The man behind her stepped closer. “Tell me, why do you like watching?”
Embarrassment assailed her, and Lily clenched her hands into tight fists. “I don’t—”
“Let’s not quibble, my lady. I know you do…I could tell from your journal. You’ve walked these halls, and you have watched Lord R and Lady W. You stumbled upon them once…and you went to your room and pleasured yourself with your fingers…didn’t you?”
Dear God. Her heart stuttered in the most painful rhythm, and Lily drew in a trembling breath. “Yes.”
“Since then, you haven’t watched them…why not?”
“I…” She had felt confused, embarrassed, and too needy. “My mortification overwhelmed me.”
His fingertips danced over the nape of her neck, and a tingling shot straight down below her navel. Her entire being focused on that single sensation.
“There is no need to feel shamed by the need to watch…to see the myriad of expressions on her face as her cunt is ravished. There is a voyeur in all of us, from the maiden who wishes a glimpse of a bare-chested man to the gentleman who desires to see the delicate flash of a lady’s ankle, the shadow between her succulent cleavage, the flash of curls covering her most intimate parts. We all hunger for a taste of something forbidden, only some of us have the audacity or courage to act on those needs.”
Lily couldn’t fight the awakening of the wanton part of her soul. The temptress inside lifted her head and reveled in his sensual assurance. “An inexplicable longing filled me when I saw Lord R and Lady W, one I could not overcome. I lacked the courage to keep watching, certain I would be taken over by a desire that could never be assuaged.”
His fingers skimmed across her hips lightly, and instead of pulling away, she leaned into his bold and improper touch. A rough sigh of appreciation dragged from his throat. Lily understood. Her acceptance of this stranger’s touch meant she was open to scandalous pursuits, which had been his intention to discover.
The touch of his hands on her hips burned through her nightgown. She had never been so conscious of another before.
“The earl and his lover would have reveled in the knowledge that you watch them.”
That notion was positively indecent…and thrilling. “How do you know?”
She felt his smile against her shoulder.
“The earl and I have shared Lady W…and I know their carnal desires.”
Lily gasped.
“Tell me,” her mysterious stranger coaxed. “I want to know your cravings.”
Lily knew without a hint of any doubt that her life would never be the same if she succumbed to the lust in her heart. But she didn’t want to return to that realm of uncertainty, of restraining of one’s passion and true heart.
“I enjoy seeing Lady W’s expressions of pleasure. Sometimes I do not know if she writhes in pain…or delight. I love the nuances I see on her face, I revel in the cries that spill from her throat, and I ache when I see her come undone for the earl. I want to be her. I want to feel such bliss…and I want to be splayed wide and taken while others watch me.” The confession felt as if it was wrenched from the hidden recesses of her soul, where she had interred her most depraved urgings. She closed her eyes tightly, bracing for some manner of repudiation.
Instead…a hum of approval echoed in the dark.
Lily’s entire body weakened, washing with heat at the feel of him against her back.
“Are you watching?”
She snapped her eyes open and wetted her lips. “Yes.” Her voice sounded hoarse and so unlike her, Lily didn’t have to work hard to disguise her tone.
They watched together in silence as the earl adored his lover in the most carnal manner Lily had ever seen. “Do you do that?” She al
most fainted as the words spilled unbidden from her.
“Do what?”
“What the earl is doing.”
“Licking his lover’s quim?”
His wicked words erotically stroked her senses. “Yes,” Lily whispered.
“Most assuredly,” replied the stranger.