The Chevalier Read Online Free

pulled a gold flask from the inside pocket of his velvet coat. “Take a sip of this. It will properly warm your insides.”
    She did as he suggested, coughing slightly.
    “I thought French people were quite used to brandy.”
    “I have never drunk anything stronger than watered down wine. This does make my throat feel very warm though.” She took another small sip and handed him back the flask.
    As their hands interacted, he felt a quickening in his body as if lightening had hit him and thought he observed her lips press tightly together as if she felt it too. He was aroused, hard as a rock, just from touching her. How could that possibly happen?
    “Would you tell me some of the things that I should know about Englishmen? Lady Constance and Maman told me a little, but it would be nice to have a gentleman’s point of view on the subject. I have so little understanding of English attitudes.”
    She trembled and he gently placed his arm around her shoulders. Her skin felt like smooth satin.
    “The first thing is that you should never under any circumstances follow a man out into a garden alone at night.”
    He could see the color deepen in her cheeks.
    “Perhaps I might also wish to get some air.”
    He smiled at her and shook his head. “Mademoiselle, I thought you honest.”
    She turned away from him. “I did indeed follow you.”
    “And you did stare at me earlier.” He turned her around to face him. “That is quite all right, since I am taking no more than a brotherly interest in you, but other men might consider you bold and seek to press their advantage. You understand that the rules are in force for a reason. If you give a man the wrong sort of encouragement, he might try to take certain liberties with you.”
    “What sort of liberties?” Her voice was sweet and pure.
    He found himself sighing deeply. “You really don’t want to know that.”
    “Yes, I do. Neither Maman nor Constance have discussed such matters with me.”
    “You must understand that men are more easily moved then women, and therefore, more open to suggestion. What a woman might consider innocent, a man might find – stimulating.” She looked at him openly bewildered and he realized that his explanation was not well done, but he was a man of action, not a man of words. In fact, he had talked more with this young girl then he had in years with any woman. Because of his reputation, women knew what to expect from him; they wanted exactly what he wanted. Therefore, he found little need for conversation. It was quite different with this child-woman.
    “Sometimes the very brush of a woman’s body against a man can excite him to behave in an ungentlemanly manner.”
    “I do not understand.”
    He put his hand around her slim waist and brought her body gently against his. He could smell her perfume, the fragrance of lilac. How appropriate, for she did remind him of a spring day.
    “A man might feel his passion rising on such small contact with a woman,” he said, his voice beginning to thicken. His desire for the girl was acute. Thank the Lord that he was a master of self-control.
    “What would happen then?” The angelic eyes stared deeply into his.
    He found himself pulling her against him, bending over to catch her lips in a gentle kiss. But as his lips brushed hers, she responded, her warm breath sweetly catching his. Then, without meaning to, his kiss deepened, hesitantly at first, the tip of his tongue moving ever so slowly across her lips. He sensed her pleasure at this brief taste of intimacy. Her lips opened shyly and his tongue stroked hers with small, gentle circles. Her tongue joined his, imitating his moves. As her response became more passionate, he felt his body become alive and throb with need; he quickly broke the connection between them before he lost control.
    “That is what you must be careful about,” he said in as even a voice as he could manage.
    “It was wonderful,” she said.
    “You never tell a man