“No, no, it's nothing. In fact I'd be happy to read for a while. You must be ready for a break.”
“If you're sure . . .”
Prudence took the book from him, thinking that she would be able to concentrate better if she were the one reading. And, perhaps, thinking that with his hands free he might find a better use for them than turning pages. But Ledbetter used his hands to pull the bell cord, ordering tea when the footman appeared in response. Well, nothing was going to happen with servants about to descend upon them, Prudence thought, and attempted to focus her whole attention on the developing situation in the novel.
It was when she had finally managed to shift her thoughts that Ledbetter's hand slid around her waist. He did no more than stroke her side with his thumb, but it was enough to remind her of the previous evening. She stole a glance at him, only to find that he was sitting with his eyes closed, intent on her voice. There was a tap on the door before a footman brought in the tea tray, but Ledbetter did not hastily (or even leisurely) remove his hand from where it rested.
Prudence thanked the footman and, when he had departed, poured tea for the two of them. Ledbetter withdrew his hand from her waist with a sigh and accepted his cup of tea.
* * * *
Prudence was not displeased when her husband followed her into her bedroom and waited while she dismissed the waiting Tessie. Her new maid looked not the least surprised by this development, but dropped a graceful curtsy and wished her mistress goodnight. When the door had closed behind her, Prudence turned hesitantly to him.
“Come here,” he said, holding his arms open to her.
Prudence moved a little stiffly into them and he drew her against his body. For a very long time he merely held her there, stroking her back and whispering encouragement into her ear. “Let me show you pleasure, my sweet. Let me touch you until you experience your body’s need and its fulfillment. Just that. Just for you tonight. I promise.”
“It’s not fair to you,” she whispered.
“There’s plenty of time for me,” he assured her. “May I take off your gown?”
She nodded and moved back from him. His fingers were so sure on the buttons that Prudence couldn’t help but wonder how many women he had undressed in his past. And would there be others in the future? Soon he lifted the gown over her head and left her standing in the middle of the room in her shift and the magnificent diamonds.
“You should take the jewelry off first,” she suggested.
But he smiled at her and shook his head. “I have the greatest desire to see you naked in the diamonds, Prudence. Well, perhaps not entirely naked, this time.” He turned her toward the mirror and stood behind her. His hands came to rest at her sides, very, very close to her breasts. And he stroked her there, where she could watch what he was doing in the glass. His fingers moved slowly but steadily onto the mounds of her breasts, and Prudence found that she was holding her breath.
An excitement leaped through her body, making her breasts feel aching and her lower abdomen tight. Ledbetter’s hands had begun to massage the fullness of her bosom, causing her an exquisite sensation. Her face became flushed and her eyes sought his in the mirror. “I don’t understand what’s happening,” she whispered.
“Your body is becoming aroused. Touching your breasts is part of making love, Prudence. The sensations you feel are preparing your body for intercourse.”
His fingers had reached the peak of her breasts and through the cotton of the shift she could feel that her nipples were firm. As he rubbed the taut peaks, a deeper sensation swirled through her body and she heard herself moan. She saw him smile in the mirror before he turned her back toward him. With one hand he pushed the fabric down to expose one of her breasts and Prudence shuddered.
“It’s all right,” he said softly. “There is something I can do which will make your breast feel even more wonderful, if you will allow me.”
Prudence could feel the pulse beating in her throat. Perhaps this was enough for one evening. Perhaps it would be better if she called a halt to this game they were playing. “Yes,” she said, because his touch was making her weak with a feverish kind of need.
But she had not expected what happened next. He lowered his head and took the tip of her breast in his mouth! “Oh, I don’t think . . .” And then the sensation of his suckling on her spun through her body and she felt her knees buckle. Ledbetter’s arm came around her to support her, but his mouth did not release her nipple. It drew on her—deeply, hungrily. The swirl of sensations filled Prudence, making her ache with a need she hadn’t known existed. “Oh, God.”
Ledbetter nudged the fabric down over the other breast and took that neglected nipple into his mouth. Prudence thought she would die from the exquisite agony of his mouth and tongue on her. How could she not have known such feelings existed?
Her husband released her breast after a long moment and stepped back to look at her. “God, you’re beautiful,” he sighed, bringing a hand up to cup each breast. “How are you feeling now, Prudence?”
“Amazed,” she admitted. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt. I don’t want you to stop.”
“I hope not.” Ledbetter dropped his head to her breast again and drew the nipple in, teasing it with his lips, tasting it with his tongue, until her breath quickened and she put her hands around him for support.
Ledbetter shifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed, where he sat down with her in his lap. She could feel his hardness beneath her, and it made her a little nervous. But he distracted her with kisses and the incredible touch of his hands on her breasts. She could feel the need rising in her like yeast, swelling her flesh, making her feel ripe and on the edge of a luscious precipice.
And then he stopped. He drew back from her to study her face and her dazed eyes. “I'm going to take my clothes off now,” he announced.
Prudence flushed but made an effort to help by loosening the knot of his cravat and tugging it off. Ledbetter shifted so that she could assist him out of his coat as well. She rose from his lap to hang the coat over the back of the chair, and fold the white linen cravat carefully on the seat. In the meantime Ledbetter had removed his shirt and was in the process of stripping down his pants and drawers together when Prudence turned back.
“Oh, dear,” she murmured, seeing for the first time his male member in such a state. She turned her head away, her hands fluttering helplessly.
He rose to stand behind her, gently taking her into his arms, but not turning her around. “That delicious state of arousal that you've been feeling, Prudence, well, in a man, it's even more evident. That's all it means, that I'm aroused. I've promised you that I won't enter you tonight, haven't I?”
“Yes. But you want to.”
He laughed. “Of course I do. How could I not? But I'm not going to, my sweet, even if you beg me.”
Prudence gave a gurgle of laughter at such absurdity. “I shan't beg you,” she promised.
“No, I didn't think you would.”
He turned her around and she kept her eyes on his, but she could feel his male member pressed against her stomach. And then he took one breast into his mouth again and she felt her body arch against him, felt his hardness leap with the same excitement that she felt at the pull of his lips and her eyes flew to his. “I see,” she said.
“Yes, I thought you would. It's nothing to be afraid of, any more than I would be alarmed by your arousal. They're perfectly natural states for a man and a woman to be in. Shall we finish taking off your shift?”
Prudence blinked uneasily at him. “But, William, I have my courses. I would be a little embarrassed to remove the shift.”
Since she stood before him bare-breasted, with the shift caught around her waist, he merely sighed and lifted her into the bed. When he climbed in beside her, she asked, “Have I disappointed you?”
“Certainly not. How could I be disappointed when your lovely breasts are here for me to see, and to touch.” He moved his hands provocatively on her flesh, instantly calling forth the heady excitement she was becoming familiar with. “But there is more of you to touch, lovely Prudence. And I wish you will not be embarrassed for me to do so.”
As he allowed his hands to wander down her body, Prudence stiffened slightly. But his stroking felt comforting along her sides and down onto her legs. When his hands moved to the insides of her thighs, she murmured a protest. Instead of removing his hands, Ledbetter brought his mouth to her breast and teased its peak with his tongue. She was so distracted by the sensations that she didn't notice that his hands had commenced a rhythmic stroking which approached the apex where her legs joined.
And then he touched her in the most private place of all and her mouth, prepared to protest, instead uttered an altogether different sound. She heard her own moan with a mixture of surprise and longing. There was something he touched that felt even more remarkable than his lips on her breast. Something that made her body writhe with a desire for more.
But his hands had withdrawn, and his lips had moved to her mouth. While his kiss was pleasant enough, it did not convey the excitement that his touch had given her. Prudence wanted him to touch her again as he just had, but he seemed unaware of her wish. He probed her mouth with his tongue and she found it exciting, but still she wanted his hands to explore her again. She was totally unable to tell him so, and knew a certain frustration with her own cowardice.
In her dilemma, Prudence reached out to her husband, her hands clasping his hips. She loved the texture of his skin, the firmness of bone under flesh. As his kiss deepened, her hands moved to cup his bottom and she found it almost as exciting as when he had touched her. The roundness of his buttocks seemed as alluring as that of her own breasts; she heard his moan of pleasure.
And his hand moved again to that intimate spot that made her almost faint with aching. As he stroked her, she kneaded his buttocks, gripping them firmly as her need rose. Her breathing came faster and everything about her seemed caught up in a heightening spiral of urgency. His mouth moved again to her breast, tugging at it as the ache tugged between her legs. Oh, God, she could not bear this need. She would burst if it weren't satisfied.
Frantic, she begged, “Ledbetter, I . . .”
And then all hell broke loose in her body. All that pent up energy burst forth in a shattering release that overwhelmed her senses. She could hear nothing but the rushing of her blood, nor feel anything but the rhythmic response in her body. Tears seeped from her closed eyes, and Ledbetter kissed them on her cheeks.
“Are you all right, Prudence?” he asked gently.
Even as the tears streamed faster, she nodded. “I'm sorry to be such a ninny. That was astonishing. And wonderful.” She opened her eyes to meet his inquiring gaze. Her voice shook a little when she said, “Thank you. I had no idea. You must think me the greatest fool in nature to be resisting an experience such as that.” And then shyly, “Is it like that always?”
“It can be, with luck and patience.” He kissed her forehead and wiped away the dwindling tears. “You're not distressed?”
She shook her head. “No, it was the relief that made me cry, I think. But I feel exhausted.”
He laughed. “I'm sure you do. We'll go to sleep now, my dear.”
“But you . . .”
“I'll be fine.” He gathered her against his body, nuzzling her hair with his face. “Goodnight, baroness.”
With a sigh she closed her eyes again and allowed her body to relax against his. “Goodnight, William.”
Chapter Fourteen
When he awoke in the morning, Ledbetter found himself still holding his wife. She lay softly against him, her breathing slow and regular, and he had little doubt that she was really asleep. It would, of course, take very little to waken her. And his promise had only been for the previous night, had it not? He could, in good conscience, attempt to seduce her this morning.
At the very thought his body stirred. But Ledbetter sighed and rolled away from her. Better by far to seduce his innocent Prudence in the dark of night. Her fears and embarrassment would only be heightened in the light of day.
So he climbed carefully out of her bed, donned his dressing gown and smiled ruefully at the diamonds that still winked in her ears. Hell, he'd meant to remove them; they must have been very uncomfortable to sleep in.
Her face looked relaxed, though. Her lips were slightly parted and those funny little puffs of breath escaped them from time to time. Ledbetter was tempted to bend and kiss her, but forced himself to turn away. He had a great deal to do today and he would be wise to get started.
* * * *
It was another hour before Prudence stirred. The first thing she noticed was that she was still wearing the diamonds, and very little else; the second thing that Ledbetter was not there with her in bed. That disappointed her—a little. It seemed to say that he wasn't as interested in her . . . physically . . . as he had indicated. But of course it was all to the good, because he wouldn't expect her to . . . well, be available for him.
Prudence tugged the shift back up over her naked chest even before she got out of bed. And the minute she was on her feet she reached to unhook the diamond necklace. When she held it in her hands, she gazed at it with wonder. It had not occurred to her, somehow, that marrying Ledbetter would mean that she was showered with diamonds. After all, he had married her for her money.
Hadn't he?
Frowning, Prudence laid the diamond necklace carefully in the worn case. Then she removed the earrings from her ears and placed them there as well. Perhaps they were entailed and Ledbetter hadn't the right to sell them. Not that that had stopped any family she'd ever heard of from having a paste set made and disposing of the valuable ones to meet their debts. At the very least the baron could have borrowed money against them.
Prudence shook her head, not understanding at all. There must have been any number of ways Ledbetter could have raised even as significant an amount of money as she'd brought to their marriage. Frustrated as ever by the question, Prudence rang for Tessie. Together they needed to accomplish a great deal in preparation for the party in less than a week's time.