he quipped.
She stepped away from the window and walked across the room to an unbroken window. “Where are we? It almost looks like Berkley Square.”
“It is Berkley Square.”
She blinked and pressed her lips together. “This must cost a fortune to let.”
“Yes, it does. I used to charge Lord Harris a fortune when he rented from me.”
“From you?” she repeated slowly. Her cheeks colored a lovely shade of pink. “You own this house?”
He stepped closer to her. “This home, an estate in Kent, and a few places in the Covent Garden area that I let out at reduced fees for widows and reformed women.”
Her eyes widened. “You own all that? How?”
“Gambling can be a very lucrative business when gentlemen don’t know when to stop. Most of my properties were to pay off debts incurred by these men. And my father’s inheritance and the sale of Hell only increased the coffers.”
“I had no idea,” she muttered as she walked to the windows facing the front. “When you told me you lived at Hell, I assumed you couldn’t afford to live anywhere else.”
“It was just more convenient to live there with the hours I kept.” He ached to go to her but wanted her to come to him.
“I suppose you think I’m a silly girl who wouldn’t marry you because you weren’t wealthy.”
“And titled,” he added with a hint of scorn.
She nodded slowly. “A year ago, yes, that is what I wanted. It is what my mother told me I must achieve to be considered a success.”
“And now?”
She traced a pattern on the window as she spoke, “When I first came out, I believed everything my mother had told about marriage. How the only thing that mattered was wealth and security, preferably with a title attached to the man.”
“What changed?” he asked quietly.
She smiled. “Seeing my sisters marry for love.”
“Both your sisters married men who were wealthy and one a duke.”
“Raynerson barely had two pence to rub together until after Tessa agreed to marry him. Then his grandmother settled a large sum on him. And Louisa would have married your brother even if he was an untitled pauper.”
“And you?” he whispered as he took another step closer, unable to stop himself.
She turned and gave him a flirtatious smile. “I found myself drawn to a man I thought nothing but a rake and scoundrel.”
“And yet you didn’t accept my first proposal.”
“It wasn’t much of a proposal, Simon.” Her brows furrowed. “I don’t even remember a proposal. You just assumed we would marry because of what happened at the inn. Which, while lovely, included no words of love or even marriage until we arrived at my mother’s house.”
He chuckled at her logic. “So, you are waiting for a proper proposal?”
“Well, that would be the right thing to do,” she replied lightly.
“I suppose it would since I have ruined you already.” And he wanted to ruin her over and over again.
“Ruined? I don’t feel ruined.” She moved closer to him until she stood right in front of him. “In fact, I hardly feel I know much about what we did. I might need some lessons.”
“I suppose I could teach you a few things over the next fifty years.” He drew a finger down her jaw.
“Well, only if I get that proposal,” she replied with a smile. “You do want to make an honest woman out of me, don’t you?”
He pulled her into his arms. “Well, if you are going to be the mother of my children, I suppose, I must. I should show you the house, but right now, there is only one room I’d like you to see.”
“I do hope you mean your bedchamber because I would love to see that room first.”
He slanted his lips over hers and showed her how much he wanted her. Pulling her up against him, she moaned softly. The feel of her tongue on his created a myriad of sensations throughout his body. He wanted her right here, up against a wall, on the settee, anywhere.
Drawing away, he looked at her smoldering blue eyes and was lost. “We need to retire to my bedchamber now.”
“Someone might see me,” she mumbled.
He laughed. “You were at an inn with me the first time. Considering you will soon be mistress of this house, no one will say a word about you being here.”
“Still, everyone will know what we are doing.”
Nuzzling her neck, he said, “Yes, and they will be extremely envious that a scoundrel like me has such an incredible beauty in