breath hitched. With a groan, Lady Mitchell sank down heavily atop him, his erection disappearing from view.
I didn’t miss the way Ginny’s hands fisted in her skirts. How I wished I could see her eyes. Never before had I wanted to know what a woman was thinking as much as I wanted to know her thoughts. I drew my fingers down the side of her face. She didn’t move. Down the delicate column of her neck, and toward the round, lush breasts pressing against her bodice. She didn’t flinch. Barely breathed.
“They even have places where you can pay to watch, you know.”
“P…pay to watch people make love?” she whispered.
I almost laughed. They were hardly making love. Lady Mitchell’s skirts fluttered down around them, hiding their connection from view. But nothing could hide her moans, the way she lifted, and rocked forward, the way he clutched her arse through her bustle. Nothing could hide the flush of his face, or the greedy, desperate look for release in his eyes.
I drew my knuckles down Ginny’s spine. “There are people who like to watch, as well as those who like to be watched.”
She spun around to face me, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright. Apparently, I’d pushed her too far. Or perhaps just far enough. “You’re a wicked man, my lord.”
I gripped her upper arms and pulled her close. “Admit you don’t like my touch. My kiss.”
She struggled in my hold, but I wouldn’t relent. The last thing we needed was for her to draw attention. “I am not attracted to watching people, my lord,” she whispered. “I saw enough of it when I didn’t want to while living in the slums.”
“What else did you see?”
“Let go,” she snarled.
I released my hold, only to press my hand against the wall, preventing her from racing forward and disappearing from view. “Say you find the act repulsive. Tell me you’re some virginal miss like the young ladies in that ballroom. Dare to admit you don’t wonder what it would be like to be in my bed, and I’ll walk away. I’ll leave you alone.”
She glared up at me. “And which would excite you more, my lord? If I was a virgin you might seduce and destroy? Or would it ease your conscience knowing I was a whore who spread her legs more than once?”
She hadn’t answered any of my questions. I narrowed my eyes, studying her flushed face, attempting to read the truth in her flashing blue gaze. Was she truly a virgin? No, certainly not. “How old are you?”
Her gaze hooded. “None of your business.”
The rise in pitch of Lady Mitchell’s moans indicated they would soon be finished with their play. We would both be spotted. Not that they would care. “Nineteen? Twenty?”
Her hands balled. “You think you can take what you want, when you want?”
I inched closer, my hard body pressed to her soft curves. It had been so very long since I had felt anything at all. The sensations that shot through me were intense, extreme, desperate. They gave me strength, yet weakened me at the same time. Hell, I wasn’t sure how I felt anymore, and that was part of the thrill of being near her. “Yes, I do. Why shouldn’t I? Society has proven more than once that people with power, with money, can have anything they want.”
“Because…because…it’s not what God would want you to do.”
I laughed softly. “God? The very being who allows people like you and your friends to starve on the streets? Walk through the slums of London and show me where there is a God.”
“God gives us free will, to decide on our own.”
“And I decide to take what I want, when I want. See how that works?”
Frustration mounted in her gaze. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or change the subject. Arguing with the woman was just so damn amusing.
“You’re not a king, you’re a mere lord. Just like every other lord.”
“I promise you, I am not like every other lord.”
Damnation, she was stubborn. She didn’t readily drop her gown for anyone. But she had a price, they always did. I would win this battle of wills, I had no doubt.
“And is the royal line not related to the king?” I added. “Is not all nobility chosen by God?”
“This conversation is pointless.” She crossed her arms over her chest, feigning indifference. “Lord, but you’re arrogant.”
“I have a high regard for myself, there’s a difference.”
“Aye, and a low regard for others, I dare say.” She tried