Beauty Tempts the Beast (Sins for All Seasons #6) - Lorraine Heath Page 0,85

beyond him.

When he’d first caught sight of her, he’d been able to easily envision her descending stairs at a fancy ball. Everything about her screamed nobility. It wasn’t the exquisite gown or the styled hair. It was something deeper, something inside her, something that had been passed down through the centuries. They might have taken her father’s titles, but they couldn’t take from her what she was destined to be: a lady of the highest caliber.

And for tonight at least, she was on his arm.

She’d already mastered seduction with the ease with which one mastered waking up. It came to her naturally. With the soft smile she bestowed upon him whenever she first saw him, the warm welcome that sparkled in her eyes, the light blush that washed over her cheeks as though she was remembering what it felt like to have his hands cupping her breasts.

The evenings they shared in the library were both bliss and hell. To have her presence, her scent, her voice telling tales. But to not touch those lips, caress her skin, have her pressed against his throbbing cock . . . to know that eventually her plans would lead her away from him—

He didn’t inhabit the world from which she wanted to select a lover. Unlike his brothers, he’d never had a desire to move about in it, to be accepted by it. He wouldn’t be welcomed into it now.

Each night after they parted ways, as he lay in his bed alone staring at the shadows dancing over the ceiling, he was tempted to return to her. You want to be some man’s mistress? Be mine.

He had the means to purchase her a residence, more gowns than she’d have occasion to wear, jewelry that would dazzle. He could provide her with servants, a carriage, anything else she wanted. His shipping business had given him a foundation upon which he’d begun building an empire. He’d amassed a modest fortune. If he never earned another farthing, the interest alone would see him in good stead into his dotage. Presently, he used it to support good works but could use it to acquire her—but if she had him, she couldn’t have the prestige of having a lord as her protector. Would she give it up for him? Was it fair of him to ask her to? To settle for a commoner, a bastard, when she could have a man of rank and privilege?

“I assume they know I’m coming.” The tiniest thread of doubt, perhaps even nervousness, laced itself through her voice.

“They do.”

“Do they know the truth of me?”

“They know the truth of your father. I saw no reason to keep it secret when those who have married into the family might have recognized your name or you. I thought it best to avoid any awkwardness that might come about if they were taken by surprise.”

She was lost in the shadows, but he suspected if he reached across, he’d find her gloved hands knotted in her lap.

“Thea, it’ll be just a couple of hours of trimming a tree, drinking some really good wine and scotch, enjoying a delicious dinner, and then we’ll leave. If you enjoy yourself tonight, you’re welcome to join me tomorrow when I go over for a few hours to exchange gifts and have another fine meal.”

“The only other gown I have is the red one designed for seduction, although I’m not really certain there is enough of it to qualify it as a gown. If I join you tomorrow, I’d have to wear it.”

He could tell a part of her was teasing, and another part was striving to come up with an acceptable excuse not to join him on the morrow. He didn’t want to contemplate how much less he’d enjoy the day without her there. “When are you going to show it to me?”

“I don’t know that I am. Truly, she could have used a bit more fabric. Although it is quite lovely.”

He’d like to see her in it. But then he’d also like to see her out of it. “It might not be what you want to wear tomorrow. One of the other frocks will suffice.”

“It’s so nice to have choices again. Thank you for providing the clothes.”

I could provide you with everything hung on the tip of his tongue. But now was not the time. It might never be.

“We’re in Mayfair,” she said quietly, gazing out the window. “I know which residence belongs to the Duke of Thornley but have never