Lords of Passion by Virginia Henley

Author:Virginia Henley [Henley, Virginia; Pearce, Kate and Robinson, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-7582-6234-9
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2010-06-23T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Louisa smiled nervously at Nicholas as she sat opposite him in the carriage on the way to the ball. He was dressed in a black coat, gray waistcoat, and white pantaloons. His cravat sported a black onyx pin that caught the feeble light inside the comfortable carriage. He appeared relaxed, one arm braced on the back of the seat, his feet touching hers.

“You look very nice, my dear.”

She glanced down at the deep rose of her low bodice and instinctively sucked in her stomach. “Do you think so? April assured me that this color was not only fashionable but that it suited me as well.”

He studied her for a long while, almost as if he hadn’t ever really looked at her before. It was quite disconcerting, especially as he had recently lavished his attention on parts of her that no other human being had viewed since she was a small child. “April was right. The color is perfect on you.” He winked. “It’s strange that someone who has such appalling taste in decorating has such immaculate style, don’t you think?”

Louisa couldn’t help but smile back at him. “April has been very kind to me.”

“I should imagine she’s simply glad I’ve finally settled down and stopped creating gossip for the ton.”

“Were you really that bad?”

His smile died. “When I was younger, yes. I blush to remember some of my more foolish exploits, but luckily I grew up and became far more discriminating in my choices.”

Louisa eyed him dubiously. She didn’t quite have the nerve to ask him either about his conquests or about his current arrangements. Her mother insisted he would still keep a mistress for Louisa’s sake and that she should be grateful he refrained from exposing her to the more bestial side of his nature.

The thought of him turning to another woman brought a strange tightness to her chest. Was that what he’d been trying to tell her before? That a wife was not required to behave like a woman who enjoyed sex? Could it be possible that he agreed with her mother? But no, he had touched her far more intimately last night, and she’d welcomed the intimacy, not recoiled from it.

“I think we’re here,” Nicholas announced, and reached for his hat and gloves. “Do you have a shawl, my dear? It is perishing cold out there.”

He helped her out of the carriage, and she started to climb the steps. She grabbed on to his arm as someone pushed past her and ended up with her face against his chest. The scent of bay rum and warm male enveloped her, and she simply breathed him in. She wondered how it might feel to kiss his naked chest, to lick a path from his small flat nipples to his muscled belly and then perhaps even lower.

“Are you all right, my lady?”

She gasped and looked up into his eyes. His gaze intensified and he drew her hastily up the stairs and into the cavernous crowded hall beyond. Inside, the chatter of voices bouncing off the walls and chandeliers created a roar fit for a county fair.

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