An Improper Proposal (The Distinguished Rogues Book 6) by Heather Boyd
Authors: Heather Boyd
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learned fast. She was courageous and brave even if her eyes were shut tightly, and she grew enthusiastic about her chance to kiss him into senselessness.
It might be a mistake to encourage her but Martin caught her head and pulled her down onto his lap, her tiny weight balanced on one thigh, her skirts tangled between his legs. He wrapped his arm across her hip and with the other stroked her shoulder firmly. He closed his eyes too and discovered that an innocent’s kiss was ten times more arousing than the most experienced courtesan he’d ever draped over his knee.
Her lips parted without prompting and her tongue danced across his lower lip. Martin tucked her firmly against his body and thrust into her mouth hungrily with his own tongue, lost in the moment of exploration he’d never once expected. When she stroked his tentatively in return, he pressed her hip harder against his growing erection and plundered the sweet taste of her mouth.
Iris whimpered softly and the sound checked his urgency. He eased back, glancing up into a face grown flushed and dazed from arousal. He groaned under his breath. Perhaps educating the innocent hadn’t been the best way to convince her to marry, but he could not say he regretted that kiss or the feel of her tiny body in his arms.
He deposited her onto an adjacent cushion and waited while she straightened her gown. That was probably more than he should have “taught” her but she had asked for it boldly and he’d answered in kind. Hopefully, his actions would prove to her that passion belonged with a husband and not with some stranger who would use her then walk away each morning, leaving money or jewels beside the bed and no certainty of when she’d see them again. The very idea offended him. “Do you see?”
“I believe I understand,” she said at last after clearing her throat a few times. “So it is possible to receive such a kiss when the man doesn’t even want the lady.”
He shook his head. How wrong she was. He did want her, and for proof she had only to look at the bulge of his trousers, but being an innocent she had no idea of the condition her kisses had left him in. However, since Martin was all wrong for Iris Hedley, he said nothing to convince her that his interest was genuine. He sat a moment, waiting for his arousal to subside. “Promise me you will limit voicing your inquiries to this place and to me.”
Her face turned to his and he could see her struggle for composure after such a heady kiss. The way she stared at him, glassy eyed and breathless, meant the first lesson was likely an unabashed success in her eyes. Her fingers rose to cover her flushed lips and eventually she nodded. “I would be most happy to receive further lessons from you, my lord. Anytime.”
The doors burst open and Lady Heathcote rushed inside, holding a note aloft. “You’ll never believe it but Lord Hazelton was robbed last night during the ball and struck down by the villains.”
Iris shot to her feet, pale and trembling. “Is he dead?”
“He survives but everyone is a suspect, it seems,” Lady Heathcote reassured her. “Meriwether is on his way.”
Iris nodded. “I’m sure he will be a comfort to you.”
“Yes, it will be nice to see him, however, he is coming to interview us about last night. At last he’s been promoted to lead the investigations into the spate of thefts prevalent among the ton these past months.”
When Iris burst into tears, Martin waited a heartbeat then gathered her close, despite Lady Heathcote’s understandably shocked expression. Clearly, her nerves were overset by the kiss and her brazen request. Iris didn’t understand that such an interview was merely a formality. Meriwether would ask his questions and go because no one in their right mind would ever imagine a proper lady would stoop to theft.
Five
“I love you, Papa!” Iris clung to her father and buried her face in his collar. She needed the comfort of his arms after the
It might be a mistake to encourage her but Martin caught her head and pulled her down onto his lap, her tiny weight balanced on one thigh, her skirts tangled between his legs. He wrapped his arm across her hip and with the other stroked her shoulder firmly. He closed his eyes too and discovered that an innocent’s kiss was ten times more arousing than the most experienced courtesan he’d ever draped over his knee.
Her lips parted without prompting and her tongue danced across his lower lip. Martin tucked her firmly against his body and thrust into her mouth hungrily with his own tongue, lost in the moment of exploration he’d never once expected. When she stroked his tentatively in return, he pressed her hip harder against his growing erection and plundered the sweet taste of her mouth.
Iris whimpered softly and the sound checked his urgency. He eased back, glancing up into a face grown flushed and dazed from arousal. He groaned under his breath. Perhaps educating the innocent hadn’t been the best way to convince her to marry, but he could not say he regretted that kiss or the feel of her tiny body in his arms.
He deposited her onto an adjacent cushion and waited while she straightened her gown. That was probably more than he should have “taught” her but she had asked for it boldly and he’d answered in kind. Hopefully, his actions would prove to her that passion belonged with a husband and not with some stranger who would use her then walk away each morning, leaving money or jewels beside the bed and no certainty of when she’d see them again. The very idea offended him. “Do you see?”
“I believe I understand,” she said at last after clearing her throat a few times. “So it is possible to receive such a kiss when the man doesn’t even want the lady.”
He shook his head. How wrong she was. He did want her, and for proof she had only to look at the bulge of his trousers, but being an innocent she had no idea of the condition her kisses had left him in. However, since Martin was all wrong for Iris Hedley, he said nothing to convince her that his interest was genuine. He sat a moment, waiting for his arousal to subside. “Promise me you will limit voicing your inquiries to this place and to me.”
Her face turned to his and he could see her struggle for composure after such a heady kiss. The way she stared at him, glassy eyed and breathless, meant the first lesson was likely an unabashed success in her eyes. Her fingers rose to cover her flushed lips and eventually she nodded. “I would be most happy to receive further lessons from you, my lord. Anytime.”
The doors burst open and Lady Heathcote rushed inside, holding a note aloft. “You’ll never believe it but Lord Hazelton was robbed last night during the ball and struck down by the villains.”
Iris shot to her feet, pale and trembling. “Is he dead?”
“He survives but everyone is a suspect, it seems,” Lady Heathcote reassured her. “Meriwether is on his way.”
Iris nodded. “I’m sure he will be a comfort to you.”
“Yes, it will be nice to see him, however, he is coming to interview us about last night. At last he’s been promoted to lead the investigations into the spate of thefts prevalent among the ton these past months.”
When Iris burst into tears, Martin waited a heartbeat then gathered her close, despite Lady Heathcote’s understandably shocked expression. Clearly, her nerves were overset by the kiss and her brazen request. Iris didn’t understand that such an interview was merely a formality. Meriwether would ask his questions and go because no one in their right mind would ever imagine a proper lady would stoop to theft.
Five
“I love you, Papa!” Iris clung to her father and buried her face in his collar. She needed the comfort of his arms after the
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