She appeared to give the matter some thought, arousing Christian even further. ‘I do not believe such punishment would be as effective if administered through one’s clothing. Do you?’ she finally answered curiously.
Christian’s lengthening manhood was now taking more than a passing interest in their conversation. ‘Probably not,’ he acknowledged gruffly. ‘Perhaps we might carry out a little experiment on the matter...?’
Her eyes widened. ‘Now?’
Unless he was mistaken, there was now an edge of anticipation in Lisette’s tone. ‘If that is what you would like?’ He eyed her curiously.
He knew that some whores and courtesans enjoyed having their bottom spanked, as some gentlemen paid to administer such treatment. Behaviour which would no doubt have shocked their wives.
‘Christian...?’
Lisette’s eyes glowed a feverish blue in the semi-darkness of the carriage. With excitement? At the thought of Christian laying a hand on her bare bottom?
It was an intriguing and arousing thought.
‘I believe I should enjoy...fondling your bare bottom rather than spanking it,’ he ventured cautiously. He did not wish to misunderstand the situation; he knew better than most how heated Lisette’s temper might be if he should proceed with a course of action she did not wish for.
His suggestion was answered with a slight lessening of that feverish glow in Lisette’s eyes, but no less curiosity. ‘Is that something that all men enjoy?’
The thought of any other man, singular or otherwise, touching any part of Lisette in pleasure or otherwise, was enough to cause Christian to want to forget the fondling and go straight to the spanking.
Besides which, he had no answer to her question; his own dealings with women these past fifteen years, in society or out of it, had been straightforward bed sport, enjoyable and satisfying, if not particularly memorable. Although he could not deny he had been tempted to put Lisette over his knee more than once for the rashness of her actions.
But surely it was the thin end of the wedge to indulge in such practices in bed?
You are not in a bed but a carriage, a little voice reminded inside his head.
Having started this conversation, was he not now duty-bound—?
Duty-bound be damned; having talked of the possibility, Christian now wanted Lisette over his knee, skirts thrown up, bottom bared, and once he had achieved that he could then decide what was best for the lady’s pleasure as well as his own.
‘
Turn around so that I might unfasten and remove your gown.’
Lisette felt a delicious tremor of fear curl down the length of her spine as she heard the deep intensity of Christian’s voice. At the same time she knew she had taken this conversation much further than she had intended.
At least she did not think she had intended it to go this far.
She had begun the conversation with the idea of shocking, only to have that audacity immediately turned back on her.
Her actions since first meeting Christian Seaton had not been at all how she would normally behave. He seemed to bring some devilment out of her which, once released, she did not seem to be able to take back under her control.
Added to which, Christian did not appear to be either surprised or shocked by her conversation. Indeed, that glitter of interest in his eyes seemed to be the same excitement as Lisette was now feeling.
She ran the moistness of her tongue across the sensitivity of her lips. ‘I meant our conversation to be in the abstract only, Your Grace.’
‘Liar.’
She was a liar, Lisette acknowledged slightly breathlessly. What had been intended to shock had now become completely, intimately personal.
She gave a shake of her head. ‘I do not think I should like being spanked after all, Your Grace.’
He gave a hard smile. ‘And perhaps that is the very reason that you need to be?’
She eyed him warily. ‘I do not understand.’
‘Turn around.’