Read Online Glass Slipper by Abigail Barnette - Free Book Online

ran a kitchen with the utmost effectiveness. Joséphine doubted she would eat anything as delicious, even at court. After their plates were scraped bare of the last little morsel, Joséphine and Julien lingered over their wine. It was strangely comfortable, she realized, to sit and talk with him. Oh, he still made her a bit nervous, but since this morning, she had been nervous in an exciting way. Nervous about what would come next in their lessons, what new and fantastic pleasure he would teach her.
    As if reading her mind, he turned the conversation in precisely that direction. “How did you enjoy this morning, with Marie?”
    Her cunt—that was what he had called it, and the coarseness of the word thrilled her—ached just from remembering. “I enjoyed it very much.”
    “You did very well.” He took a sip from his wine. “Truthfully, I expected a bit more reluctance from you.”
    A hot blush rose to her cheeks. “You think I’m wanton.”
    “Yes, I do. That is not an insult, Joséphine, though some would make it one. You trust your desire, and you act on it. It’s quite beautiful to watch.”
    She flushed even more.
    “Put yourself in the prince’s position,” he continued, stroking a finger around the rim of his wine glass. “Would you rather undertake the tiresome task of coaxing a maiden to let go of her inhibitions and enjoy the physical act of love, or would you rather have a woman who wishes to explore every possibility?”
    She considered this for a moment. “Yes, I see where the latter would be much preferred.”
    “Don’t think of it as wantonness, but unfettered curiosity.” He pushed his chair back. “And it is with that spirit that we approach our next lesson.”

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
     
    Joséphine gazed back at him with innocent, clear eyes, and Julien reminded himself to go slowly. Though she understood him in theory, in practice it would be much harder to dispel her old attitudes. It would be better to let her lead the discovery. “Tonight, you choose the lesson. I will be your willing tutor.”
    For a moment, she was at a loss for words, or so it seemed. When she spoke, it became clear that she’d had no difficulty imagining a subject, but quite a bit of difficulty expressing her desire to do it. “You must promise not to laugh at me.”
    So, it was embarrassment she feared, above all else. “Why would I laugh? We’re two grown people, about to engage in intimate activity. It’s only natural to talk about it openly, without judgment. In fact, I’m very anxious to hear what you come up with. I’m delighted at the progress you’ve made already.”
    She chewed nervously at her lip, and would not meet his gaze. “I thought I would like to learn what Marie did to you this morning. When she took you in her mouth.”
    It took almost Herculean effort not display a physical reaction to her suggestion. “You want to learn to do that?”
    She nodded earnestly. “If you would rather—”
    “No!” he interrupted her, then he quickly calmed himself. No easy feat, when her words had inspired a graphic picture of the act in his mind. “Not at all. I would be more than happy to instruct you.”
    He felt a moment’s panic at the thought of Henrí, his oldest and dearest friend, clutching his chest at a sudden attack of anxiety, the cause of which he did not know from his crumbling manor many miles away.
    He forced that grim imagining from his mind, and patted his knee. “Come here.”
    She looked around the empty hall furtively. “Here?”
    “Here is as good as anywhere.” He did not need to explain to her that he did not trust himself in a room with a bed. It had been all he could stand to watch her with Marie this morning, and if she’d shown the slightest inclination toward it, he would have gladly relieved her of her virtue then and there. Rake though he might be, he could not destroy her trust in him. He would take her when she wanted him to—and she would want him