Her Wicked Proposal novel Chapter 63

"My lord! What a pleasant surprise." A lovely woman in a red satin gown sauntered over. Her wealth of dark hair tangled down her neck as though she'd been recently tumbled.

"Mrs. Hollingberry, how are you?" He brushed a lingering kiss on the inside of her wrist, causing Mrs. Hollingberry's brown eyes to gleam.

"Are you here alone, my lord?" She claimed his arm before he could respond and did not spare a glance at Linley, who trailed behind.

"I cannot be alone if I am with you." Charles chuckled, relishing the thought of bending the lusty widow over the nearest surface.

Her grip on his arm tightened. "And would you like to be with me?"

Charles freed his arm, then curled it around the widow's waist, tugging her against his side so that he could lean down to whisper in her ear.

"It would be my dearest wish"-he paused, listening to the hitch in her breath-"to make you scream with pleasure." He didn't miss the sudden rise in her breasts as they strained against her tight bodice.

"I shall find us a room." The eager widow tugged him away from the hazard tables and toward a hall that led to an empty billiard room.

"Tell your boy to wait outside, unless he wants to watch." Mrs. Hollingberry cupped Charles's erection, applying just the right amount of pressure.

Desire flooded through him. Base, pure instinct. Nothing more than the need to fuck and then be done, but it still called to him. He knew it didn't feel this way for Godric or Lucien-they'd spoke often enough of the differences of bedding a woman they loved versus those they'd bedded in the past. But Charles feared that sort of emotion. Better to find satisfaction with women like Mrs. Hollingberry than to run the risk of falling in love.

"Here, lad, find a woman of your own." Charles tossed a heavy coin purse at Linley, then dragged the giggling widow into the private room and slammed the door.

The second he was alone with Mrs. Hollingberry, he prowled toward her. She gave a delighted shriek as he caught her and lifted her up to set her on the bed. It was an easy thing to ruche up her skirts around her waist. The skin of her thighs was smooth as he spread his palms up her legs. The widow wriggled closer to him, curling her legs around his waist and reaching for the front of his trousers.

"How do you want it?" he asked. "Hard and fast?"

"Oh yes," she agreed, palming his now freed erection with her slender hands. "You do that so well."

He groaned at her firm, knowing touch and shifted closer. Soon he was tangled around her, shoving deep into her body. But it wasn't the same. He found his satisfaction, just as she did hers, but it was...shallow. A flash of momentary lust, quickly extinguished.

He withdrew from her and fixed his clothes before helping the lady with hers. She gave him a wry smile, stroking his chest. She still sat on the edge of the bed leaning back a little on one hand.

"Well, yes."

"Very well, I'll be outside with the coach when you're ready." He stalked down the hall and vanished in the crowds in an instant.

"What the devil has gotten into him?" Linley had never shown any sign of a temper before now.

"Perhaps the woman he approached spurned him?" Mrs. Hollingberry said, joining Charles at the door, watching the crowd. "Shame. If he had waited, I might have given him a turn. Handsome boy, that."

"I think I really do need that drink. Goodnight, Mrs. Hollingberry."

Charles kissed her hand and headed straight for the nearest hazard table, where he hailed a servant for drinks.

Perhaps the widow was right. Charles made seduction look easy, and even with a purse full of coins at his disposal, some charm and care was needed to woo a woman here. He imagined such a rejection would not have been handled tactfully, either.

Poor lad. Charles hadn't even thought to advise him beforehand. No wonder he was in such a rush to get out.