“It holds a great deal of weight for such a small coin.”
He gave a soft snort. “And I carry it with me always.”
“What is this other lesson?” she prompted him.
“Every part of a duke’s life is woven into the larger world,” he explained. “None of his decisions affect merely himself, and that includes his choice of wife.”
“Ah.” She inclined her head, but he needed her to understand him completely.
“There is no bride picked out for me, but when I marry, I’ll have to consider more than just what my heart wants.”
“It must be an advantageous match,” she said crisply, “in every regard. Wedding a governess is not advantageous.”
He spread his hands. “When I was born, I entered a realm where I was merely a player in a larger scheme.”
“Yet you still reap the advantages of your position.”
“No denying that. There’s a price to be paid for everything, however.”
“Such as the selection of the woman who will bear your heirs.” She leveled a smile at him. “Your meaning is taken. Rest assured that I’ve no designs on becoming the next Duchess of Tarrington. I’ve never had ambition to become one of the nobility, or even the gentry. In some ways, gently born ladies have even less freedom than those of us who are commoners.”
There was relief at her understanding, yet he could not completely suppress his disappointment that they could never be more to each other than two people sharing physical pleasure. It would be all too easy to care deeply for her. Judging by the way he hurried here tonight, and the care he’d taken in making everything ready for her, he already walked that path.
“Even so,” he went on, determined to give her the choice, “if you decide that this is as far as our affair goes, I won’t stop you from leaving.”
She lifted a brow. “Do you want to end this?”
His chest squeezed tightly. “You’re all I think about.”
“And your ducal duties,” she added, her smile thawing.
“Those, too. But when I’m not considering petitions and reviewing mountains of documents, I am consumed with thoughts of you. I want you, Cecilia. So bloody much.”
His breath came quickly, his hands loose at his sides as if he needed to make ready to reach out and seize hold of whatever was offered him.
“I am a duke, and powerful beyond all reckoning, but you…” He swallowed hard. “You are so much more formidable than I could ever hope to be.”
“You underestimate yourself,” she said, swaying closer.
Pleasure and relief coursed through him when she looped her arms around his neck and brought her body close to his.
“There’s a matter of a kiss I requested,” she murmured. “It has yet to materialize.”
He brought his mouth to hers, taking his time as she wanted. There could be pleasure in crashing together, but it could be even greater with a gradual build of hunger.
She pressed closer to him, her hand gripping his shoulder tightly. His senses were afire with her, blazing with her taste and touch. Soon, they were both panting, hips snug together. Though layers of fabric separated them, he loved the feel of her shifting against him. It was as if she tried to push past the barriers and join flesh to flesh.
“I’m returning the book, but there’s a condition attached.” When she pulled back to look up at him questioningly, he explained, “Tell me what part of the story you liked best.”
Her smile was wicked. “You remember the part where they outrun a rainstorm, and take shelter in an abandoned farmhouse?”
His heart thudded erratically—he’d read that section of her erotic novel many times. It never failed to inspire his fantasies. “She rides him as he sits on a chair beside the fire.”
“Never done it that way, and I’ve always wanted to.”
He followed her heated gaze over his shoulder to the armchair tucked into a corner of the cottage. His cock twitched in anticipation. “Get undressed.”
“The student commands the teacher,” she said with a hint of humor. “In this instance, I’ll permit your insubordination.”
“And if I make a habit of such wayward behavior?”
She lifted onto the tips of her toes and lightly bit his bottom lip, jolting arousal through him. “I don’t punish my pupils—but we’ll find something suitable for a recalcitrant student. For now, however, I will take your suggestion under advisement. Are you ready for another lesson?”
“Please,” he rasped.
“How to undress a woman.”
He sucked in a breath, his whole body tightening in readiness.
She turned around, presenting him with a row of tiny buttons that marched down the back of her bodice. “Undo these—and you’re welcome to take your time.”
“Prolonging the pleasure makes it even greater.”
Smiling over her shoulder, she murmured, “Such an excellent pupil.”
He glowed at her praise. He might not be able to give her promises of a future, yet he could give her the pleasure they made together. As he reached for the buttons, he could not stop himself from stroking a hand down the length of her nape, where her skin was all suppleness and silk.
“A most outstanding student,” she said, sounding slightly winded.
He was graceless as he struggled to slip the buttons free, his hands shaking. It was like uncovering the universe’s greatest mysteries as he revealed her, her warm scent rising when her skin was uncovered.
“Help me remove my dress,” she instructed, lifting her arms.
“I feel like an ungainly lout.” Holding the soft fabric of her gown in his big hands as he guided the garment up and over her head only emphasized the differences between them, and the contrast stoked his desire.
“You don’t touch me like an ungainly lout.” She took the dress from him and hung it on a peg on the wall. Now she stood in a long white shift, and he could catch a glimpse of her stays beneath. She was closer to nakedness, but still too garbed for his liking.
“How do I touch you?”
“Like a man who wants to revel in his pleasure.”
“Wants to,” he noted. “But doesn’t.” She saw him in a way that no one else did—including himself. He was coming to adore this perceptiveness of hers. With each of her insights, the ground beneath them levelled, and they met as true equals.
“There’s more to your passion than you’re allowing free. Yesterday, when we were against the door, I felt it. When you finally do trust yourself to slip from your tethers entirely…” Her smile was slow and carnal. “Which brings us back to your lesson in stripping your lover. Next is my petticoat.”
Turning around once more, she gestured to the ties of the long white garment. He was only slightly more adept at undoing them than he was the buttons of her gown.
“Handling tiny geological samples presents no difficulty,” he muttered. “But now my fingers feel like sausages.”
“Desire can make anyone clumsy.” She pulled off her petticoat and put it with her dress, so that now she was only in her stays and shift.
He lost his breath at the sight of her, her lovely bare skin dotted with tiny golden freckles. Her breasts rose above the top of her stays, barely covered by the sheer shift, and he loved that she stood still and magnificent as he drank her in with his gaze.