Finally, she slapped her hands on the arms of the chair and launched herself upright. “Oh, all right. Never again say I do nothing for you.” Turning to Llewellyn, she bobbed her head. “Sir. Always a pleasure.”
Llewellyn sketched an elaborate bow. “Miss Pearl.”
Looking between the two of them, Pearl grinned, shook her head, and shut the door behind her as she left.
So much for wanting to keep Llewellyn to herself. With a sigh, Alice sat on the edge of her desk. “We were about as subtle as a sledgehammer.”
Sitting in the chair Pearl had vacated, Llewellyn slung his ankle onto his knee. She drew in her breath at the way the move pulled the material of his trousers to outline the muscle of his thigh. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” Still captivated by the muscle so wonderfully displayed for her, she ran her gaze over his form. Him sitting in that chair gave her all sorts of ideas.
He cleared his throat. “Mrs Reynolds, I should love to detail the benefits of my bid for your property, if you would be so kind as to oblige me?”
Surprised by his words, she raised her gaze. Colour heightened his cheeks, and his chest expanded as he took in a slightly ragged breath. Both spoke of his desire, along with the noticeable hardness between his thighs.
A slow smile pulled at her. How grand. He wanted to play. “Certainly, Mr Llewellyn. I’m sure you can be very persuasive when you set your mind to it.”
Though his eyes smouldered with his desire and the intelligence he no longer hid, he nodded as if he were truly the fool he pretended. “I shall enumerate these benefits for you, dear lady. First, there is the obvious—though vulgar—benefit of compensation.”
Languidly, she raised her hands to her hair. A few tugs and the heavy mass tumbled about her, resting lightly on her breast and falling down her back.
His gaze flickered, but he gamely continued. “While it is distasteful to talk of such, it is an undeniable factor.”
Making a noise of agreement, she toyed with the button at her throat.
“Second—”
She flicked the button open. He swallowed, but he would not be deterred. At least, not yet.
“S-second, there is the normalisation of your hours. Much of interest occurs in those hours after the setting of the sun, and it seems to me you limit yourself terribly by spending those hours in a saloon. Why, only think of the enjoyment you could gain by attending your bed at an earlier hour.”
“Especially if I’m not alone,” she added helpfully, undoing the next button. And the next.
“Yes.” Gaze hot upon her, he had lost the fool’s look though he remained ostensibly relaxed in the chair.
Well, she couldn’t have that now, could she? With a false gasp of dismay, she looked down. “Oh no, I’ve run out of buttons.”
Llewellyn swallowed, any pretension to disinterest well and truly gone. Avidly, his gaze ran over what she had revealed. Her bodice gaped open, exposing the corset she had chosen to wear with him in mind. Wine-red brocade cinched her waist and ended just below her breasts, decorated with cream thread spinning florets and vines. A sheer cream chemise shaped her flesh, though it did nothing to hide her nipples, already drawing tight and oh-so-sensitive. From beneath the barely-there fabric they were clearly visible, rubbing against the thin cloth with her every breath.
The corset and chemise had cost her a penny or two, but she’d always loved having pretty undergarments. And with Llewellyn staring at her, his lust plain on his face, they were worth every damn penny.
Fingers digging into the arm of the chair, he cleared his throat. “Third...”
She stood, unlacing her skirts, her petticoats.
“Uh, third...”
Her skirts dropped to the floor.
Falling silent, he ran his gaze over her.
She felt beautiful as his gaze caressed her form, as he devoured her barely covered breasts, her nipped-in waist, the lacy cream under-drawers. Slowly, she made her way to stand before him. His hand rose to her hip, gently tracing the curve. With a smile, she lowered herself into his lap. The hand at her hip moved to her thigh, and he tangled his fingers in her garters.
Snaking her arms around his neck, she raised her brow. “Third?”
He tugged at her garter, and she bit her lip at the sensations such a small action raised. Bringing his gaze to hers, he grinned. “Hullo, Alice.”
Fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck, she returned his grin with one of her own. “Hello, Rupert.”
