Page 13 of Always the Lyon Tamer
John’s voice trailed away, and he cursed his shyness for rearing its head just when he needed to be the suave Lennox Lion he had come to depend on.
The lady laughed. “Do not concern yourself, sir. I know precisely how I look. Come, why do you not sit on a chair for me? Bring it here, in the middle of the room.”
John nodded, obedience kicking in at such a commanding tone.How could he argue?This woman, whoever she was, had evidently performed such things before. Her confidence oozed into every word. He was clearly not the first gentleman she had ordered about.
He moved the chair into the center of the room and sat on it.
“My name is John,” he said, gazing at her. “What may I call you?”
“Me?”
If John did not know any better, he would have guessed she was surprised at his question.
“They call me Titania,” she said, tilting her head. “But you can call me the Lion Tamer.”
She wanted him. There was hunger in her eyes.
This entire game had been planned, and he was, as one of the men at the tables had said, damned lucky.
Well, he would have to give her what she asked for.
Titania stepped around him, circling him as a hunter circled prey. “Why are you nervous? Am I frightening?”
There was a hint of amusement in her words but no mockery.
Titania ended her circle, standing before him, and John tried to force down the attraction.
“Consider me your confessor,” she said in a low voice. “Whatever you tell me will never leave my lips.”
John found himself staring at her lips before coughing and saying, “Well, I am no fool, and I know what is likely to occur here. And I have not…I have never…not before. Not with anyone.”
Why in God’s name were his cheeks heating up—were they visibly red?And yet, the shame he had expected to flow through him did not arrive. Somehow, sharing this with the masked Titania was like sharing it with a priest. He knew, trusted, that she would tell no others.
“You surprise me.”
“I have fallen in love, once,” John found himself saying. “But…”
Titania tilted her head again. “You are unmarried.”
John nodded. “I was not man enough to tell her how I felt. I am a shy soul. I did nothing about the affection I felt, more fool me.”
Rebecca could notbelieve her ears. This was not happening. It was not true—was it?
John Lennox, the Marquess of Gloucester, the man about town, the gentleman every lady wished to flirt with…
A virgin?
He was just as innocent as she, though she found it difficult to understand how on earth that could be true. The way he acted with the ladies of the ton, the way he spoke, so practiced in the arts of seduction,that particularly delightful way he had of kissing her just below the ear…
Rebecca shivered and hoped he had not noticed.Was he genuinely saying that he had never made love to a woman?
It was a heady thought, the idea that she could be the first woman to ever tame the lion who stalked about society, looking as though he ate young ladies for breakfast.
If she played her cards right—if,and the thought prompted a little smile,if she could play this game right, she would be the first. They would be each other’s firsts.
John was smiling. “You are shocked.”
Rebecca did not permit herself to speak at first but merely matched his smile.
