As she rushed away to intercede, Ormond said with a shrug, “Pelham should know better. The man is witless. Come,” he added, taking Claire by the elbow and moving toward the doorway. “This is why I never attend these affairs. It’s such a graceless assemblage of gossip and over-dressed curiosity-seekers.”
Claire shot a quick glance at the dance floor.
“Harriet’s fine,” Ormond said. “She won’t miss you or your aunt.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Claire murmured.
“Certainly that’s beneficial, is it not?”
“Yes, yes, it is. Only-”
“Only she doesn’t need you anymore?” Ormond said with a small smile as they entered the corridor. “You haven’t been paying attention, darling.”
She shouldn’t have responded to the word darling, to the warmth in his voice. And if he hadn’t leaned over and lightly kissed her cheek, she would have been better able to resist.
“For heaven’s sake, behave.” But even as she spoke a rush of pleasure streaked through her body.
“I wish I could. Two days seems like a lifetime.” In fact, he’d been remarkably disciplined; two days was a record for him. Women, didn’t as a rule, rebuff him.
“Perhaps we should go back to the ballroom.” The nervous tremor in her voice was obvious.
“Perhaps we shouldn’t,” he murmured, kissing her cheek again.
“Don’t you dare embarrass me,” she whispered, nervously glancing around, grateful to see them alone in the hallway.
“I’ll try not to.”
“James!”
He took a deep breath. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Everything will be fine. Although it would have helped if you’d worn a different gown.”
“I’m sorry.” She shouldn’t have given into her vanity.
He smiled. “It’s not your fault. I would have found you irresistible in a shift.” He grinned. “Probably more irresistible. Here, we’ve reached the library,” he said, opening a door and ushering her in. “Now if you keep your distance, all will be well.”
She was partially mollified by his admission. She preferred not admitting that she’d dressed for seduction. That she desired him. That only fear of discovery served to restrain her ardor. “I shall keep my distance,” she said, although the lack of conviction in her voice was conspicuous.
His nostrils flared like a wolf on the scent.
Shutting the door behind him, he turned the key in the lock.
Chapter Eight
“Don’t,” she whispered, backing away from him.
“No one would think of coming into the library.” Stripping off his white kid evening gloves, he let them drop.
“Someone might!” Backing into a large chair, flustered, she came to a stop.
“They won’t,” he said, moving toward her at a circumspect pace. “And even if they did, the door is locked.”
“James, I beg of you!”
But the tremor in her voice wasn’t fear, her breathing had accelerated, and her nipples were taut beneath the fine silk of her bodice. “Don’t worry-you’re perfectly safe,” he offered soothingly.
“Allow me to disagree.” Restive and skittish, she shifted from foot to foot as though about to bolt.
Dare he say to a wavering virgin that he wouldn’t come in her-that he never did? Or would such bluntness frighten her more? “I promise you no repercussions of any kind,” he said delicately.
“That’s not a promise you can fulfill,” she said with a small vehemence.
“Forgive me if I’m too direct, but if you fear becoming pregnant, you needn’t. I’m very dependable.”
“I see.” She took a small breath. “That is rather direct.”
I’m sorry. I was hoping to allay your fears.” He briefly frowned. “This is unusual for us both, I fear.”
“Because women normally fall into your arms?”
Under the circumstances, that was not a question he cared to answer. “How can it matter,” he said, softly, instead, “whether we make love tonight or tomorrow or the next day?”
“This is not love.”
“It all depends on your interpretation.” She was right, though, about women falling into his arms. Dealing with a woman who didn’t was turning out to be-well…time consuming, he facetiously thought, suddenly amused by this curious scuffle.
“Is something humorous?”
“Would you like the truth?”
“I would like to be somewhere else,” she pettishly replied, struggling to reconcile her potent desires with the manifold improprieties.
He smiled. “Perhaps in my bed?”
“Very amusing.”
“I dare say you’d find it more than amusing.”
“Such arrogance, Ormond.”
His smile widened. “Now you owe me tuppence.”
“How cavalier you are. Do women find your casual impertinence appealing?”
He laughed. “As you noted the other day, women find my fortune the most appealing-your sister included if I may say so without offending you further. Although, if you allow me, I could show you my more admirable qualities.” She was too green to hear the truth about what most appealed to his lovers.
“And if I allow that, I shall adore you as well?”
“I didn’t say I was adored.” He was pleased to see her skittishness displaced by a petulance he knew how to deal with. “Let’s just say that the ladies I know are always appreciative.”
“So I understand. The gossip sheets proclaim you much in demand in the boudoir.”
“I admit to a certain popularity,” he said, smiling faintly, aware of the most trifling peevishness in her voice, as though she were feeling deprived. “Perhaps I might convince you of what you’ve been missing if you’d allow.”
She made a small moue. “Conceited man.”
“I’m good at what I do.”
“And why wouldn’t you be since vice is the sole focus of your life.”
“Au contraire. It’s the scandal sheets that thrive on sex. I have many interests. When we have more time, I’ll tell you about them. As for vice, my sweet little prude, let me change your mind-and your vocabulary apropos pleasure.” He dropped his gaze to her taut nipples, then looked up and smiled at her. “I’d wager you’re feeling a certain heated palpitation in your-”
“Don’t say it,” she blurted out.
“I only meant to point out that we have privacy, you and I have agreed to agree and I could assuage your-er-restlessness if you’d like. I guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself.”
His voice was hushed and low, his provocative offer tempting. And he was right-she’d already agreed to this. “I am not a prude,” she whispered. “I just didn’t expect this-” she waved her hand slightly, indicating the venue. “In all honesty,” she reluctantly added, “I do find myself-”
“Intrigued?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
“Then why not think of this as an investment in your sister’s future. Would that make it better-easier? Harriet is being served up a full array of suitors,” he saliently noted. “Which was the point of our arrangement, was it not?”
“I didn’t think-that is…I wasn’t planning on the-well…suddenness.”
Unlike her, he wasn’t indecisive. As for suddenness, he hardly thought waiting two entire days met that criteria. “The door’s locked. The drapes are drawn. Your sister and aunt are intent on their own pleasures.” He moved closer; they were only inches apart. “Look,” he said, holding out his arms, “You set the pace. I won’t touch you. How would that be?”
His deep voice was benign, his offer innocuous. How could it hurt?-the little voice inside her head observed.
“You could start by kissing me,” he suggested, not entirely sure a tyro knew what to do. Not sure he could wait much longer. Although the heated flush on her cheeks, the agitated rise and fall of her breasts gave him reason to think she might be more ready than she realized.