“And…you want to elevate them with me?”
“God, more than anything.”
“Then you should know,” she said, her pulse racing, “I-I’m not like most women my age. I want different things. I’m looking forward to the coming season about as much as a case of the pox. I have no desire to marry, as I have little use for men.”
Daniel’s full pink lips curved into a half smile. “I wasn’t proposing marriage, love.”
Lily’s skin heated. “Of course not. I didn’t mean to imply that you were.”
“As for your feelings about men—” He winked. “Is it that you prefer the fairer sex?”
Clearly the duke expected to embarrass her. She was quite aware of the writings of Sappho and others and knew some women and men preferred the same sex for intimacy. Lily was inexperienced, yes, but not naïve. She let out a husky giggle. “No, Your Grace. I assure you I have even less use for women. I can’t abide the bubbleheaded idiots who fawn at my brother’s feet, and at yours.”
Daniel laughed softly. “I see, then. If you don’t want a season or marriage, what do you want, Lily?”
She closed her eyes and inhaled. “I want to paint and write and travel. I want to sail around Venice, dine in Paris, spend an entire week in the Louvre. I want to stroll through the vineyards in Burgundy. I want to listen to Mozart in Vienna, climb a mountain in the Swiss Alps. I want to buy silk in the Orient and swim in the Mediterranean sea. I want to see everything Vermeer ever painted.”
When she opened her eyes, Daniel was grinning at her.
“Damn it, I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
He moved toward her and cupped her face in his hands. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.” He kissed her mouth lightly, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. “I want you just as you are.” He kissed her again. “My God, you’re beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she murmured. Jumbles of thoughts crowded through her mind. She wanted to stay with him. It was improper. She wanted his golden hands on her body. She would be ruined. Her virtue was at stake. But did it matter? She didn’t wish to marry. Yet she wanted every experience life had to offer. Sleeping with the duke was just one more experience, yes? Who better to introduce her to the pleasures of the flesh than a man she was attracted to and who probably had the knowledge and experience of ten men?
But it would hurt. And people might find out and shun her. Her family deserved better.
She looked down at her feet. “I’m afraid.”
“Lily, look at me.” He tilted her chin up to face him. “You have nothing to fear from me. I promise you.”
“It…will hurt.”
“It may. But I’ll do everything I can to help you. It doesn’t have to be unpleasant.”
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“I-I will require discretion.”
“Of course. No one will know. You have my word.”
“And I don’t want to… That is, I have no desire for you to get your brat on me.”
She regretted the harsh words, but they didn’t seem to faze him.
“Don’t worry. I can take care of that.”
“How?”
“Just leave it to me. There are several ways to—”
“I don’t want to know,” Lily interrupted. “Just take care of it. Lord, I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”
Daniel pulled her gently into his arms. “I’ll be so good to you. I’ll take care of you. I want to give you pleasure unlike either of us has ever known. Kiss me.” He guided her lips to his.
As she melted into him, she was vaguely aware of his hands working the buttons on the back of her gown and easing it down over her shoulders until it was in a heap on the floor. He turned her around gently, untied the strings of her corset, and carefully removed her stockings and her drawers. Soon she stood before him wearing only her chemise, which left nothing to the imagination.
“You’re absolutely lovely,” Daniel whispered.