Miss Delectable (Mischief in Mayfair #1) - Grace Burrowes Page 0,76
out, or my solicitors do. The proceeds go into the cent-per-cents.”
She fell silent as if expecting Rye to leave the bed in a fit of male insecurity because she wasn’t penniless.
“My family seat is let out as well,” he said. “I did not see how I could manage my English acres in addition to farms in Provence, vineyards in Champagne, and a London business. Not without hiring a parcel of expensive stewards or factors. Something had to go, and letting out the country house was the logical choice. Do you miss your home?”
“That’s complicated.” She rolled to her back, and Rye wanted to pull her close again. “For more than half my life, I haven’t lived there, and nobody I love is there anymore. It’s a place full of memories.”
“Spain is a place full of memories for me, and I assure you, I have no wish to return there ever, and yet, neither of us has sold our family homes, have we?”
His question provoked a frown. “I have my old age to consider. A cook’s post is physically demanding and more than a little dangerous. At some point, I will be venerable enough to maintain my own household without causing a scandal. I will have earned my spinster honors and the freedom that go with them. What of you?”
What of him? Rye racketed from London to France and back, tried to keep an eye on Jeanette without intruding, managed the boys, peddled his wares…
“Like you, I envision a time later in life when I am not so caught up in plying my trade, in getting and spending and laying waste my powers, to quote Wordsworth. My childhood was happy, and if I ever have children, I want the same for them. Fresh air, a wood to play in, summer afternoons spent reading tales of heroic nonsense.”
And for the first time, he could envision such a life with a specific woman, the one sharing the bed with him. Why her?
Because Ann worked hard for the sheer satisfaction of accomplishing something meaningful. Because she’d turned her back on an easy road and pursued a dream instead. Because she had taken Hannah on despite the resulting inconvenience.
Because she made love like she meant it.
And yet, Ann had put in her years as an apprentice and earned her way to a prestigious post as a cook. Was she to give that up for the privilege of risking her life in childbed every two years?
“You are silent,” Ann said. “I treasure that about you. You don’t maunder on to hear your own voice, and you notice what’s around you. I don’t want to leave this bed.”
Neither did Rye, but a gentleman—especially one without his clothes—did not presume. “Shall I love you again?”
“We will love each other.” She straddled him, bringing the covers up over her shoulders and then tucking close.
Rye reveled in caresses to her back, arms, and—when she gave him the room—her breasts, and in delicate explorations of her feminine flesh. She allowed that and reciprocated with cautious attention to his stones and cock. A trickle of desire became a stream and then a river in full spate.
And yet, he waited, until Ann was undulating slick flesh along the length of his rigid arousal.
“Must I send an engraved invitation, Annie?”
“Yes. I haven’t much experience with men who take their time. Send an invitation or give the command, and please do it soon.”
“Do you cook your best dishes in a hurry?”
She went still. “Rushing a recipe is a sure means of ruining the result.”
“Precisely.” Rye shaped her hips, loving the feel of her. “Some meals can be thrown together without much effort, and they nourish adequately. Others must be prepared carefully, and they deserve to be savored. Take your time with me, Annie. You can always try a different approach next week.”
Her smile was complicated. Clearly, she was pleased with the notion of taking charge of their lovemaking, but sadness lurked in her gaze as well. A next encounter was possible—she had a half day each week—but then what? What of next month or next year?
Rye could not offer her declarations of undying devotion, but he could offer her pleasure and affection, and so he did. When, after three eternities of fiddling about, she took him in hand and fitted their bodies together, he left the decision of how fast and how deeply to complete the joining to her.
When she sought his kisses, he gave them to her.
When satisfaction overtook her, he abetted her pleasure