Read Online An Introduction to Pleasure by Jess Michaels - Free Book Online Page A

you?”
    She nodded, just once. “I worked for a very influential man in Society and I thought, I hoped, that it would be a way for me to support myself and those I loved. But when he demanded I service more than the house…” She shivered. “I-I refused him.”
    “But isn’t that what you are doing by becoming a mistress?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “No. If I become the mistress of a man, it will be by my choice. And there are benefits that come along with that title, aren’t there? Ones far better than to be a maid whom the master toffs behind his wife’s back. I can already see that in this arrangement, I would have some control…some power.”
    Andrew swallowed. Staring at her, her curves only barely covered by the bed pillow, her face flushed as she spoke of wielding her own kind of sensual power…his cock began to ease to attention. Fuck if she wasn’t right. She had the power. At least some of it.
    “This man who I served, he was enraged when I said no. He put me on the street that very day and refused to give me a good reference. In fact, he went beyond that. His poisonous words have guaranteed I’ll never work in a good house again. And for a servant, that is the death of a career.”
    “I see,” Andrew said softly.
    He so rarely considered those in his service. He treated them well, he offered them money and a home, as well as help if they required it. He sometimes forgot that others did not treat their staff as well. And he never reflected on the consequences of what might happen to those put out on the street.
    “I’m not certain you do see,” she continued. “If you won’t teach me how to be a mistress, I’ll simply be forced to go about this another way. With another man if need be.” She shivered at the thought. “I’ll be on the street if I don’t and so will—”
    She cut herself off and shook her head as if she hadn’t meant to say so much. Andrew stared at her.
    “So will who?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not asking for your pity. Just your assistance.”
    “Who?” he asked again, his voice low and even.
    She swallowed. “My mother,” she admitted.
    He drew back in surprise. “Your mother?”
    She flinched and then dropped off the bed to snatch at her gown. “Yes. I have one you know. Those in the class below yours are still human, my lord.”
    He reached for her as she fumbled with her gown. When he touched her, her skin burned his, stoking the fire he had extinguished when he discovered her secret.
    “I didn’t mean to offend you, Lysandra,” he said softly. “Whatever you think of me or my ‘class’, I do understand about family responsibility. My own family is…complicated.”
    She stopped trying to pull away from him and instead looked up at him. “If you understand, then does it follow that you will help me, despite your misgivings?”
    “You will truly continue down this course if I don’t?” he asked.
    He wasn’t certain what answer he wished for as he asked the question. The idea of her being with another man…well, that was torture. He wanted a taste first. A moment. And he wanted to be certain she would be “trained” by someone who would understand her drive and be gentle in his instruction.
    “I will,” she said without hesitation. “I must.”
    “Then I’ll help you,” he whispered.
    She almost buckled and he could see it was from relief. For the first time, he saw her desperation and it frightened him a little. He caught her elbow and pulled her closer.
    “But you must understand that if I do this, I will do it all the way. I will teach you what a man desires… everything a man desires. It may be too intense for you.”
    She swallowed, and he could see that his warning both frightened and titillated her. Once again, he was rock hard with just a nibble of her lip and the light of curiosity in her eyes.
    “It would be best for me to know every aspect of a man’s desire,” she finally said.