'Oh.’ It wasn’t the most intelligent or flirtatious reply imaginable, but Diana wasn’t quite sure how else to respond.
He held out his gloved hand for hers and demanded, ‘Trust me.’
‘You make it awfully hard to say no,’ she replied, and placed her hand in his.
‘I am ruthless when it comes to fighting for what I want.’
A whisper of unease caressed her spine when she heard his intensely possessive tone. And even though she felt that he had meant something else entirely, Diana rationalized it away. It was only her nerves.
She remained quiet while he led her through the garden to where a stone table and bench sat.
Even though she was silent, her heartbeat was loud in her ears. Around her, the night was cold and quiet. But oddly, it didn’t feel ominous. If anything, the contrast of the cold, quiet night to her hot, anxious body was a relief.
When they came to the bench, the stranger did not offer her a seat. He turned to face her and asked, ‘May I remove our gloves?’ She didn’t reply right away, and he added, ‘I want to touch you, even if it is only your hands.’
‘I don’t suppose that’s any more scandalous than a kiss,’ she said cautiously.
But she was wrong.
He yanked his own gloves off in a flurry and tossed them onto the nearby table. But when he removed hers, he did so slowly, exposing her elbows, forearms, wrists, hands, and fingers by degrees. He placed her gloves next to his, and then gently took her forearms in his big hands. His thumbs stroked the sensitive skin on either wrist, and when she shivered at the pleasurable touch, he raised first one wrist, and then the other, to his lips. The kisses were light, impossibly gentle, but Diana had never felt anything so brutally intimate.
Her shivers turned to shakes. Knowing that he must feel them, and embarrassed by her response, she began to explain, ‘I’m sorry. I’ve never—’
‘It’s all right.’ He let her go so that he could hold his hands out in front of her, showing her how he too trembled.
‘So, this is normal?’ she asked, relieved.
But then he replied, ‘No. No, it is not.’
Log in or create an account to read the next chapter of "A Most Unladylike Proposition"
Every month we select a new title from one of our authors so that you can discover new stories, locations and genres for free.