Now she felt dizzy.
‘I could have suggested the bedroom,’ he said, his roguish smile returning. ‘But its decoration would probably shock you.’ His lips quirked. ‘In fact, I am sure it shall. It is not the sort of thing a vicar’s daughter should see.’
‘I have been in your bedroom before,’ she said, gathering her strength.
‘In my home,’ he said. ‘That is quite different.’
What on earth was she doing? She should demand to be taken home and insist on a proper courtship, if he was serious in pursuing her. But if he meant to marry her as he’d claimed a week ago, what would happen was inevitable. All roads led to the same place.
But some of them were more interesting than others.
‘I think I should like to see it,’ she said and rose from her seat.
He suppressed a chuckle. ‘You continue to amaze me, Miss Fisk. And I do like to be surprised.’ He walked across the room and stood behind her. ‘Very well, then. Let us begin your education.’ He wrapped his arms around her and covered hereyes. Then, he steered her forward towards what she guessed must be the bedroom door.
Chapter Fifteen
She allowed him to guide her, leaning back against him and enjoying the decadent feel of his body pressing against her back. He was solid and warm, and he smelled of oranges and cloves and a hint of bay.
They stopped and his hands dropped to her shoulders.
Her eyes had been closed behind his fingers. Now she opened them and looked around.
The walls were green as the sitting room had been, but the enamel had been replaced by coverings of padded baize, attached to the plaster with brass studs.
‘It is an exceptionally quiet room because of the hangings,’ he said.
She stared at the satin-covered bed which dominated the room. ‘I suspect it is good for sleeping.’
‘And other things,’ he agreed. ‘You can scream all you want here and no one on the street will ever know.’
‘Am I likely to?’ she said, her nervousness returning.
‘We shall see,’ he replied, then said, ‘Look up.’
She laughed. She could not help it. The entire ceiling was covered with a mural, nymphs and satyrs engaged in acts of unrestrained debauchery around a gathering of cherubs that framed a mirror above the bed. ‘Did you…’ she choked.
‘It was this way when I rented the place,’ he replied. ‘But I will admit, its presence was a deciding factor in my signingthe lease.’ Then, his right hand slid off her shoulder to cup her breast.
She froze for a moment, shocked. Then leaned back again and relaxed into his touch. What was the point of being seduced by a rake if it was some mundane deflowering on a white cotton sheet with the lights extinguished? If she was going to fall from grace she wanted to land with a crash.
A crash that would not be heard outside of this room, at least.
‘You are wearing the pin I gave you,’ he said, against her ear. ‘I like it when you do that. It excites me.’ His other hand undid a button on her spencer.
‘An ant excites you,’ she said, trying to work out the logistics in a joining of two, or was it three, mythological creatures in the painting above her.
‘It has been a year,’ he said, undoing the rest of the buttons. ‘At this point, nearly everything excites me.’ He released her long enough to pull the jacket from her shoulders and placed it on a chair. Then, he stood behind her again and returned to his fondling while he nibbled her neck. His right hand slid lower to her belly, pressing their hips together.
‘Oh my,’ she said as a particularly well-endowed satyr leered down at her from the ceiling.
‘If you see anything that interests you?’ He bit her shoulder. ‘Just let me know.’
‘I couldn’t begin…’ she said, shaking her head. There was nothing familiar in the painting above her. Every one of them made her feel confused and strange. Not bad, precisely. But definitely different than she’d felt before seeing them.
‘Then I shall be your sommelier,’ he said. ‘I will offer pleasures. You may take them or leave them, as you see fit.’ He reached between them and undid the fastenings at the back of her gown, pushing it off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. Then, he took her hand and let her step out of it beforetaking it and hanging it on a peg in the wardrobe so it would not wrinkle.
She was still wearing a bonnet and gloves, and her shoes, which seemed very silly given the circumstances. So she dispensed with them, arranging them as neatly as he had the rest of her clothing.
