His Reluctant Lady by Ruth Ann Nordin

Who knew? Maybe he even
found her scandalous behavior exciting.
    The carriage came to a stop and he gave
her another kiss. “It pains me to be apart from you, but alas, our
time has come to an end.”
    Despite herself, a smile tugged at her
lips.
    “ Ah, so you do know how to
smile when amused.” He kissed her cheek, the sensation light but
still sending a jolt of pleasure through her. He slid away from her
in time for the footman to open the carriage door and added, “I’ll
be counting down the hours till we meet again.”
    She groaned as she stepped out of the
carriage. He was infuriating in some ways but unexpectedly sweet,
too. She didn’t know whether to slap him or embrace him. Never in
her entire life had she felt so conflicted.
    Before he could get out of the
carriage, she instructed the footman to take him back to his
townhouse then turned to him and added, “Just because I’m being
kind, it doesn’t mean I want to marry you.”
    With a cocky grin, he replied, “Of
course not. Even so, I thank you, my lady.”
    She made sure he saw her shrug in
indifference before she headed up the steps to her
townhouse.
     
    ***
     
    “ You want what?” Ethan asked
a week later, almost dropping the decanter in his den.
    Christopher leaned back in his chair
and repeated, “I want a book on how to pleasure a lady.” Given his
friend’s reputation for being a rake before he married Catherine,
Christopher had no idea why the request came as such a shock. “I
heard you gave one to Lord Roderick.”
    His friend set the decanter down and
shook his head. “And who told you this? Surely, Lord Roderick
wouldn’t admit this. Was it your guardian?”
    “ Of course not. Perry would
rather I remain innocent of such matters, just as he is. I don’t
believe Perry has enough of an imagination to even know how it’s
done.”
    “ Every gentleman understands
the process. It’s just the technique that he has to
learn.”
    Christopher slapped the arm of his
chair and grinned. “Exactly! You understand my plight. I’m going to
marry the most wonderful lady in London, and I need to know what I
can do to make her so excited to be with me, she’ll be begging for
more.”
    “ Oh come now. Ladies don’t
beg for it.” He paused as he poured brandy into the glasses. “Well,
most ladies anyway.”
    “ Probably because their
husbands aren’t doing it right. I have a theory. Want to hear
it?”
    Ethan handed Christopher his glass and
picked his up. “Not really but I have a feeling you’ll tell me
anyway.”
    “ I think ladies are capable
of great enthusiasm when it comes to the bed. It just depends on
how her husband approaches her. If his only motive is to have an
heir, there’d be no reason for him to consider her feelings or
needs, would there?”
    “ I suppose not.” Ethan took
a sip of his brandy.
    “ But if he cares for her and
takes the time to worship her body, then I wager she’d enjoy
it.”
    He groaned. “Please don’t use the word
‘wager’. I just had Lord Pennella in here a couple days ago yelling
at me because he thought I was the one who let it slip that he was
betting Lord Davenport he could marry Miss Giles. My head still
hurts.” He rubbed his forehead and released his breath.
    “ If he’s so upset, he should
be upset with himself. What was he doing making a wager with Lord
Davenport anyway? I’m surprised he didn’t force Miss Giles into a
scandal to secure the marriage.”
    “ I heard she was too smart
for him. She never let him get her alone.”
    “ Smart lady.”
    “ Smart lady,
indeed.”
    Christopher drank some brandy and
turned his attention back to the topic they’d been discussing
moments before. “Ethan, if I ask you to be brutally honest with me,
will you?”
    “ Depends on what you ask,”
he replied as he sipped more brandy.
    “ Does your wife enjoy being
in bed with you?”
    Ethan coughed and almost knocked his
glass over.
    “ You sure are clumsy today,”
Christopher said,