He placed the drinks on a table near the settee and stepped to hover next to her.
She picked up one piece that was six strips of leather emanating from a metal ring. The harness was an experimental design, and he hadn’t visited Sarah Potter’s to have any of the girls model it for him for comfort or fit.
Those black straps across her soft, peaches-and-cream skin, her pliant belly, breasts, and arse in contrast to the stiff hide…
His cock stood up, saluting the vision, and he tugged on his waistcoat as she turned to face him.
“How does this work?” Her tone was breathy, her eyes slumberous, and her nipples stiff.
Her reaction is for my designs, like everyone else’s.His cock did not care. Nor, on second thought, did he. Moving forward, he centered the ring at her waist.
She leaned forward an inch to watch him manipulate the arrangement.
“One pair goes around your waist. Another circles your neck.” He placed them as he spoke, although he did not fasten them, allowing each to drop as he moved to the next. “And one…” He tugged it downward. “I cannot show you this part whilst you’re wearing clothes.”
“Ohh.” The word held wonder and interest.
“Would you like to try it?” Feeling brave enough to push, he nonetheless stepped back to ensure his bulk did not feel threatening. He’d asked her downstairs to be sure, but he still wanted to hear her agreement.
“Yes, please.”
Picking up the whiskies, he held one out to her, forcing his hand to steadiness. “Cheers. Would you like help with your dress? I am no ladies maid, but I’m sure we can muddle through.”
Beth claimed one of the whiskies and gave him her back. He fumbled with the buttons until they were undone. Turning around, she held the dress in place below her breasts and set down her glass. She shrugged her shoulders, and the dress fell, separating from her chemise at the sides of her breasts but catching on those lush mounds.
It was all he could do not to pant like a dog. He licked his lips, and that must have been the reaction she wanted.
Her hand lifted, and the dress dropped to the floor. Her sheer muslin chemise, in a barely-peach color that matched her skin, did nothing to hide the rose-tipped points poking through it. Just below, her waist cinched in with quilted satin stays cascading to a petticoat.
Unable to tear his gaze from her bosom, he watched her magnificence quiver as she stepped out of the pool of dress around her feet. They were lost to his sight when she presented her back for him to untie her stays.
He needed two tries to grasp the ends of the bow and untie it. Then, reward in mind, he made quick work of loosening the criss-crossed laces.
The garment hit the floor, and she sighed. Finally, his knowledge of corsets and women flooded back, and he pulled her chemise up, slipping his fingers beneath it to smooth across her flesh, soothing the creases left from her stays.
“Yesss. Goodness, that feels marvelous.”
Undoing the tapes of her petticoat, he shoved it off her hips and spun her.
“Would you like to try the garment now with your chemise on? Or do you prefer to remove that as well?” The hope in his voice was undeniable.
****
Beth had never cared about nudity or even being discovered inflagrante delicto. Preferring to feel that supple leather against her skin, Beth whipped the chemise over her head.
Robert did not move. She wasn’t sure he even blinked.
Am I too round? Or was he offended by my lack of modesty?Beth was proud of her curves and knew her breasts were a draw for most men, but the perversity of the Ton, criticizing her behavior even while more than half of them were enthralled by it, made her question his reaction. She cared little for most people’s acceptance, but her vulnerable position made her crave his.
The nature of the party and her reputation guaranteed his interest would not last past this night or mayhap this week. She could bemoan that later as she always did after her conquests ended, even knowing her actions reinforced her partners’ beliefs that she was unsuitable for more than tupping. However, she needed validation that her naked form was acceptable for the evening, at least.
Then she spied movement. The rigid outline of his cock pulsed against his breeches, reaching toward her. With a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxed an inch.
His shoulders twitched, and she realized her sigh had jostled her bosom, where his gaze now focused.
“Do you plan to remain fully clothed? I had plans to opine on your appearance if you recall.”
“Uh.” His brow furrowed, and he glanced at the fireplace.
