Book: An Offer From a Gentleman
Quotes of Book: An Offer From a Gentleman
did this to him. Only her. It was a humbling thought. Gritting his teeth against his baser urges, Benedict began to move within her, slowly stroking when what he really wanted to do was let go completely. "Sophie, Sophie," he grunted, repeating her name, trying to remind himself that this time was about . He was here to please needs, not his own. It would be perfect. It had to be perfect. He needed her to love this. He needed her to love . She was quickening beneath him, and every wiggle, every squirm whipped up his own frenzy of desire. He was trying to be extra gentle for her, but she was making it so damn hard to hold back. Her hands were everywhere- on his hips, on his back, squeezing his shoulders. "Sophie," he moaned again. He couldn't hold off much longer. He wasn't strong enough. He wasn't noble enough. He wasn't- "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!" She convulsed beneath him, her body arching off the sofa as she screamed. Her fingers bit into his back, nails raking his skin, but he didn't care. All he knew was that she'd found her release, and it was good, and for the love of God, he could finally- "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" He exploded. There was simply no other word for it. He couldn't stop moving, couldn't stop shaking, and then, in an instant, he collapsed, dimly aware that he was probably crushing her, but unable to move a single muscle. He should say something, tell her something about how wonderful it had been. But his tongue felt thick and his lips felt heavy, and on top of all that, he could barely open his eyes. Pretty words would have to wait. He was only a man, and he had to catch his breath. "Benedict?" she whispered. He flopped his hand slightly against her. It was the only thing he could manage to indicate that he'd heard. "Is it always like this?" He shook his head, hoping that she'd feel the motion and know what it meant. She sighed and seemed to sink deeper into the cushions. "I didn't think so." Benedict kissed the side of her head, which was all that he could reach. No, it wasn't always like this. He'd dreamed of her so many times, but this . . . This . . . This was more than dreams. book-quoteOne hour later Sophie was in Benedict's sitting room, perched on the very same sofa on which she had lost her innocence just a few weeks earlier. Lady Bridgerton had questioned the wisdom {and propriety} of Sophie's going to Benedict's home by herself, but he had given her such a look that she had quickly backed down, saying only, "Just have her home by seven." Which gave them one hour together. "I'm sorry," Sophie blurted out, the instant her bottom touched the sofa. For some reason they hadn't said anything during the carriage ride home. They'd held hands, and Benedict had brought her fingers to his lips, but they hadn't said anything. Sophie had been relieved. She hadn't been ready for words. It had been easy at the jail, with all the commotion and so many people, but now that they were alone . . . She didn't know what to say. Except, she supposed, "I'm sorry." "No, I'm sorry," Benedict replied, sitting beside her and taking her hands in his. "No, I'm-" She suddenly smiled. "This is very silly." "I love you," he said. Her lips parted. "I want to marry you," he said. She stopped breathing. "And I don't care about your parents or my mother's bargain with Lady Penwood to make you respectable." He stared down at her, his dark eyes meltingly in love. "I would have married you no matter what." Sophie blinked. The tears in her eyes were growing fat and hot, and she had a sneaking suspicion that she was about to make a fool of herself by blubbering all over him. She managed to say his name, then found herself completely lost from there. Benedict squeezed her hands. "We couldn't have lived in London, I know, but we don't need to live in London. When I thought about what it was in life I really needed- not what I wanted, but what I needed- the only thing that kept coming up was you. book-quotelovebenedict-and-sophieYou should thank your lucky stars that you have them," Sophie said, her voice more forceful than it had been all afternoon. "I'd give anything for-" But she didn't finish her sentence. "You'd give anything for what?" Benedict asked, surprised by how much he wanted to hear her answer. She gazed soulfully out the window as she replied, "To have a family like yours." "You have no one," he said, his words a statement, not a question. "I've never had anyone." "Not even your-" And then he remembered that she'd slipped and told him that her mother had died at her birth. "Sometimes," he said, keeping his voice purposefully light and gentle, "it's not so easy being a Bridgerton." Her head slowly turned around. "I can't imagine anything nicer." "There isn't anything nicer," he replied, "but that doesn't mean it's always easy." "What do you mean?" And Benedict found himself giving voice to feelings he'd never shared with any other living soul, not even- no, especially not his family. "To most of the world," he said, "I'm merely a Bridgerton. I'm not Benedict or Ben or even a gentleman of means and hopefully a bit of intelligence. I'm merely"- he smiled ruefully-" a Bridgerton. Specifically, Number Two." Her lips trembled, then they smiled. "You're much more than that," she said. "I'd like to think so, but most of the world doesn't see it that way." "Most of the world are fools." He laughed at that. There was nothing more fetching than Sophie with a scowl. "You will not find disagreement here," he said. book-quoteBenedict advanced immediately, lunging and attacking, but Colin had always been particularly fleet of foot, and he retreated carefully, meeting Benedict's attack with an expert parry. "You're in a bloody bad mood today," Colin said, lunging forward and just nearly catching Benedict on the shoulder. Benedict stepped out of his way, lifting his blade to block the attack. "Yes, well, I had a bad"- he advanced again, his foil stretched straight forward-" ." Colin sidestepped his attack neatly. "Nice riposte," he said, touching his forehead with the handle of his foil in a mock salute. "Shut up and fence," Benedict snapped. Colin chuckled and advanced, swishing his blade this way and that, keeping Benedict on the retreat. "It must be a woman," he said. Benedict blocked Colin's attack and quickly began his own advance. "None of your damned business." "It's a woman," Colin said, smirking.Benedict lunged forward, the tip of his foil catching Colin on the collarbone. "Point," he grunted. Colin gave a curt nod. "Touch for you." They walked back to the center of the room. "Are you ready?" he asked. Benedict nodded. ". Fence!" This time Colin was the first to take the attack. "If you need some advice about women . . ." he said, driving Benedict back to the corner. Benedict raised his foil, blocking Colin's attack with enough force to send his younger brother stumbling backward. "If I need advice about women," he returned, "the last person I'd go to would be ." "You wound me," Colin said, regaining his balance. "No," Benedict drawled. "That's what the safety tip is for." "I certainly have a better record with women than ." "Oh really?" Benedict said sarcastically. He stuck his nose in the air, and in a fair imitation of Colin said, "' I am certainly going to marry Penelope Featherington!'" Colin winced. "You," Benedict said, "shouldn't be giving advice to anyone." "I didn't know she was there." Benedict lunged forward, just barely missing Colin's shoulder. "That's no excuse. You were in public, in broad daylight. Even if she hadn't been there, someone would have heard and the bloody thing would have ended up in ." Colin met his lunge with a parry, then riposted with blinding speed, catching Benedict neatly in the belly. "My touch," he grunted. Benedict gave him a nod, acknowledging the point. "I was foolish," Colin said as they walked back to the center of the room. "You, on the other hand, are stupid." "What the hell does that mean?" Colin sighed as he pushed up his mask. "Why don't you just do us all a favor and marry the girl?" book-quotesiblingsmarry-sophieWhere," Eloise asked, one afternoon about a week after what Sophie was now referring to as , "do you suppose Benedict is?" "Ow!" Four Bridgerton faces turned to Sophie. "Are you all right?" Lady Bridgerton asked, her teacup suspended halfway between her saucer and her mouth. Sophie grimaced. "I pricked my finger." Lady Bridgerton's lips curved into a small, secret smile. "Mother has told you," fourteen-year-old Hyacinth said, "at least a times-" "A thousand times?" Francesca asked with arched brows. "A hundred times," Hyacinth amended, shooting an annoyed look at her older sister, "that you do not have to bring your mending to tea." Sophie suppressed a smile of her own. "I should feel very lazy if I did not." "Well, I'm not going to bring my embroidery," Hyacinth announced, not that anyone had asked her to. "Feeling lazy?" Francesca queried. "Not in the least," Hyacinth returned. Francesca turned to Sophie. "You're making Hyacinth feel lazy." "I do not!" Hyacinth protested. Lady Bridgerton sipped at her tea. "You been working on the same piece of embroidery for quite some time, Hyacinth. Since February, if my memory serves." "Her memory always serves," Francesca said to Sophie. Hyacinth glared at Francesca, who smiled into her teacup. book-quoteYou stopped," she whispered, looking surprised. "This isn't the place," he replied. For a moment her face showed no change of expression. Then, almost as if someone were pulling a shade over her face, horror dawned. It started in her eyes, which grew impossibly round and somehow even more green than usual, then it reached her mouth, her lips parting as a gasp of air rushed in. "I didn't think," she whispered, more to herself than to him. "I know." He smiled. "I know. I hate it when you think. It always ends badly for me." "We can't do this again." "We certainly can't do it here." "No, I mean-" "You're spoiling it." "But-" "Humor me," he said, "and let me believe the afternoon ended without your telling me this will never happen again." "But-" He pressed a finger to her lips. "You're not humoring me." "But-" "Don't I deserve this one little fantasy?" At last, he broke through. She smiled. "Good," he said. "That's more like it." Her lips quivered, then, amazingly, her smile grew. "Excellent," he murmured. "Now then, I'm going to leave. And you have only one task while I go. You will stay right here, and you will keep smiling. Because it breaks my heart to see any other expression on your face." "You won't be able to see me," she pointed out. He touched her chin. "I'll know." And then, before her expression could change from that enchanting combination of shock and adoration, he left.-Sophie & Benedict book-quotesmileswoonbenedict-and-sophieDo you here?" Sophie asked dryly. "No," he said, plopping down into the chair next to her, "although my mother is constantly telling me to make myself right at home." She could think of no witty rejoinder, so she merely "hmmphed" and stuck her nose back in her book. He plunked his feet on the small table in front. "And what are we reading today?" "That question," she said, snapping the book shut but leaving her finger in to mark her place, "implies that I am actually reading, which I assure you I am unable to do while you are sitting here." "My presence is that compelling, eh?" "It's that ." "Better than dull," he pointed out. "I like my life dull." "If you like your life dull, then that can only mean that you do not understand the nature of excitement." The condescension in his tone was appalling. Sophie gripped her book so hard her knuckles turned white. "I have had enough excitement in my life," she said through gritted teeth. "I assure you." "I would be pleased to participate in this conversation to a greater degree," he drawled, "except that you have not seen fit to share with me of the details of your life." "It was not an oversight on my part." He clucked disapprovingly. "So hostile." Her eyes bugged out. "You abducted me-" "Coerced," he reminded her. "Do you me to hit you?" "I wouldn't mind it," he said mildly. "And besides, now that you're here, was it really so very terrible that I browbeat you into coming? You like my family, don't you?" "Yes, but-" "And they treat you fairly, right?" "Yes, but-" "Then what," he asked, his tone most supercilious, "is the problem?" Sophie almost lost her temper. She almost jumped to her feet and grabbed his shoulders and shook and shook and shook, but at the last moment she realized that that was exactly what he wanted her to do. And so instead she merely sniffed and said, "If you cannot recognize the problem, there is no way that I could explain it to you." He laughed, damn the man. "My goodness," he said, "that was an expert sidestep." She picked up her book and opened it. "I'm reading." "Trying, at least," he murmured. She flipped a page, even though she hadn't read the last two paragraphs. She was really just trying to make a show of ignoring him, and besides, she could always go back and read them later, after he left. "Your book is upside down," he pointed out. Sophie gasped and looked down. "It is not!" He smiled slyly. "But you still had to look to be sure, didn't you?" She stood up and announced, "I'm going inside." He stood immediately. "And leave the splendid spring air?" "And leave ," she retorted, even though his gesture of respect was not lost on her. Gentlemen did not ordinarily stand for mere servants. "Pity," he murmured. "I was having such fun." Sophie wondered how much injury he'd sustain if she threw the book at him. Probably not enough to make up for the loss to her dignity.-Sophie & Benedict book-quoteYour upbringing must have been the complete opposite of lonely," she said, "with so many brothers and sisters about." "You know who I am," he stated. She nodded. "I didn't at first." He walked over to the balustrade and leaned one hip against it, crossing his arms. "What gave me away?" "It was your brother, actually. You looked so alike-" "Even with our masks?" "Even with your masks," she said with an indulgent smile. "Lady Whistledown writes about you quite often, and she never passes up an opportunity to comment upon how alike you look." "And do you know which brother I am?" "Benedict," she replied. "If indeed Lady Whistledown is correct when she says that you are tallest among your brothers." "You're quite the detective." She looked slightly embarrassed. "I merely read a gossip sheet. It makes me no different from the rest of the people here." Benedict watched her for a moment, wondering if she realized that she'd revealed another clue to the puzzle of her identity. If she'd recognized him only from , then she'd not been out in society for long, or perhaps not at all. Either way, she was not one of the many young ladies to whom his mother had introduced him. "What else do you know about me from ?" he asked, his smile slow and lazy. "Are you fishing for compliments?" she asked, returning the half smile with the vaguest tilt of her lips. "For you must know that the Bridgertons are almost always spared her rapier quill. Lady Whistledown is nearly always complimentary when writing about your family." "It's led to quite a bit of speculation about her identity," he admitted. "Some think she must be a Bridgerton." "Is she?" He shrugged. "Not that I'm aware of. And you didn't answer my question." "Which question was that?" "What you know of me from ." She looked surprised. "Are you truly interested?" "If I cannot know anything about you, at least I might know what you know about me." She smiled, and touched the tip of her index finger to her lower lip in an endearingly absentminded gesture. "Well, let's see. Last month you won some silly horse race in Hyde Park." "It wasn't the least bit silly," he said with a grin, "and I'm a hundred quid richer for it." She shot him an arch look. "Horse races are almost always silly." "Spoken just like a woman," he muttered. "Well-" "Don't point out the obvious," he interrupted. That made her smile. "What else do you know?" he asked. "From ?" She tapped her finger against her cheek. "You once lopped the head off your sister's doll." "And I'm still trying to figure out how she knew about that," Benedict muttered. "Maybe Lady Whistledown is a Bridgerton, after all." "Impossible. Not," he added rather forcefully, "that we're not smart enough to pull it off. Rather, the rest of the family would be too smart not to figure it out."-Sophie & Benedict book-quote
