to think of going back to the way his life was before Molly was no longer possible. He already knew he would pine for her, miss her, want her until it drove him mad, or pushed him back to England. A country that he would not return to, not after it turned against him without a second thought.
Her lips twisted into a teasing grin, and she swam up against him, straddling him. The breath in his lungs seized at the slippery, willing feel of her in his arms. He tamped down his rakish needs that wanted to seize, conquer, and take what she was so obviously willing to give.
He kissed her, starved of her since the last they were together. He could get used to having her just as they were. Alone and as if the world and its prejudices could not touch them, would not impinge on their decisions or life.
"Stay with me in Rome," he pleaded, holding her fast against him, biting back a groan when her naked self slipped against his cock.
"I will be honest with you, Hugh, because I don't want any secrets between us, but I cannot stay. Not because I do not want to, but because I will not be your mistress. I will not be anyone's mistress."
He frowned, tipping up her chin so she would look at him. "I do not want you to be my mistress. I want more from you than that." He wanted her to be his wife, but how could he ask her to be so when she didn't know anything about him, and when she did, she would likely scorn and run for the hills.
It was a risk he would have to take, for damn it all to hell, he didn't want to lose the woman in his arms. She was perfect for him in every way. For the first time in his life, he was where he wanted to be and with the woman who completed his circle of happiness.
"How much more?" she asked him, her eyes full of trepidation at what his next words would be.
"I know we have not known each other for long, hell, we hardly know each other, but for the first time in my existence, I know what I feel is right. It is what I want and what I want most of all is you. Will you marry me, Molly? Be mine?"
* * *
Molly stared at Hugh, her mind a kaleidoscope of thoughts over why she should not marry him. Why the answer to this question ought to be a no, they did not know each other, had met but a week before. Even so, the thought of saying no to the man who held her in his arms and watched her with something akin to fear lurking in the deep depths of his eyes, was impossible to fathom. She wanted to marry him, to be his and no one else's.
She also knew that never had she felt about anyone else how she felt about Hugh. Her body came alive when he was around. Today when she had explored the markets alone and without Hugh, only Miss Sinclair for company, she realized that a little spark that lit Rome to a glowing beacon was not there. Hugh made her travels about the city enjoyable, brought humor and knowledge, gave her a taste of this foreign, ancient city she would otherwise not have experienced.
She was falling in love with him as much as her mind had fallen in love with Rome.
Molly stared at him, so very thankful that she had found the man before her. A man who would be hers forever. All hers and no one else's, even if she had to travel halfway around the world to find him. "Yes. Yes, I will marry you."
He smiled before kissing her. His mouth was hot, insistent, and her body hummed for completion, to be taken and inflamed. Her skin was on fire, and she could not help but rub against him, seek the pleasure that she knew he could give her.
Hugh spun them about, pushing her up against the side of the bath. He hoisted her higher on his hip, his cock teasing her core. She groaned, laying her head against the bath's tiled side as he worked her aching flesh to an inferno. "Yes, take me. I want you so much." Molly didn't care she was begging, or that he had so much power over her at present. All she cared