Jarrod took a deep breath. "You do realize that if you take a lover, he'll have the right to see you in the bath or in any other state of dress or undress."
Sarah nodded. "You aren't likely to remind me of my father or of your godfather."
"I'm not your lover," he reminded her.
"Yet," she said, leaning closer.
"You demanded a kissing lesson, Sarah, and I gave you one. That's as far as it goes."
Sarah averted her face, shrugged her shoulders to hide her disappointment and the hurt he'd carelessly inflicted, and pretended a nonchalance she didn't feel. "And I learned a great deal from it, Jays. It will just have to do until I find another young man to further my education."
"Sarah…" Jarrod spoke her name through clenched teeth.
"Unless you change your mind."
"I'm not going to change my mind."
"Whatever you say, Jays." She shrugged her shoulders once again. "Your loss is another gentleman's gain."
Jarrod looked at her. "I've no doubt of that," he said softly. "No doubt at all." Especially after the kiss they had shared. Jarrod's body still ached with wanting. He ached with wanting. Jarrod hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was beginning to hate the idea of Sarah with other young men. And he felt duty bound to discourage her. "If I were you, I wouldn't set my hopes on a young gentleman."
"Why not?"
"Younger men tend to be more interested in receiving satisfaction than they are in giving it. They are less settled, in greater demand, more easily distracted, and a great many are on allowances provided by disapproving papas."
"You are none of those things," Sarah pointed out.
"I am an exception," he admitted. "The point is that you might prefer an older lover like Lord Rob. He's wealthy and generous and he's been a widower for many years."
"And he's already seen my bare leg and derriere," Sarah added. "And I've already done my blushing, so he could continue my education with a great deal less bother than you've had to endure." She looked Jarrod in the eye. "Tell me, Jays, do you intend to return to your house and sing my praises to Lord Mayhew? Or bemoan my flaws? Will you suggest that he marry me or simply become my protector?"
"No, that's not what I intend," Jarrod said.
"What do you intend?" she asked.
A vivid mental image of everything they could do in the coach in the minutes left to them before they arrived at Ibbetson's Hotel popped into Jarrod's head. The upholstered seats were covered in thick, soft velvet and the windows were hung with matching curtains. It was dark and comfortable and private and he and Sarah could… Jarrod sighed. After he relieved Sarah Eckersley of her virtue, he could see her home to her room at Ibbetson's Hotel. He could set her on the path she claimed to have chosen with no one the wiser.
And with no strings attached.
Jarrod gritted his teeth. He could have what he wanted without answering to anyone. She had no father, brother, cousin, uncle, or guardian to demand satisfaction. He could be her tutor. He could teach her everything he knew about lovemaking — about taking pleasure and giving it. And when the affair ran its course, he could say good-bye without guilt because Sarah wasn't interested in becoming the next Marchioness of Shepherdston. She only wanted him for her first lover. Hadn't she told him that he was hardly her idea of a husband?
"I intend to see you safely to your hotel," he said at last. "And then I intend to return home and have breakfast with Lord Rob and go about my usual business."
"And pretend this morning never happened?"
"Exactly," he replied. And except for the fact that he would have to answer a few of Lord Rob's questions and add a meeting with Lord Dunbridge about the Helford Green living to the list of his usual business, Jarrod would do just that.
"Well" — Sarah tilted her head and looked at him from beneath the cover of her lashes — "you can try."
"Ibbetson's Hotel." The driver announced their arrival at their destination.
Sarah opened the door and stepped down from the carriage before Jarrod or the driver could assist her. "Thank you for the lesson, Jays," she said as she closed the door in his face.
"Sa-rah…"
"I'll look forward to the next one."
* * *