Page 107 of The Governess and the Brooding Duke
‘I have forgotten.’
‘You haven’t.’
He moved forward, growling and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her up against him. ‘I would have your mouth on my cock now if I did not have something very important to say to you.’
‘If my mouth is to be the one that’s occupied, then perhaps you could tell me while I’m busy.’
Desire lanced her. Her heart pounding.
The need to put her mouth on him suddenly consumed her. She loved it when they did that. When he pushed his hardness between her lips and used her roughly. Thinking about it even now made her damp with need.
‘Not yet,’ he said. ‘Mary...’ He touched her face, his fingertips gentle. ‘I have something to ask you.’
Whatever he asked, she would say yes. Whatever he asked, she would want it.
That was how it was with him. If she knew one thing, it was that.
‘Anything you wish, Your Grace.’
‘Remember when you told me you would not genuflect.’
‘I do. Your Grace. My master.’
He growled. ‘Stop. I need to be able to speak. Mary, I want you to be my mistress.’
She was taken aback for a moment, trying to make sense of what he had just said.
‘Am I... Am I not your mistress, West?’
He frowned. ‘Not in the sense that I am asking you to be. It would not be a secret. You would be paid an allowance.’
‘I am paid to be the governess to the children.’
‘It isn’t the same as what I am asking. I am asking you to be my lover. You would be taken care of, and you would not be... You will not be accepted in polite society. But you would not be a servant either. When my brother came to visit, you would sit at the dinner table with me.’
‘And what of the children?’
‘They would accept you. They care about you a great deal.’
‘But I would not be their governess.’
He shook his head. ‘No. I would hire a different governess. Your job would be...’
‘I would be a harlot,’ she said.
He shook his head. ‘No. It is not that. Many men have these arrangements. Many of them also have wives.’
‘Will you take another wife?’
‘No. Upon Jane’s grave, Mary, I will not take another wife. It will be you. Only you.’
She would be his.
His. Not a member of the household staff, and not a governess. Not a lady, still. And not above reproach.
But she would be his.
She would not have to leave his bed, everyone in the household would know.
