An Improper Proposal (The Distinguished Rogues Book 6) (6 page)

Her words were filled with such sorrow that her father had abandoned her along with his financial responsibilities that he leaned forward to take her hand in his. “Surely there is still room for hope that he will come back and put things right again.”

She bit her bottom lip and then shook her head. “There is none and it is high time I started earning my way in this world. I cannot live on Esme’s charity for the rest of my life. I want something of my own again and to be away from London.” She stood and paced away, abandoning his offered comfort. “Esme has been all that is kind and welcoming but I am always aware that my presence in her home is an imposition. My only hope for a secure future is to become a mistress. At least I would be out from under Esme’s feet. I wish you had not come today. It is easy to see that you doubt my appeal.”

Martin was glad he had come and he did not for a moment doubt her appeal as a woman. While she was distracted by the view outside, Martin let his gaze rove over her discreetly. He’d always had a soft spot for Iris Hedley, especially so since her father had fled to the Continent to avoid his debtors. That she lived with Lady Heathcote in London ensured she was well cared for and he always made sure to dance with her whenever their paths crossed. Many in society had snubbed her for her poverty and that made him furious. How was she to blame for anything that had happened?

However, no matter how appealing she might be, tiny, delicate creatures such as this were strictly off limits for a man of his proportions. Since his parting with Vivian, looking at a woman was often the only pleasure he allowed himself. He could not offer for her even if he didn’t think it the most appalling idea. “Of course I would come, if only to warn you not to ask gentlemen such questions ever again. Other men would have assumed you were bent on seduction and pounced on you immediately.”

Her gaze flittered to his shyly. “I will be more circumspect next time and ask someone who might like what he sees.”

Martin did like what he saw very much but she could never be more to him than this. He could be her friend and offer some guidance. Maybe if he answered her questions, she’d change her mind about the whole thing and consider the alternative: marriage to the right man. “I won’t allow you to ask anyone else. The risk of censure is too great. What do you want to know?”

Her eyes widened and then she smiled warmly and drew closer. “How often would I be expected to be intimate with my protector?”

He gave the matter careful consideration, stalling for time in the hope Lady Heathcote would return. Iris was beautiful in a way he suspected she didn’t understand. An ordinary-sized man would likely want her daily. He could tell her the truth but to be so honest might frighten her away from marriage entirely and that wasn’t his goal. He didn’t want to turn her off all men so he chose a lesser answer. “At least a handful of nights each week.”

She held out her hand and flexed her fingers. “So when you saw your mistress, you were intimate at least five times?”

He winced. In truth, he’d been intimate with Vivian less than that. He’d always ensured her pleasure first and often. “We are not talking about my desires but those of an ordinary man.”

She frowned. “What is the difference?”

He raked a hand through his short hair. He could not be that honest with Iris Hedley. “What is your next question?”

Her gaze fell to his lips and a bright blush filled her cheeks. “What is it like to kiss someone so deeply that you lose yourself in their embrace?”

He peered at her closely, noticed the rapid rise and fall of her breasts and felt the unwise stirrings of arousal in himself. Just how experienced was Iris with men? If she did not know a good kiss could devastate the senses then the “past experience” Lady Heathcote eluded too might not be as ruinous as he had first feared. “It is wonderful.”

“Could you show me?”

He rocked backward in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”

She clenched her hands together at her waist and wrung them together. “As Lady Heathcote mentioned, I have limited experience in these matters.”

He sagged in relief. Lady Heathcote’s choice of words had led him to imagine the worst and that was not the case. “That is good news.”

“How could you believe that?” She sighed. “I have no choice but to press forward if I want any sort of life of my own. I want to know what I’d be expected to do with men and I’d like help in gathering some skills to prepare myself for that day.”

She wanted lessons? His mind reeled that she might have asked someone else for that improper education. She’d be expelled from all good society if she were ever found out. “How much experience do you have exactly?”

“Three kisses,” she answered immediately. “I know there are any number of degrees to a lady’s experience but Esme assures me a woman should be able to tell that the man she is with has the necessary skills to deserve her affections by the expertise of his kiss.”

“You’re a complete innocent,” he choked out. Gods, three kisses was nothing. She was contemplating a life well beyond the pale and had no idea of what changes would come in her life as a mistress.

“Yes.” She lifted her chin proudly. “But I’d like not to be ignorant, too.”

He rubbed his jaw, thinking hard of a way to turn her inexperience to his advantage. If he could distract her from her plan of finding a protector she might yet find a man to marry. A few poorly executed kisses wouldn’t bring her too much harm as long as no one learned of them. “Very well.”

Her mouth fell open.

He grinned at her shock. “I will be the one to answer your questions about intimacy on the condition you tell no one that you wish to be a mistress, for the time being. I must have your promise that this will be our secret. I won’t be a party to your ruin.”

“And you’ll teach me what I need to know, too?”

He paused. An innocent bride was expected to know very little on her wedding night. He would be careful of what he taught her. “Yes.”

“I do promise.” She drew closer. “Show me.”

“You want me to kiss you now? Here?” He glanced around wildly, hoping Lady Heathcote might be on the verge of rejoining them. However he heard not one sound beyond Iris’s rushed breath. When he’d imagined her education, he’d not envisaged undertaking it in Lady Heathcote’s drawing room where anyone might walk in.

Iris, however, stared up at him seriously. “Well, where else might be as private as this? If we were to sneak away at a ball, someone might see us. If we were to meet at a private residence you own, that too would be fraught with the risk of detection. Esme would not have left us alone had she not wanted me to continue my inquiries with you under her roof.”

“I see your point.” Now was indeed the perfect moment. He could kiss Iris and no one would know, and then tomorrow night she’d hopefully forget all about these ridiculous lessons and return to a search for a suitable husband.

Decision made, he gripped her shoulders and pressed his lips to hers in a smacking kiss that ended before it truly began.

When he released her and stood back, she stared at him in disapproval. “I thought you’d be better at kissing than that.”

So much for his good intentions. He ground his teeth. “Why do women always want something more from me than I offer?”

“I don’t know.” Her head tilted a little to the side as she studied him. “I’ve never asked you to show me more than what a proper kiss entails, but if it’s too much of an inconvenience…”

Despite the situation, he was impressed by her pluck. The challenge she presented intrigued him. Tiny Iris Hedley was remarkably stubborn and he’d never noticed that trait before. How much could he teach her without going too far, though? He’d have to tread carefully.

Since the disparity in their heights was too great to kiss comfortably standing, he caught her hand and towed Iris toward the window seat at the rear of the room. He sat and left her standing before him. “How about
you
kiss
me
, since you clearly have some idea of what constitutes a proper kiss?”

Her brow creased in consternation. “Do mistresses do that? Kiss their protectors first, and can they also do that without his encouragement?”

His certainly had before. Nothing aroused him more than an impatient woman. He nodded slowly. “A man likes a woman who knows what she wants when it comes to passion.”

“I see. Then I was correct that I must learn everything I can.” She set her hands to his shoulders and lowered her face to his. He stared into her pale-green eyes, waiting for her to change her mind until the very last minute when she brushed her lips softly against his.

It was a gentle kiss but Martin’s heart began to clamor hard against his ribs immediately. Her hands drifted slowly up his neck and when she touched his jaw, her little fingers were warm and distracting. She lifted her face a moment then kissed him again as if she had all the time in the world to experiment on him. She 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 distress of being interrogated by Mr. Meriwether about her movements at the Hazelton ball the previous night. She had been beyond relieved that Louth had not mentioned their pleasant interlude alone in the alcove. The alcove that the thieves had used for egress to the Hazelton library and which might have led the inquisitive Mr. Meriwether to consider her a prime suspect in his investigation had he but known.

She drew back to peer into her father’s face, desperate for the comfort of his love. The lines around his eyes appeared deeper and darker today, his once-bright green eyes were dull and tired.

He pushed her away. “Mind your pretty clothes.”