“Who said anything… about…” The breath had vanished from Donovan’s lungs.
Geoffrey raised his brows.“Is that not what you were contemplating with all that anguish?Or is plucking a minuscule speck of dust from my lapel so far beneath your station as to turn you into a quivering mass of jelly?”
“Let’s put the question of acts of sodomy aside for a moment.”
“Yes, let’s,” Geoffrey agreed.“‘For the moment’ means we may have a chance to do it later.”
“You mean discuss it later?”
“Do I?”
“Damn it, Geoffrey, I am trying to be a good man!A lord… No, scratch that.This part has nothing to do with titles.An employer, regardless of other considerations, should never force his attentions on an employee.”
“Is…this your idea of ‘forcing’ yourself upon me?”
“It’s not right.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“It’s an unethical abuse of my position.”
“It’s unethical if the employee believes they must submit to undesirable acts in order to maintain their post, and therefore, their livelihood.I’ve already lost my job, if you’ll recall.You dismissed me yesterday.If I let you kiss me, will you give me my post back?”
“No.”The word came out garbled.
“If I refuse your attentions instead, will you restore my post then?”
“No,” Donovan repeated hoarsely.
“Then we’ve settled that.My livelihood is in no greater jeopardy, regardless of my choices.Which you should letmemake.In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a grown man.”
“I might have noticed,” the duke mumbled.“On occasion.”
“Then let me be one.If you wish to kiss me, then attempt to do so.I will either allow it, or I will not.”
Donovan’s throat went dry.“You’re saying… you mightnotwelcome such an overture?”
Geoffrey’s gaze was steady.“Try it and find out.”
Ethics aside, legalities aside, how could Donovan bear to kiss a man who would disappear from his life in less than a fortnight?
Unless thatwasthe point.If not now, then when?If not with the man he’d pined for from both near and afar for twenty long years… then with whom?Some luckless chit, who would soon find herself saddled with a husband who preferred chest hair to pert breasts?
If Donovan allowed this opportunity to vanish, there would not be another.If he was ever going to attempt to make reality from his dreams, this was the moment.
Without allowing his brain another moment to talk himself out of what was likely to be a highly unwise action, Donovan grasped Geoffrey’s pristine lapels, crushing them in his fists, and he pressed his lips to Geoffrey’s.
The valet’s lips were warm and soft, exactly as they looked.Exactly as Donovan had imagined, time and again.They melted against his, at once pliant yet urgent and demanding.Geoffrey’s arms rose around Donovan’s sides, gliding up the expert cut of his worsted coat until the valet’s long, hot fingers cradled Donovan’s face, holding him in place.Coaxing the kiss deeper.
His valet tasted of sweet tea, courtesy of the contents of Donovan’s traveling bag during the long drive.His tongue was sure and dominant, stroking the duke’s own in a way that Donovan could feel from the tip of his cock all the way to the base.
If it weren’t for the ridiculous tightness of his pantaloons, his cock would be knocking against his valet’s thigh… or perhaps against Geoffrey’s own cock.
The idea sent Donovan nearly into a frenzy.He wanted to rend every well-tailored stitch from their bodies, tossing the rags to the ground before tumbling their naked bodies atop them, rolling in silk and cambric and superfine and soft grass as their hands and kisses found every inch of each other’s bodies.
He wrenched his open mouth from Geoffrey’s before he could lose his mind completely, here in this public garden where anyone might stumble across them.
“There,” Geoffrey said softly.“Now you know what will happen if you attempt to kiss me.Think about that before you try again.”
