Kisses and Rogues: Four Regency Stories by Anthea Lawson

Author:Anthea Lawson [Lawson, Anthea]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: regency romance, short stories, historical romance, spicy romance, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, unrequited love
Published: 2012-09-27T22:00:00+00:00

***

The tea shop on Bond Street was filled with the cheerful babble of conversation. Diana had requested a table in the nook—the safest place for a chat with Lucy, whose voice had a tendency to carry.

“Tell me, darling.” Lucy arched an elegant eyebrow. “Is Mr. Jameson proving to be… satisfactory? I’d like to know if my recommendation was well-advised.”

Mr. Jameson. Diana let out a slow breath.

She could not stop thinking of him—his grey eyes and handsome features, the confidence that accompanied his every movement. The past three Wednesdays had found her with a giddy lightness of spirit. She was attuned to each nuance of his expression, addicted to the heat that his slow smiles sent through her. At the conclusion of every session, he had kissed her hand. Last Wednesday, his lips had seemed to linger, the heat of his breath playing against her skin for a long moment. The memory of it sent a fluttery breathlessness winging through her even now.

“He….” Diana ran her fingertip back and forth across the rim of her cup. “He seems an excellent teacher—very patient with Samantha, and kind. She is enjoying music lessons far more than she ever has before. It’s a pity he’s only a temporary tutor. There’s a certain quality about him…”

She took a hasty swallow of tea. Goodness, she shouldn’t be prattling on. Whatever secret thoughts she had of the new piano tutor should stay exactly that—secret. Although, of anyone, Lucy would understand.

Her friend tilted her head, a speculative light in her eyes. “Why Diana. Are you developing an interest in Mr. Jameson? How marvelous. As I told you, I think he would prove an excellent diversion. You should commence an affair immediately.”

Diana set her cup down so quickly that a bit of tea sloshed over the edge. “Lucy you are shocking.”

Even worse than Lucy’s suggestions were the images that flooded Diana’s mind. Heat bloomed in her cheeks. What if Mr. Jameson did not stop when he kissed her hand? What if he continued, his warm lips laying kisses up her arm, along her neck? What if he reached her mouth and covered it with his own?

Her friend gave her a shrewd look. “High time you began thinking of yourself. You’re out of formal mourning now. And you’ve admitted that your marriage to Lord Waverly was never one of deep passion.”

“A marriage does not need passion if it has respect and…” She searched for the proper word. “Goodwill.”

Lucy waved her hand. “Goodwill is all very well, in its place. But now you have an opportunity—you should seize it! If you are careful and discreet, no-one will suspect. You are free to follow your heart, or your whims—or both.”

Lucy made it sound so simple.

“I must admit…” Her chest tightened, excitement firing through her blood as she spoke aloud the words she had been holding inside for weeks. “I find Mr. Jameson quite attractive. And his manner very pleasing.”

Lucy nodded approval. “Indeed.”

“What does it mean,” Diana continued, “when a man’s presence makes one feel so very awake? I can scarcely sleep for thoughts of him, and when I do, my dreams are….

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