He was already walking away. Surrounded by his jacket and lingering scent, she looked after him, wondering who had broken his heart. And she didn’t know if it was her tinkering or womanly instincts that made her yearn to mend it.
5
The following night, Severin lay with his hands behind his head in one of Lady Beatrice’s guest chambers. The late summer heat wasn’t relieved by the open window, so he slept in the buff, a sheet draped over his lower half. He stared up into the canopy of the tester bed. It was the wee hours, yet sleep evaded him, probably because of his looming failure.
The encounter with Fancy Sheridan yesterday had spurred him to take control of his courtship. He’d spoken with Lady Beatrice earlier today, again pressing his suit and pointing out his opponent’s weaknesses. He’d made a tactical error. His attempt to open her eyes to the kind of man Wickham Murray was had provoked her ire. She’d told him in no uncertain terms that she would not marry him.
Severin knew a losing proposition when he saw one. Clearly, Murray had won the lady’s heart, which seemed to rule over her head. Pity that. If she’d been more clear-eyed and less emotional, she could have been exactly what Severin was looking for.
Now there was no point in staying. Severin would leave on the morrow and head back to London. He would take his Aunt Esther’s advice and make a foray into the Marriage Mart. Hell, if he let her, his aunt would be happy to choose the next Duchess of Knighton for him. While he wasn’t certain Aunt Esther had his happiness in mind—it was difficult to know if the prickly widow held any affection for him—he knew that she valued the family name.
Severin ought to be making a list of suitable duchess candidates. Mapping out contingency plans. Instead, his thoughts were occupied by Fancy Sheridan.
By how soft and pleasingly rounded she’d felt tucked up against him as he’d landed her catch. By the scent of her, some unique mix of sunshine, wildflowers, and woman. Most of all, by her blatant admission that she was no virgin.
I ain’t inexperienced, Your Grace. She’d said it without shame. I know what love is, and I’ve seen more o’ the world than you know.
Just how experienced was this lusty tinker’s daughter? How many men had she tumbled in the hay with? Heat flooded Severin’s groin, and his cock rose, butting against the sheet.
An errant fantasy fogged up his brain. At another place and time, she might have been a welcome diversion. A breath of fresh air amidst the suffocating demands of his life. He imagined setting her up in a cottage outside the city, his own little country escape. She would greet him at the door, wearing a sweet smile on her lips…and nothing else.
Animal need clawed at him. He reached beneath the sheet, fisting his erection. He stroked his distended flesh, imagining Fancy gripping him the way she’d gripped the fishing rod, with pure feminine determination. He saw her smiling at him, with that disarming warmth of hers, and his lust took an errant turn into some deeper, darker corner of need.
He steered it back, concentrating on her ripe, raspberry lips. That teasing beauty mark.
Seed leaked into his gliding fist as he pictured her naked on her knees in front of him. Had she sucked a prick before? If not, it would be his pleasure to teach her. He would break in her pretty mouth with tender care, easing his shaft in inch by inch. Since this was a fantasy, he imagined her taking all of him which, given his size, was something not even his most experienced mistress had managed to do.
His chest heaved, his fist moving faster. Once she got him hard and wet, he would have a taste of her. He wondered if she would be shy about having her cunny licked, if any of her lovers had been skilled in the art of gamahuche. He’d only done it to two women, both of them longer-term mistresses, and he’d enjoyed how wild it had made them.
Would Fancy go up in flames when he ate her pussy?
He groaned softly, deciding that she would. After she came in his mouth, he would have her mount him. It wasn’t his favorite position, but he wanted to see her expressive eyes as she took his cock into her body. As her pink petals spread