Fuck, he shouldn’t be staring at his sister-in-law’s best friend’s sweet little tongue. He definitely shouldn’t be wondering how it might feel licking down his cock.
“I have a request to make of you.” Her voice was slow and soft. Entirely too tempting.
He gulped. “I am afraid that if it’s of a salacious nature, Icannot indulge. It would upset Kate, which would in turn upset Theo.”
She chuckled huskily, attracting his gaze back to her like iron to a magnet. “It’s nothing like that.”
Nicholas’s gut plummeted. Was he… disappointed? Did hewantto do salacious things with Sophie?
Surely not.
To distract himself, he added jam and cream to a scone of his own and took his time eating it.
Sophie finished hers and wiped her fingers on a napkin. “I must marry, and soon.”
He frowned. That, he hadn’t expected. “Why?”
“Because my parents have decreed it must be so.” She didn’t sound pleased. “They think that my reluctance to accept any of the offers that have been made to me so far have rendered me unappealing to most of theton.”
“Nonsense.”
“I assure you, they believe it.”
She went on to explain her parents’ ultimatum, and horror twisted in his gut with each word from her mouth. What a terrible situation to be in, backed into a corner where her only possible decision was to try to find her own husband before she was reduced to choosing from a list of suitable candidates provided by her mother.
“Where do I come into this?” he asked, hopeful that he might be able to help somehow.
She toyed with the corner of her napkin. “It’s come to my attention that gentlemen are more likely to court a woman if a man that they admire shows his preference for her. I need suitors, and you are the closest thing I have to an unmarried male friend.”
“I should hope so,” he mumbled. Young ladies weren’t generally encouraged to have male friends.
She shot him a look. “You’re charismatic, and I’m sure that men look up to you. Your lack of interest in debutantesis also well-known, so it would make me seem more intriguing if I captured your interest. Would you consider pretending to court me so that others might follow suit?”
What?
Of all the things he’d thought she might ask, that hadn’t featured on the list.
He stared at her.
Blinked.
Stared some more.
“I beg your pardon?” he asked eventually.
Her jaw ticked. “Will you feign a courtship of me?”
He glanced at the maid, astounded that she didn’t seem at all concerned about this conversation. Perhaps Sophie had already discussed the matter with her, so she wasn’t surprised by it like he was.
“I heard you.” He put his hands on his lap, keeping them plastered there so no one could accuse him of behaving improperly toward her. “I just hoped I’d misunderstood your meaning. Why would you ask that of me?”
She grimaced. “As I said, I don’t have many options, and I… I trust you.”
She shouldn’t.
Didn’t she know what had happened with Kate? Hadn’t she heard how her best friend had been pressured into marriage because of a mistake Nicholas had made?
Or had Kate never told her? Not even so much as alluded to it?
