Sensing she had overstepped, she ducked out with nothing but a curtsy. I wasn’t interested in discussing how attractive she found my husband—not-husband. I knew he was handsome, I knew he was kind and gallant. And more than her, I knew he was intelligent, witty, and dedicated. I knew why he smelled of parchment and ink. I knew what every one of his smiles looked like and I knew how precious they were. I didn’t require another to tell me such things.
With those thoughts, I shrugged off my chemise and slipped my nightgown on. A quick glance in the mirror revealed an unbecoming flush and mussed hair. I was too irritated with maids who didn’t have the sense not to ogle my husb—not-husband—to do anything about it.
Full of restless energy from my earlier win, the ensuing fight, the memory of Kit’s fingers working along my sex, I paced the too-small room. Before I gathered enough speed to be satisfied, I reached a wall and had to turn again. It was almost worse than sitting at the edge of the bed, doing nothing. But I couldn’t think that way.
The sound of feet on the weary stairs outside echoed down the hall. At least two pairs. I pressed my ear to the wall I would share with Kit. When I finally caught the click of the latch, I returned to my impotent pacing.
What was probably only a few minutes felt like an hour before I was convinced no one else would come up the steps.
I steeled my courage before finally slipping out into the hall to knock on Kit’s door.
Thirty-Two
CRIMSON LILY, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE—APRIL 13, 1817
KIT
I hadn’t truly expectedto sleep alone, but propriety demanded a second room. I’d only stripped down to my braces when the expected knock came though, a tentative, nervous little rap.
I nearly ripped the door from its hinges in my rush to bring her into the safety of my room before someone else caught her about alone at night.
“You shouldn’t have come. It’s not safe. You could have been—” The sight of her finally registered and the mild lecture failed me. “Davina…”
She was sweetness personified, rosy-cheeked and full-lipped, her hair falling about her shoulders in tousled waves, with her big, beautiful eyes soft on me. Ignoring my failed scolding, she slipped inside and rounded to meet my gaze.
Her face might have been that of an angel, but her body, silhouetted against the fire in gossamer white silk was temptation from the devil himself. She was, of course, entirely unaware of the erotic figure she cut in the flickering light, longlimbs and gentle curves outlined for my sinful gaze. With my last useful thought, I closed and locked the door.
“Get on the bed.” Though the words were demanding, there was something soft, beseeching in her tone.
“What?”
“Get on the bed,” she repeated, a little more forcefully.
“Davina…”
She rolled her shoulders back, her chin tipping forward. A lady in posture if not in behavior. “I’m not going to steal your virtue, Christopher. I merely wish to try something.”
“On the bed?”
“I promise you’ll still be able to call yourself a maid when I’m through with you.”
“All right.” Cautiously, I made my way around her to settle at the end of the bed. “What are you going to do with me?” My blood was already humming with anticipation.
“I— Celine told me about a—” her hands knotted together in front of her. “It’s easier to just show you. Is that all right?”
“Yes, I… Yes.” I caught her wrist and brought her palm to my pounding heart. Davina should know the effect she was having on me. She should know I was hers.
“You remember what we talked about in the carriage?” she asked, allowing me to pull her in closer by the waist, slotting her between my spread knees. Our positioning left me eye level with her breasts, wrapped in transparent silk just for me. I knew what I wanted to do with the loose neckline of her gown, but Davina was determined to… do something. I wasn’t about to ruin her plans.
“I remember a lot of things about the carriage,” I whispered, unable to resist an attempt to drag her lips down to mine.
She held back—just a little, merely the pressure of her palm overtop my heart. “Yes and no, Kit. It goes both ways.”
No force on earth could have restrained the smile that curled across my lips. “Yes, Davina, and no, Davina. But I suspect that will be the last time you hear no from my lips for the foreseeable future.”
She nodded but caught her lip between teeth, gnawing on it.
“Davina, talk to me.” I wrapped her free hand in mine and laced our fingers together. “We don’t have to do anything. I could just hold you. Or we could have a repeat of the carriage. I want nothing more.”
