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Especially because she was torn between wanting him to kiss her and knowing the prudent move would be to tell him that he should never kiss her again. She already knew she wasn’t going to do the latter.

His hand reached out, sliding under her ankles, and Mei gulped as he pulled her feet onto his lap.

Oh my.

The sensation of his fingers rubbing her ankles and feet through the silk of her stockings was disturbingly intimate. Even though he’d had his mouth on her, and hers on him, there was something about the casual way he’d pulled her limbs onto his that sent a pulse of energy through her. Warmth bloomed in her core, her body tightening as his fingers pressed into the pads of her feet.

“Oh… that feels…” It felt like he was touching her much farther up her legs than he actually was. She could feel his fingers and the effects of his caress all the way up her inner thighs.

The duke flashed her a smile, heat in his eyes.

“Good?” he asked.

Mei nodded in response. She felt like clutching the book to her chest. Instead, she pressed it against her lap, uncertain of what she was supposed to be doing with her hands.

“Good. As for the visit to the estate.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Not as productive as I’d hoped.”

“Ah. Sorry to hear that.”

It was wretchedly difficult to concentrate when he was touching her like this.

Then his hands moved, giving her feet one last squeeze before his fingers traveled upward to her ankles. Mei sucked in a breath. It took all her willpower not to snatch her feet back from him. Not because she wanted him to stop, exactly, but because she did not know how to deal with the way he was touching her, the way he was looking at her.

It had been one thing in the garden last night, with the night air, the suddenness of his appearance, and the desire in his eyes… this was the middle of the afternoon. Late afternoon, perhaps, but still the afternoon.

“I was as well,” he replied, sliding his hand up her calf and revealing more of her stockinged leg. “At least, until I returned here to find that the guests are still away and yet you are here… all alone… in this very convenient back room.”

He shifted on the daybed, turning toward her, and Mei found herself sliding down toward him. There was a small thump as the book slid from her lap and down to the floor. She gasped, turning slightly, but the duke’s arms caught her.

“We’ll get it later,” he whispered, his lips still moving as they pressed against hers for a kiss. Mei gasped at the sensation of his body sliding against hers, giving him the opening to thrust his tongue between her lips. The weight of him half atop her was somehow both arousing and comforting, pressing her down onto the daybed.

One knee planted itself between her legs as he lay against her, his thigh taut against her mound, and Mei shuddered as she lifted her hips, rubbing herself against him. The pleasure of the sensation shot through her, and he groaned, leaning into her. She could feel his erection pressing against her hip, making her squirm as her insides clenched in response.

His hand slid up to cup her breast over the fabric of her dress, and Mei moaned against his kiss as her body tightened again. The pins in her hair were a vague spot of discomfort, but nothing could distract her from the sensations that were now rioting through her body.

Lovers.

Suddenly, she was very glad she was wearing one of the English-style dresses as his kiss moved from her lips to her throat. It was not as low cut as an evening gown, but far lower than the aoquin she would have otherwise donned. This dress left room for more kisses across her collarbone, her chest, the tops of her breasts.

“Oh… my… Your Grace…”

“Sebastian, Mei,” he reminded her, and her name on his tongue was the sweetest sound he’d made yet.

“Sebastian,” she whispered back, sliding her hands over his shoulders.

Sebastian

Hearing Mei use his given name, feeling her hands on his shoulders… it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Moving his mouth back to hers, kissing her, he pushed his upper body into a position where he could shuck off his jacket. Mei’s hands immediately came to help, first with the jacket and then pulling the pin from his cravat so the knot could be undone.

“Mei,” he murmured as he slid his hands beneath her to undo the buttons of her dress. “How many lovers have you had?”

It was a question he should have asked last night, but he’d been a bit distracted.

There was only a short pause before she answered.

“One.”

Which explained her overall inexperience.