They wear less clothes

While Alfred had looked nervous before, the look on his face now sent a thrill through her. Elena felt her skin prickle under his gaze as he finally touched her. He traced a finger along the neckline of her shift.

‘Well,’ he said, no longer the stuttering servant she had commanded to stay, but a confident young man determined to take what was offered to him so brazenly.

‘For one, they wear significantly less clothes than you or I are currently wearing.’ When his finger reached the fastening of her bodice, he pulled.

Elena bit her lip as he made short work of the lacing. Of course, she had been undressed before by her maid, but his strong hands were so different from Alicia’s gentle ministrations. She gasped as her bodice fell open, exposing her breasts, and she resisted the automatic reflex to cover herself.

At the look of uncertainty that crossed Alfred’s face, she realised she had pulled back. Maybe he was thinking he had overstepped the mark. That forcibly undressing the woman who was technically his mistress was about to be revealed as a terrible choice.

Recovering her composure, Elena placed her hand on the bulge in his trousers, making him jump. She marvelled at how hard it felt, and how it twitched as she moved her hand up and down over the material.

‘Forgive me,’ she said, ‘I do not know how to undress a man.’