Page 23 of Lily and the Duke
“You sound very sure of that.”
“Because you are not the same woman as your mother,” he chose his words carefully.
“In what way do I differ from her?”
Gabriel studied Lily for several seconds before giving a derisive smile. “I believe you are fully aware of the true nature of the countess and that you are just toying with me by pretending you do not.”
“Only a little.” She chuckled before sobering. “I freely admit that it is the example of my mother’s and two sisters-in-law’s deep unhappiness, along with knowledge of the mistresses my father and brothers choose to keep and whom the ladies of my family choose to ignore, that is one of the driving forces behind my decision not to marry. I have no wish to be treated with that same indifference and disdain by my own husband.”
Gabriel’s hands clenched at his sides at the thought of any man treating Lily so shabbily. He would gladly beat to a pulp any man who so much as dared to dishonor her in such a humiliating manner.
“Not all men behave like those in your family. For instance, I was never unfaithful to my own wife.”
“You were barely married a year!”
“That is true,” he allowed. “But I would never have dishonored Mariah in such a disrespectful way, no matter how long we were together.”
Lily's eyes narrowed. “Is that another way of saying you would have used more discretion when it came to hiding your liaisons?”
He glared. “I am saying there would not have been any liaisons.”
Her gaze remained skeptical. “From what I have observed, all gentlemen seek…physical satisfaction outside of their marriage. More so once the heir has been secured.”
Unfortunately, Gabriel also knew this to be true. At least as far as the arranged marriages in Society were concerned. He did know of some that were a love match, but there were far fewer of them than there were those that were forged for the benefit of one partner or the other. Money or prestige, or both, being the main reasons.
“Then it is as well I am not about to propose marriage,” he bit out angrily, and instantly had reason to regret his temper when he saw the way Lily flinched. “I am fully aware that I am too old, and possibly too jaded, to be of any serious interest to a beautiful young lady such as yourself,” he reasoned in a softer voice.
Lily could see Gabriel really believed that to be true.
Whereas she knew it to be absolute nonsense.
Not just in regard to herself, but to any of the women in Society, most of whom Lily had watched eyeing him covetously, no matter what their age. Not just for his title and wealth, but for the powerfully attractive man that he was.
Lily had known and recognized that force of attraction from the moment she first saw him the previous year. Now that she’d had opportunity to spend more time in his company, she felt herself falling more in love with him every single day.
Until nine days ago, she believed she had felt a futile infatuation toward him. But talking with Gabriel, being kissed by him, had turned that infatuation into a full-blown love so big and so strong, the emotion now filled her heart to overflowing.
It was a love Lily could never, would never, allow Gabriel to see.Thatdepth of humiliation was something Lily would never recover from.
“But I also know,” Gabriel continued, “that I have other useful attributes, primarily experience instead of youth, to offer a young lady such as yourself.”
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin until her own gaze was able to steadily meet his. “What are you suggesting, Your Grace?”
“An exchange.”
Her brows rose. “I do not believe I possess anything that could be of the least interest to you.”
“You are wrong. You possesseverythingI have wanted since the moment I kissed you.”
Lily eyed him warily. “Such as?”
“Such as an exchange of your beauty and desire for knowledge, set against the experience and pleasure I would like to show you. Please do not insult me by attempting to say you do not feel that same pull of passion toward me,” he advised gently. “I may not have any recent…liaisons to guide me, but I believe I am still capable of telling whether or not a woman returns my desire for her.”
As he had now admitted to knowing that Lily desired him.
Curiosity won out over her feelings of embarrassment. “So, you propose offering me the benefit of your experience in the giving and receiving of physical pleasure so that I might fully appreciate that the marriage bed does not need to be all duty but can also be enjoyable? So that I might persuade my friends, including Chloe, into that same realization?”
“It would be very easy for me to agree to that being my only reason.”
