequate.
Chapter 9
Holbrook wanted to court her.
To court her.
It was the opposite of what Lucy had wanted when she decided to approach him about having an affair. Although, given the way he’d watched her during the Clarington ball, she might have found herself facing this same dilemma even if she hadn’t reached out to him first.
