Page 73 of The Duke's Vice

She pushed further back, letting her legs slip off the sofa. She lowered herself to a kneeling position in front of him when his eyes flew open.

He jerked up with his hands on his belt.

“What are you doing?” His eyes widened as his breath caught in his throat.

Seeing the surprise cross his face, emboldened Beatrice’s ministrations. He was always one step ahead of her that to be able to give him pause made her feel victorious.

“Repaying the favor, Your Grace. I can say I will never be able to witness another Opera without the memories of your mouth of me.”

Graham slowly closed his eyes as he laid his back to rest of the sofa. Beatrice’s fingers lightly swept along the waist of his pants causing goosebumps to erupt across his lean stomach. He shifted under her touch, his muscling quivering underneath her touch.

Beatrice licked her lips as she moved her fingertips just underneath his waistband.

Graham’s eyes flew open and his hand slammed down onto hers.

“Stop. You mustn’t do this.”

Beatrice looked up to him with a raised brow. “But I want to. You did it for me, I want to do the same for you.”

Graham’s pliable body had gone rigid underneath her fingers. She searched his eyes as her heart dropped. “Oh God. Is this something that women do not perform?” Embarrassment didn’t just wash over her, it crashed into her, it annihilated her, it broke her. She scurried to her feet, her hands covering her face.

“I am so sorry. We were kissing and I saw the book, which reminded me of the opera scene, which reminded me of where you… um, kissed me and I thought perhaps I could do the same for you.”

Beatrice separated two of her fingers allowing her eye to peak through. Graham stood motionless, his face of mixture of confusion and something else Beatrice couldn’t quite put her finger on. Regardless, she had a feeling she wouldn’t like it if she could name it.

“No.”

Beatrice groaned into her hands and backed up.

She felt Graham’s hands land roughly on her shoulders. “No. I mean, yes, that is something that is done. No, you are not doing it.”

It took a moment for Graham’s words to sink in.

“Did I offend you?” Her voice cracked.

Graham lowered his knees to look in her eyes. “You did not offend me.”

She found some comfort in his words and lowered her hands. She pushed out a breath when she something he said caught up with her.

“Wait. If it’s something that is done, why can’t I do it? You did it for me.”

Graham dropped his hands from her shoulders, before rubbing his face with them. Frustration colored his features.

“What I did was different. You don’t need to do that.” He sighed. He suddenly sounded exhausted, which annoyed Beatrice to no end. She hated being treated like an unruly child.

“Last I checked I wasn’t if I should. I understand that in my inexperience I may have fumbled a bit, but you have to admit I am a fast learner, you said so yourself.”

Graham fought a smile which relaxed some of the tension throbbing within Beatrice.

She took a step closer, testing her limits. “I was always an eager student.” She ran a finger up his chest.

His hand grabbed her finger and removed it.

“No.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t understand. Do you not like that?”

Graham barked out a laugh. “No. I enjoy it very much. But…” his words drifted off.