Page 59 of His Improper Lady

Desiree sank her hands into his hair, the little tug against his scalp accenting the pleasure of her fingers upon him. She slid her hand down to curl around the back of his neck, sending a frisson along his spine. Her fingers stroked his neck, and desire stabbed straight through him. Tom let out a groan, and his mouth returned to hers, his fingers grasping her hips and pressing her body into his. She moved against him, turning him even harder.

He thought of his bed, so temptingly close. He wanted to sweep her up and carry her there, to undress her with slow care, caressing every inch of her body. He was stiff as a board, throbbing, and he ached to sink into her. Desiree pulled her mouth from his and was on tiptoe, kissing his neck and cheek. The feel of her soft, plump lips against his evening stubble made him shudder.

His hands groped across her back—how the devil did this thing fasten? He tugged on the bow of her sash and discovered exactly how simple her dress was. The front wrapped around her and tied in the back, so that now it loosened and sagged open, allowing him to slide his hand inside onto her stomach, covered only by the cotton of her chemise.

It was heavenly, and the way her fingers dug into his shoulders told him that Desiree felt the same. He kissed her, caressing her through the thin cloth that was more an enticement than an impediment. Then his fingertips were beneath the ruffled top of the chemise, dipping down to take her breast in his hand. It filled his palm perfectly, the nipple pressing into his skin. He ached to feel it in his mouth, to tease and stroke and arouse them both to a peak of passion.

Desiree’s fingers went to his waistcoat, unbuttoning it to slide her hands inside it. Tom shuddered under her caress, imagining her hands on his skin. Her mouth on his skin. Then, letting out a noise of frustration, Desiree jerked away. “No.”

Her voice was low, her breath coming in pants. Her face was flushed, her eyes bright with desire, as Tom knew his were. Her lips were full and softened by passion, swollen from their kisses. It was all he could do not to drag her back to him and kiss her again. He curled his fingers into his palms and waited, struggling to control his breathing, to dampen the fire surging through him. He ought to say something, but he could not, his mind too inflamed, too dazed to form a coherent thought.

“We can’t—I’m not my mother.” Desiree drew a shaky breath, dragging her dress around her and retying the sash. “I won’t let myself be.” She cast him a regretful look.

“Of course.” Tom found his tongue at last. He nodded, sweeping his hands back through his hair to restore some sort of order to it...and to his thoughts. “I shouldn’t have brought you here. I should have thought.”

He turned away, going to the table to carry the glasses and bottle of whiskey over to the cabinet. He shouldn’t have given her whiskey, either. “I hope you know I didn’t intend this.” He turned back to her. “I didn’t bring you here with the idea of seducing you. I didn’t mean to ply you with liquor or—I know it must look as if I had ulterior motives, but I swear I did not.”

“I believe you.” She smiled at him. “I didn’t think you did. I was the one who threw myself at you, after all.” She took a step closer to him, saying earnestly, “I won’t deny that I would like to go on. I enjoyed kissing you. I wanted to do more than that.”

Tom ran his sweating palms down his jacket. “You’re not helping here.”

Desiree gave a rueful chuckle. “I know. But I want you to know that I don’t think ill of you or blame you. It was...” She let out a little shuddery sigh. “It was quite lovely. But I made a vow long ago that I wouldn’t do what my mother did. I won’t fall into any man’s hands like a ripe fruit or give my life over to him.”

“I know. I would not ask you to.”

“Good.” She smiled. “But perhaps it is time I went home.”

“Of course.” He watched as she gathered up the letters and tied them together, putting everything back into the box. He understood her. But he needed a bit of time to shove all his own hunger back.

They left the building a few minutes later and once again had difficulty finding a hackney. It was almost three when they pulled up in front of Desiree’s house, and Tom was surprised to see that there were lights shining in several windows downstairs. As he walked with Desiree to the front door, it opened, and Brock limped out.

“Oh, dear,” Desiree said under her breath. “And his leg’s hurting him tonight.”

Right behind Brock came the other brother, and even his normally indolent expression was now creased into a frown. Tom had intended to leave as soon as Desiree went in, but he thought perhaps he ought to stay beside her.

“Brock! Wells! I have something so exciting to tell you.” Desiree had obviously decided to take the offensive.

“Where the hell have you been?” Brock was just as clearly not led away by her diversion. “Templeton says you left the house late this evening.”

“Templeton is certainly turning into quite the spy for you,” Desiree shot back. “I thought we’d reached an agreement on this.”

“In normal circumstances, of course,” Brock replied, and eyed Tom with disfavor. “But you have been absent from the club two evenings in a row, and you’ve been running all over with this fellow.”

“You didn’t tell anyone where you were going,” Wells added mildly.

“That’s because I didn’t want a bunch of nosy parkers knowing what I was doing.” Desiree took Tom’s arm and pulled him with her past the other two men and into the house. Desiree went into the parlor and turned around to face her brothers.

Brock followed, saying, “I’m not trying to find out your secrets. I was worried because you’re stirring things up. You could be putting yourself in danger.”

“I’m not in danger.”

“You told me you were followed the other day,” Wells pointed out.

She shot Wells a glare as Brock thundered, “Followed! You didn’t tell me that.”

“I would have, but I’ve been busy. Besides, it wasn’t dangerous. He merely followed us around and we got rid of him.”

Wells eyed the box in her hand. “You’ve been out pilfering things again, haven’t you?”