Read Pleasure Me for Free Online Page B

found it touching that she thought so highly of him as to even ask. He glanced at her and nodded.
    “It would be an honor to do so, Mary.” His response elicited an impulsive hug and a kiss on his cheek as she smiled happily.
    “Oh thank you, Garrick. You don’t know what it means to have you say you’ll give me away. It just wouldn’t seem right to not have you there.”
    He released a sigh of resignation at her enthusiasm. While he was happy for her, he couldn’t help but feel a touch of envy at the joy that made her face glow. It filled him with a longing for something he knew he’d never find. No woman would be able to accept him as he was, let alone his inability to sire children. Garrick squeezed Mary’s hand and forced a smile.
    “I’m happy for you my dear. I shall have to think of a suitable wedding present.”
    “But you’ve given me so much already.”
    “All the same, it would be remiss of me to let you run off and marry your Mr. Routh without a dowry. I’ll have my solicitor see to it.”
    “You’re far too generous, Garrick. I only wish you could find someone to make you happy.”
    “I’m quite content with my life the way it is, thank you.” He suppressed a yawn.
    “You’re tired,” she exclaimed softly. “I should have waited until this evening, but I—”
    “It’s all right, Mary. You expected me to be up early, not just coming home at this hour.” He flinched. Home. This was home. More so than Chiddingstone House. This was where he came when he wanted peace and quiet. It was a place to gather his thoughts. Chiddingstone House, on the other hand, was a house of constant frenetic energy, and as much as he loved his siblings, he found it wearing on his soul. Now everything was going to change.
    “I have an afternoon appointment, which shouldn’t take long. Why not invite your Mr. Routh to dinner? I would like to ensure he intends to be good to you.”
    “I’m sure he’d be honored.”
    With a kiss to Mary’s forehead, he left the salon and quietly closed the door behind him. He leaned against the hardness of the carved mahogany for a moment before he pushed himself away and climbed the main staircase. Now what was he going to do? It had always been difficult keeping his secret, but at least the illusion of a mistress had left everyone thinking that he wasn’t ready for a wife yet.
    He muttered a harsh oath of frustration, and the door to his bedroom crashed back into the wall before he slammed it shut. With a vicious movement, he removed his coat and threw it over the back of a nearby chair. Unlike his friends, he had no valet. Shame had taught him to do without a manservant. He jerked off his tie then unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, uncaring when a button popped off and flew across the room.
    Stripped to his bare skin, he caught a glimpse of himself in the floor-length mirror he passed on his way to the bed. He paused at the sight of his reflection. A sense of revulsion rose up inside him. His uncle was right. With only one ballock, he wasn’t a real man at all. He abruptly turned away from the mirror.
    He’d been eleven at the time of his father’s suicide, when Beresford had assumed guardianship of him and his siblings. Not only had his uncle managed Garrick’s home and inheritance as if they were his own, but for some twisted reason, the man had taken pleasure in tormenting him. His uncle had tried to do the same to his sisters and brother, but Garrick had managed to shield his siblings from the majority of the man’s cruelty. And Beresford had excelled at it. A sliver of a memory taunted him, and he fought to push it back, but failed.
    An image of Bertha flashed through his head, and he drew in a sharp breath. He closed his eyes as the painful past reared its ugly head. His uncle had routinely held parties, inviting the worst of the demimonde to the house. Bertha had been a pretty ballerina he’d stumbled across the first night of one of Beresford’s decadent