Sunlight was streaming through the window when Stephen woke the following morning. For a moment he wasn’t certain where he was, then it all came flooding back.
He was in Bridget’s bed following the longest and greatest night of sexual pleasure he had ever known. Finally, he had found a woman who could hold her own against him in the passion stakes.
What a night. What a woman.
He stretched his arm out, seeking her body.
If I am lucky, we might get to enjoy another round of ecstasy before I leave.
Empty sheets greeted his searching fingers. He moved farther over in the bed. Perhaps she was someone who slept on the edge. Again, he found only cool, smooth cotton.
What the devil?
He sat up and looked around. He was alone. A glance to the other side of the bed revealed a bedside table. Upon it, propped against a small vase, was a white card with Stephen written in elegant, female handwriting.
With a frown now etched on his face, he picked up the card and turned it over.
You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t want to wake you.
I have an appointment in the city this morning.
A footman will bring you breakfast if you ring the bedside bell.
Let yourself out when you are ready to leave. And please send me the final bill for your work. I shall recommend you to my friends if ever they are in need.
BD
Stephen was flabbergasted. A woman had got out of his bed before he had the chance to slip away. He wasn’t going to quibble over the fact that the bed was actually hers. It was more that it had never happened to him before. Women didn’t leave first—the man always did.
It’s just not the done thing.
If Bridget intended to start conducting discrete liaisons, she was going to have to learn the rules. There was a set accord of acceptable behavior in these situations. Leaving a man sleeping in your bed was not one of them.
A chap might get to thinking he had been used purely for his sexual prowess.
“And then tossed aside,” he muttered.
It simply wouldn’t do. And the next time he spoke to Bridget he would set her straight.
Last night had not ended in accordance with the ton’s unwritten book of bed etiquette. As a gentleman, it was up to him to ensure that the error was corrected. If he let it stand, then Bridget might get hold of the foolish notion that she could be the one in charge when it came to affaires secretes.
“I should insist on a repeat of the evening. That’s what I should do.”
He was an avowed rake, he owed it to Bridget to instruct her in the correct manner of how discreet sexual liaisons were conducted.
She will thank me for my selfless offer of private tuition.
With Bridget gone, there was no point in him lingering in bed. He was most certainly not going to ring for tea and toast, nor go and sit by himself in the dining room while her servants waited on him. A man had his pride.
Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, Stephen rose. He collected his scattered clothes and quickly dressed.
One of the few good points about never having employed a valet was that he was well-equipped to deal with the morning after a sexual encounter. By the time he left Bridget’s house a mere twenty minutes later, Stephen looked the very picture of a well put together London gentleman.
On the surface, there was not a hair out of place. Inside, however, he was quietly steaming. He had years of no-strings-attached sexual liaisons under his belt. Love and leave them, was his unofficial motto.
Bridget Dyson had done exactly the same thing that he had done to countless numbers of women. A night of passion followed by a hasty departure. Just because the tables had been turned, it shouldn’t bother him.
But it did.
She got up and left. Not even a good-morning kiss. And who leaves a note?
A woman remained in bed, pretended to be asleep, and let a gentleman slip quietly from her house. It saved both parties from stilted, awkward morning conversations.
His mind was made up. To ensure he did his duty as a gentleman, he would spend another night savoring the delights of Bridget’s naked body while bringing her to sexual release. Then in the morning he would be the one to leave.
And if she still didn’t grasp the rules, and arose before him, he would return the next night. In fact, he was more than willing to continue to offer himself until she had been thoroughly educated.
Stephen licked his lips. “I hope she is a slow learner.”