Dangerous Masquerade (Regency Masquerade)

His arm pulled her closer, and she became aware of the bulge between his legs. At each move and gesture, it seemed to grow larger.

As though reading her mind, he clasped one of her hands in his and placed it over him. Luc groaned deeply, then said, echoing some of the words and phrases he had used during their shooting lesson, “It’s important to take your time. Squeeze gently”—at this he placed his hand over hers and showed her the movement—“don’t rush things.”

Enthralled by how responsive he was to her touch, Ria slowed her pace.

“Expect recoil.” As he spoke, the bulge jumped and grew larger.

“Feel the vibration through your body.” He bent and kissed her deeply, sending an intense pulse throughout her body.

In a daze, she barely noticed that he’d lifted her onto the table and pushed up her skirts. But then he lightly touched her between her legs. Ria whimpered as his nimble fingers circled, tickled, and teased her, until finally he inserted a finger in her.

Unable to contain herself, she moaned. Bending, he kissed her, then slipped another finger into her. As the pulsing reached a crescendo, his kiss swallowed her small scream.

Moving away from her, he stood still for a moment, shuddering, then to her bemusement helped her off the table and rearranged her dress.

Breathing heavily, he said goodbye, his voice deeper and huskier than normal.

Dazed and unable to respond, she weakly smiled as he walked away. As the pulsing inside her died down and she was capable of coherent thought, Ria wondered what he would teach her tomorrow.

With a shaking hand, she adjusted her skirt. Perhaps she should call off the lessons. If they continued, there was only one possible conclusion.

Could she take the risk? Where was the harm?

Ria entered the morning room where Aunt Charity was embroidering and sat beside her on the elegant Grecian sofa.

Aunt Charity showed her the almost-completed embroidery piece and asked, “What do you see?”

Puzzled, Ria looked at the design, “Two people walking past each other in an orchard.”

“Do they know each other?”

Frowning at the odd question, she examined the embroidery more closely. “It’s impossible to tell… No, wait. Maybe they do.” As Aunt Charity looked at her, clearly expecting more, she added with more certainty, “They are flirting, so yes they do.”

Now she was studying the piece closely, she realized the clues were subtle but there if you looked carefully. The woman was slightly turned away from the man, but there was a small smile on her lips, a faint hint of pink on her cheeks. The gentleman was holding an apple, his gaze intent.

“You are a true artist, Aunt Charity, to be able to convey such detail in an embroidered piece.”

“Perhaps it’s less to do with art and more to do with experience.”

Ria looked at Charity expectantly and waited for her to expand on her cryptic statement, but Aunt Charity instead changed the subject.

“You saw the earl today?”

“Yes, he is giving me shooting lessons.”

“I imagine you will be seeing him again?”

“Tomorrow.”

As Aunt Charity smiled at her, Ria felt herself tensing. Unable to sit still, she leapt to her feet and walked over to the fireplace. Bending, she picked up the poker and stirred the coals to encourage more flame.

She wasn’t sure what the ladies thought of the earl or his pursuit of her. They must know what he was up to but hadn’t said anything, and she didn’t know how to broach the subject with them.

Turning back to face Aunt Charity, she said, “He says it is important to become truly proficient and intends to come every day for…” She shrugged. “Well, he didn’t say how long.”

“I imagine it depends on how quickly you learn and on his definition of proficient. It could take a while,” Aunt Charity said.

There was an expression in her eyes Ria couldn’t quite define… She thought back to her encounters with Luc in the orangery. Surely they hadn’t been seen?