Tingles rippled through her and then exploded out. Her empty channel clenched around nothing, and she buried her face in the side of his neck to stifle her cry.
He growled, long and low, and then wetness coated the insides of her thighs. She pulled up her skirt, curious. A clear, thick fluid had spurted onto her skin.
“That’s my spend,” Nicholas explained. “When I climaxed, that’s what results.”
She dipped her fingers into it and rubbed. “Interesting.”
He chuckled. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
She rolled off him and snuggled up to his side, taking care to protect her petticoats from his spend as much as possible because she didn’t know how she would explain that to Betsy.
She stared at the ceiling, her heart racing, and a giggle burst from her. “I never imagined my time as a debutante would end quite like this.”
Nicholas went tense.
Her stomach dropped. Had she misspoken? Did he intend to debauch her and then not marry her? He did say they hadn’t done the full deed, after all.
“Nicholas?”
CHAPTER 21
“Oh no,”Nicholas whispered, his stomach somewhere down near his feet. “I’ve done it again.”
Sophie’s eyes narrowed but he couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze.
“Done what?” she demanded.
“Ruined an innocent miss.”
He pushed upright and leapt off the bed. To distract himself, he searched for a cloth, ignoring her gasp of outrage. Finally finding one, he returned to her and used it to wipe down her thighs, then cleaned up himself.
Sophie smoothed her skirts into place, rose to her feet, and dusted herself off with all the bearing of a royal princess. “I don’t feel ruined at all. I feel alive.”
He swallowed and fidgeted with the cloth, uncertain where to dispose of it. In the end, she snatched it from him and tossed it in the corner.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said awkwardly. “But we still went much further than we should have.”
She raised her chin. “Nothing irrevocable was done.”
“Yes, but—”
“And who on earth is this other miss you supposedly ruined?”
Oh, fuck.
She’d taken that the wrong way.
Not that he supposed there was a right way to take it. Not in the context.
“It wasn’t like that.” He grabbed his trousers from the floor and yanked them on. “I’ve never deflowered a virgin. I wouldn’t intentionally trifle with an unmarried lady’s reputation.” Glancing at her, he realized that she might also take that the wrong way and added, “You’re different. There’s never been anyone like you.”
Perhaps her expression gentled slightly, or that could have been wishful thinking.
He paced the length of the room, his jaw clenched and aching, a sweat breaking out at his hairline.
He didn’t know what to do.
Perhaps his actions hadn’t caused irrevocable damage, but he’d still done something irreparable.
