He watched as she carefully picked up the teapot and poured. She served him first, and then she selected sugar but no cream for her own cup. He wondered if she always preferred her tea thus, or if she just wanted to ensure she was different from him.
Silence enveloped them as they ate. It was as if they had embarked on a mutual agreement. But as soon as Miss Newtonsat down her plate, she wiped her mouth with her serviette and looked at him, and he knew the inquisition was about to begin.
“Shall we start the interview, my lord?”
The corners of his mouth lifted, because he had to admit she didn’t waste any time reminding him of her sole purpose for being there. He decided there wasn’t any harm in humoring her. For the moment, at least. Folding his hands over his midsection, he said, “Why not?”
With a nod of her head, she reached into a pocket of the skirts and withdrew a sheet of paper. He was curious at first, but when he recognized the snippet from the paper, he wanted to groan. “Let me start by asking you this, my lord. If you are innocent of any wrongdoing, why shouldn’t you want to clear your name as one of these notorious rakes?”
He lifted a curious brow. “Who referred to it as wrongdoing? I didn’t see that in the article.”
She blinked. “How might you claim any different? It is mentioned that you went to a ball and engaged in certain—” She broke off and colored slightly. “—activities.”
When she paused, he prompted, “And?” He shook his head. “Surely you aren’t referring to thoseactivitiesas wrongdoing?”
“You wouldn’t?” she gasped. “There is mention of a… whip.” She nearly whispered the word, as if to speak it aloud would condemn her as well. “It sounds like some sort of torture to me.”
He smiled tolerantly. “I can assure you that everything that happened was consensual.”
She seemed unable to comprehend this. “But?—”
He leaned forward. “My dear, Miss Newton, as a lady who is untried, there are some things that your virginal mind cannot yet understand, but I can assure you that such implements of torture, as you call them, can be quite pleasurable for everyone involved.”
Meliah triedto tell herself that she was horrified by the prospect of such ill treatment when it came to the bedchamber, but in truth, she was oddly curious. When Meliah was old enough to dare to ask her mother about what transpired between married couples behind closed doors, she had been very vague. The only explanation she offered was that men had certain needs that were required to be met and their wives were there to fulfill them. And that was it.
Meliah was given to understand it was a one-sided affair, and that the woman never enjoyed the act. Now, if the earl could be believed, he made it sound as thoughbothparties were involved quite energetically. And with certain… accoutrements.
If anyone might tell her the truth on this particular subject, it would be Lord Belmont. “Are you telling me that satisfaction can be achieved this way? For a woman as well as a man?”
He eyed her steadily. “Indeed, Miss Newton. You are correct. There is a fine line between sexual gratification and a certain degree of pain. It tends to heighten the sensations within.”
“How?” The word emerged before she could stop it. Immediately, her face warmed with embarrassment, but he didn’t mock her. Instead, he was rather forthcoming, as if eager to reply. Although this wasn’t the interview that she’d had in mind, it was certainly going far to prove that he was the unrepentant rake that “The Belle” had mentioned.
“Emotions are running high,” he began, and Meliah found she was riveted on every word he spoke. “There are times when the pleasure almost becomes too much to bear. It’s as if you are on a spinning wheel and it is turning you in several differentdirections. When a touch of pain is introduced, it magnifies all those feelings, until you are in a state of pure euphoria.”
Meliah didn’t realize that she had been holding her breath until she released the air in her lungs in a sharp exhale. “Oh. I…see.”
His eyes glittered. “Any time you should like a demonstration, I would be willing to engage my services.”
She swallowed, but there was a slight swirl of heat that touched her midsection and traveled down lower, so that she wanted to press her thighs together to ease the ache. “I’m sure you would,” she murmured. She straightened. “I think that is enough for now. I shall take a walk about the grounds, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.” Those blue eyes sparkled with a mix of amusement and mischief. “Fresh cool air is probably a good idea.” He rose to his feet when she did. “I believe I shall join you.”
Lord Belmont held out his arm and while Meliah was reluctant to accept, she didn’t want to be rude when she still needed more information to write her article, so she slipped her arm through his. The cords of his muscular arms were evident through his shirt and she wished that he were wearing a jacket, so it wouldn’t be so noticeable. When they stepped outside and found the day to be rather mild for the season, she wondered if it was actually the temperature, or the earl’s heat that kept her warm.
Her body was still humming with interest over what Lord Belmont had told her, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to entice him, as she’d originally planned. He might decide to call her bluff. With visions of whips rushing through her mind, she wasn’t sure she was prepared to take things that far. As he’d stated correctly, she was a virgin, and such thoughts weren’t just scandalous, they were foreign. Perhaps if she knew what the actof lovemaking was like, it might not be so shocking, but she wasn’t sure such knowledge would still her pounding heart, only increase it.
Desperate to change the subject to more neutral ground, she asked, “You said earlier that your parents had a marriage based on love, but that you found it distasteful. Might I ask why when you seem to like… activities born of the same?”
He glanced at her and shook his head. “Lust is not love. The foolishness that poets spout, and the connection that my parents share is far removed from my preferences. I enjoy making love, but not being in love. It is wise not to confuse the two.”
She frowned, because while the difference made perfect sense, his aversion to the kind of love that seemed to last, that her parents also shared, did not. “Why shouldn’t you wish to give your heart over to the single person that fills you with joy? I should think most everyone aspires to find that sort of lasting bond.”
“Prison does not appeal to me, and that is what I consider that sort of entanglement.” He gave a mock shudder. At least, she assumed it was fabricated. Perhaps it was another truth. “If something dreadful should happen to my father, my mother would surely be destroyed by her grief, and the same if something were to happen to my mother for my sire. I don’t want to give anyone that sort of power. What good is love if it can be stripped away, leaving nothing more than a shell of a wasted experience?”
Meliah considered his words for a time. “I would be inclined to agree, but wouldn’t it be worse never to have known such a powerful passion?”
He paused their stroll and stood directly in front of her, so close that the light behind him was blocked by his towering height as he looked down into her eyes. “Passion comes in manyguises. You will find love is unnecessary to engage the passion of one’s body.”
