accompanied her earnest reply. “I’ve learned the measure of a man is in how he treats others, not what title he may or may not possess, and certainly not things in which he had no say or control over. Your letter? Please continue.”
Stupefied by her calm acceptance of what he’d dreaded as his final obstacle, never anticipating a lady of rank would acknowledge him without exhaustive convincing, Zeus made an effort to find his tongue, pry it off the floor where it’d dropped along with his jaw, and employ it with the same aplomb she exhibited.
“…declare Zeus Tanner to be a most generous and thoughtful lover. His praiseworthy actions before the…act…
” he stumbled here, recalling the gaiety with which Marianna had written this part,
“are dampening in the extreme. He will set his sights—
”
“Pardon me,” Lady Juliet interrupted, a quizzical expression replacing the encouraging one of before. “She deems it a tribute to call your efforts ‘dampening’?”
He stared. Was she in jest? “What?”
She leaned away from the settee, the skin between her eyebrows creasing. “Her…ardor…” Now
she
stumbled. Then forged ruthlessly ahead. “You dampen it? And yet she praises you?”
Good God. He’d known the lecher she was married to. It was inconceivable. But… “Are you an innocent?”
Rather than answer, she bit one corner of her mouth and relaxed back into the cushions, crossing then uncrossing her arms and looking everywhere but at him. “Well?” Zeus demanded into the strained silence. “Are you in truth a virgin?”
Not that it made any difference to him; he wanted her, was beginning to think she
needed
him.
Hell. It did make a difference. A big one.
A
lady
for a wife. A virgin bride.
Fate had surely smiled on him for once. But how to convince her
he
was the husband she required without having to reveal the rest of this damnable letter?
Her own spirits dampened now that she’d inadvertently betrayed her ignorance, Juliet sought to cover the blunder by feigning confidence. “I was married to one of the crudest men in England for all of three years. What do you think?”
She finally brought her eyes back to his magnificent chest, her mouth going dry at the sight. Hair. Who knew a man could have such a glorious feathering of silky hair upon his sculpted musculature? Traveling across the textured plains of his stomach, past his naval and down…down…
“I think your husband was the worst of men. A hard-arsed, bracket-faced buffoon. A reprobate and a bastard in the worst possible sense.” As though stunned by hearing the oaths spewing from his mouth, Mr. Zeus Tanner tensed his jaw, inclined his head in a brief bow. “Forgive me.
I think
, regardless of whatever experience you claim to have, you’ve never been bedded properly.”
“And you know how to do that? Bed me…properly?”
His head came up, eyes flashing fire. “I most certainly do!”
“Please go on.”
“With…bedding you?” he said raggedly.
Juliet gave a negative shake of her head. “With your reading.”
She thought she heard him mutter “I’d rather get right to the bedding” before he plainly said, “In truth, I’ll do most anything to postpone finishing this letter.”
“Most anything?” Juliet sought confirmation. Dare she ask what kept crossing her mind? Oh, it was too brazen by half! Wivy would be aghast to learn Juliet risked her already shaky reputation (ruined by running the advertisement in the first place, according to Wivy) to request such a thing.
Who says Wivy must know? She’s not here any longer, now is she?
But you are. And he is.
And oh, merciful heavens, he was so very big and brawny, his powerful muscles so spectacular. His sun-lightened hair and sun-darkened body the complete opposite of Leth’s scrawny, whey-toned self and slouchy stature.
“Aye,” he said assuredly, likely having no clue what manner of wicked thoughts now danced temptingly through her head.
Stupefied by her calm acceptance of what he’d dreaded as his final obstacle, never anticipating a lady of rank would acknowledge him without exhaustive convincing, Zeus made an effort to find his tongue, pry it off the floor where it’d dropped along with his jaw, and employ it with the same aplomb she exhibited.
“…declare Zeus Tanner to be a most generous and thoughtful lover. His praiseworthy actions before the…act…
” he stumbled here, recalling the gaiety with which Marianna had written this part,
“are dampening in the extreme. He will set his sights—
”
“Pardon me,” Lady Juliet interrupted, a quizzical expression replacing the encouraging one of before. “She deems it a tribute to call your efforts ‘dampening’?”
He stared. Was she in jest? “What?”
She leaned away from the settee, the skin between her eyebrows creasing. “Her…ardor…” Now
she
stumbled. Then forged ruthlessly ahead. “You dampen it? And yet she praises you?”
Good God. He’d known the lecher she was married to. It was inconceivable. But… “Are you an innocent?”
Rather than answer, she bit one corner of her mouth and relaxed back into the cushions, crossing then uncrossing her arms and looking everywhere but at him. “Well?” Zeus demanded into the strained silence. “Are you in truth a virgin?”
Not that it made any difference to him; he wanted her, was beginning to think she
needed
him.
Hell. It did make a difference. A big one.
A
lady
for a wife. A virgin bride.
Fate had surely smiled on him for once. But how to convince her
he
was the husband she required without having to reveal the rest of this damnable letter?
Her own spirits dampened now that she’d inadvertently betrayed her ignorance, Juliet sought to cover the blunder by feigning confidence. “I was married to one of the crudest men in England for all of three years. What do you think?”
She finally brought her eyes back to his magnificent chest, her mouth going dry at the sight. Hair. Who knew a man could have such a glorious feathering of silky hair upon his sculpted musculature? Traveling across the textured plains of his stomach, past his naval and down…down…
“I think your husband was the worst of men. A hard-arsed, bracket-faced buffoon. A reprobate and a bastard in the worst possible sense.” As though stunned by hearing the oaths spewing from his mouth, Mr. Zeus Tanner tensed his jaw, inclined his head in a brief bow. “Forgive me.
I think
, regardless of whatever experience you claim to have, you’ve never been bedded properly.”
“And you know how to do that? Bed me…properly?”
His head came up, eyes flashing fire. “I most certainly do!”
“Please go on.”
“With…bedding you?” he said raggedly.
Juliet gave a negative shake of her head. “With your reading.”
She thought she heard him mutter “I’d rather get right to the bedding” before he plainly said, “In truth, I’ll do most anything to postpone finishing this letter.”
“Most anything?” Juliet sought confirmation. Dare she ask what kept crossing her mind? Oh, it was too brazen by half! Wivy would be aghast to learn Juliet risked her already shaky reputation (ruined by running the advertisement in the first place, according to Wivy) to request such a thing.
Who says Wivy must know? She’s not here any longer, now is she?
But you are. And he is.
And oh, merciful heavens, he was so very big and brawny, his powerful muscles so spectacular. His sun-lightened hair and sun-darkened body the complete opposite of Leth’s scrawny, whey-toned self and slouchy stature.
“Aye,” he said assuredly, likely having no clue what manner of wicked thoughts now danced temptingly through her head.
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