Page 8 of My Lady Rake

CHAPTER4

Aweek later, Verity tapped her fingers on the railing in front of her at the Theatre Royal and glanced at the couples in the boxes around them. They looked like she and St. Ervan did, she imagined, or as they might in twenty or thirty years in some cases. Polite Society, for the most part, although she recognized a few demimondes among the women. She considered herself separate from either group. She had too poor a reputation to please Society’s matrons, and she refused to be kept by any man. She was her own woman.

As close as her chair was to St. Ervan’s in his small box, she wished she were sitting right beside St. Ervan, touching him in some way, even if it was only arms bumping as they breathed. His pull was magnetic. She couldn’t keep her hands off him, or wouldn’t if she had the chance. She’d never imagined wanting a man so desperately she couldn’t sit still.

When the final operetta ended and the curtain fell, St. Ervan helped her wrap her shawl around her shoulders as they joined the other patrons in the hallway. He asked, “What did you think?”

“I enjoyed it.” She smiled up to him. “It’s not something I would have thought to do on my own. I’m glad you invited me.”

His hand pressed low on her back as he let her pass between two slower moving couples, stirring the embers glowing inside her. “Just the same, next time we’ll let you decide where we go.”

Next time. Two small words capable of setting her off balance. The expected uneasiness she felt when meeting someone new didn’t exist with St. Ervan. He assumed there would be a next time, and she couldn’t bring herself to deny it.

An older man walking beside them smiled at St. Ervan. “Good evening, St. Ervan. Lovely performance, wasn’t it?”

St. Ervan shook the man’s hand. “Yes, we enjoyed it.”

“You remember my wife?” The man motioned to the woman beside him.

“Of course. You’re looking as beautiful as always, my lady. How are your grandchildren?”

The woman’s face lit, and her polite smile turned genuine when she responded.

Neither of the couple paid her any notice, and she wondered for a moment if they were deliberately ignoring her. She watched St. Ervan and wondered how well he knew the couple. Nothing they said spoke of a real friendship, yet he remembered the names of their grandkids.

Then she heard her name. “Do you know Mrs. Stanhope? Verity, Lord and Lady Craymore were friends of my mother’s.”

“How do you do?” Verity watched for recognition in their expressions, but there was none. She felt an odd sense of relief at that, and couldn’t be sure if it was St. Ervan’s reputation or her own that concerned her. He was much too old to be damaged by escorting a “loose woman” in public.

Once they were seated in his carriage, with St. Ervan beside her rather than riding opposite, he rested his hand on her thigh. She jumped at the contact, her legs wanting to part in reaction. His fingers spread and then closed. Gooseflesh radiated outward from his touch.

Please, higher…

“I’m pleased you joined me tonight. To be honest, I wasn’t certain you would accept my invitation.”

She blinked and focused on his words, not his hand, fighting the urge to squeeze her legs together to squelch her desire. “As I said, I enjoyed the music.”

“I’m glad.” His hand tightened on her thigh, then he bent and kissed her. Soft, brief touches lips to lips, then he lifted her onto his lap.

Her body vibrated with the need to feel him pressed up against her, but she restrained herself, wanting to let him take control.

St. Ervan cupped his hand around her chin, rubbing his thumb across her lower lip as he glanced back and forth between her eyes, then he captured her mouth with his.

Verity melted against him, her breasts swelling even as they mashed against his sculpted muscles. She opened to him, her tongue darting, and teasing his. The scent of him, a subtle blend of cologne and St. Ervan, made her want him that much more. She trembled with desire.

He broke contact with her mouth. “Cold?”

“No. Aroused. I want more.”

Nuzzling beneath the hair at her neck, he mumbled in agreement. “I can’t wait to see you naked beneath me. Soon.”

She couldn’t help the whine that escaped her, but he just laughed. His kisses continued with a few nibbles below her ear, and one of his thumbs brushed against her hardening nipple. Too soon, the carriage came to a stop, and she knew they’d reached her town house. When St. Ervan lifted her to her feet, she shivered at the sudden lack of his warmth.

He helped her from the carriage and walked with her to the door. “Good night, Verity. I’ll call on you soon.”

Opening her door and stepping inside her home, Verity watched him walk back to his carriage. Damn, even with his cutaway coat on, the view from behind was enticing. She’d be thinking about those buttocks when she pleasured herself before sleeping tonight.

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