"'Go back to sleep," he muttered, not bothering to open his eyes.
"I can't. I'm too happy. "
At that he did open one eye to survey her. "Delighted I could help. . . If you let me sleep I can do it again and you'll be even happier"
"I can't. . . " His arm shot out and caught her around the waist, pulling her back against his body. He was cool, lovely, all that flesh against hers, and she could feel his penis begin to stir at her backside, and instinctively her nipples hardened.
He felt them against his arm, having positioned himself deliberately. "Then again, now's as good a time as any," he said in her ear.
She pulled away, and he let her go, reluctantly. She sat up on the bed, looking down at him for a long moment. “Lina’s going to raise a fuss. ”
"Then we avoid Lina. She doesn't need to know until it's too late. "
"Too late for what?" she asked, confused.
"We'll get married, of course. It's not the best possible solution—I certainly had no intention of marrying anyone, but there doesn't seem to be any help for it. I don't seem to be able to get you out of my system. It requires long familiarity for that to happen—I was enchanted with my favorite mistress for more than two years before I finally tired of her. I fully expect it to take that long with you. "
She stared at him, her face expressionless. "And what happens then? If we're married you can't pension me off with a diamond brooch. "
He laughed. "It costs a lot more than a diamond brooch to dispense with those kinds of entanglements, my sweet Charlotte. No, we should do fairly well together once society recovers from the shock. Even when desire fades and we move on to other partners I imagine we'll still be friends. "
He
r skin was like ice. "I would get to move on to other partners as well. . . ?"
"Of course. Would you think I would be so unfair?" He frowned. "Though I must admit that right now the idea makes me furious. But I'll change my mind, of course. I always do. "
"You always do," she echoed.
"In fact, that's why it took me so long to get here. I was able to obtain a special license from my godfather, who happens to be the bishop of London. I imagine we could prevail upon Pagett to marry
"I don't think so," she said in her sweetest, softest voice.
He raised an eyebrow. "You don't him to marry us?”
"No, my lord. I don't wish to marry you"
His expression was almost comical. "Don't be ridiculous. Of course you do. "
"No," she said calmly. "I do not. You're a cold-hearted, arrogant son of a bitch, and I deserve better. "
He just looked at her in astonishment, as if she'd suddenly grown a second head. "I beg your pardon?”
She rose, ignoring her own nudity, and grabbed the Holland cover off the adjoining bed, wrapping it around her with great dignity. "I'm smart, I'm talented, I'm essentially kindhearted and I'm not a complete antidote. I shouldn't have to settle for the kind of cold-blooded union you're suggesting. It's so kind of you to condescend to offer for me, but you can take your proposal, if that's what it was, and stuff it up your bum. I'm worth more, I deserve better, and I'm not settling for someone like you. ”
She started toward the door, the heavy linen trailing behind her, and he was up off the bed, at the door before she made it there. He looked confused, furious, bewildered.
"You're not making sense, Charlotte," he said patiently. "The sex between us isn't like ordinary people's. You won't find this with someone else-it's special. I'm offering you the chance to be a viscountess, to have your own establishment, perhaps even children. . . "
Author: Anne Stuart
"You're willing to make a great sacrifice on your part in order to scratch a curious itch. Find someone else. " She put her hands on his bare chest, resisting the urge to stroke him, and shoved him away.
By now he was angry, affronted, and he fell back. "To hell with you then—do you know how many women would give everything to be in your place?"
"Go find one of them and shag yourself silly. You can't have me. " And she yanked open the door and strode out into the hallway, feeling majestic, righteous and furious.
It was probably just as well that she got lost. Her defiant mood could only last so long. By the time she'd taken her third wrong turn, her lower lip was trembling, and when she came to the end of a hallway with no staircase in sight, she simply sank onto the worn carpet, the cover draped around her, and began to cry silently.