And with that, she unmanned him. There was nothing, he discovered, more intoxicating to male pride than being trusted by a woman whom he respected so fiercely.
He cupped her face, unable to stop himself from touching her, knowing he teetered on the edge of something ruinous and unable to stop himself. “Listen to me, Evie. If we do this—and heaven help me for even considering it—then Iwillthink of you differently. I will never be able to look at you the same way again once I know things only a lover would know. You, too, will look at me differently. We cannot, under any circumstance,change these things.” He searched her expression—her pursed lips, the wrinkle on her brow as she followed his words and digested them. “Can you live with that?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Can you?”
He didn’t know, so instead he asked another question of his own. “Are you certain you want to do this? With me?”
“Yes,” she answered immediately, hope flaring in her eyes like a match to a flame. “Will you, Charles?”
“It seems I can deny you nothing,” he said, having to try very hard not to kiss her again. “Now tell me, how would you like me to begin?”
Chapter Seven
Charles had insisted that any potential seduction would have to take place at her house. For one thing, it would not do for her to visit him in St James’s Street. For another, her father was currently in the country, thus giving them the—metaphorical—run of the house.
He also suspected she would feel more comfortable in her own space, and her comfort was of the utmost importance. Especially now he had, by some madness or other, agreed to deflower her.
What little that remained of his honour reminded him he was a blackguard. Yet that same honour demanded he see his word through. Still, he felt the folly of his life as clearly as though it were through someone else’s eyes. His back ached and his body felt tired, and the girl he had once loved beyond everything had told him twice in as many days that she would not marry him. Yet she still wished for him to seduce her. He was good enough forthat, if nothing else.
As he had done so often, he rapped on her front door with his cane. She had attempted to insist he sneak over in the dead of night, but Charles refused. The servants knew him; he was often in the habit of calling on Evelyn, and he knew her house almost as well as his own. Once he closed the door, they would not be disturbed, and no one would suspect a thing.
“Evie,” he said as the butler showed him to her small parlour. “Thank you, Agar.”
The butler nodded and shut the door behind him. Evelyn rose, her cheeks rosier than usual. Her lips parted, as though she, too, recalled their kiss. Everything about her spoke of her naivety, and at the thought, he almost turned and left.
“I received you here because that’s what I usually do,” she said, her fingers moving to her skirts and twisting them anxiously. “Should we take this upstairs?”
“Heavens, Pidge. A little eager, aren’t you? Anyone would think you only want me for my body.” He grinned, aiming to calm her nerves a little, but the words and gesture felt odd. She had only ever had his sincerity—something he rarely offered to others—and he could not treat her as though she were merely another of his flirts.
He sighed, pinching his nose. “Do you have a drink?”
“I took the liberty of bringing some of my father’s scotch in,” she said, holding a bottle to the light. “He will not mind.”
“Good.” Charles took the bottle and poured them both a glass, staring at the golden liquid for a long moment before tossing it back. Evelyn drank it in one and brought an unsteady hand across her mouth. By the look of the hectic flush on her cheeks, that had not been her first.
“Steady, my girl,” he said, leading her across to a small sofa placed before the window. She had already closed the blinds, and he opened them again, letting some much-needed sunshine into the place. “You’re nervous.”
“Is that so very unusual? I think most ladies are likely nervous before—this.”
“Most ladies do not ask to be seduced,” he said sternly, then guided her into the cushions. “If you’re uncomfortable, I would rather we didn’t go through with it.”
“No, no. Please. You see, I have been looking forward to this for quite some time.”
Inconveniently, Charles’s cock twitched at the thought, waking up at the sound of her desires, expressed in such a forthright way.Not today, he thought grimly, and took her hands in his. He rarely made a habit of putting someone else’s needs above his own, but for Evelyn, he would make an exception.
“We must get one thing clear,” he said, bringing both her hands to his mouth and kissing across her knuckles. Her breath caught. “I will not be taking your virtue today.”
“But Charles, you promised—”
“In a fit of madness, I did promise, yes. And I am not about to turn my back on my word, no matter how much of a bad idea I might think it is. But you, my dear, asked for seduction, and I think—I think the best way to go about that is slowly.”
“Slowly,” she repeated.
He kissed her knuckles once more. “You kissed me like a virgin, Evie.”
Her mouth tightened. “Did I do it wrong? I didn’t know precisely what I ought to do, but if you showed me and taught me how I should be, then—”
“You did nothing wrong, silly girl.” No, the stirring in his breeches assured him she had done absolutely nothing wrong. “But it does mean that you are unused to certain things. So today, we are going to be exploring kissing a little more. The art of touch.”
