Standing, he untied his cravat and tugged it from around his neck before tackling the buttons of his waistcoat.
As he removed the rest of his clothing, he asked, “Where would you like me then? At your feet as you direct? On the bed? I am at your disposal, Bellissima.”
Her cheeks went pink at the nickname. Her eyes tracked hisT. Smiling, she asked, “Really?”
“Of course. As I said, I want this to feel different. I hope that much of the time, that will mean I take care of your pleasure first. However, I am also happy to be your plaything when the mood strikes. Just promise that you’ll only ever do things youwantto do, not what you think I might expect.”
She nodded, her gaze still on his chest, making him grin at her obsession.
“Lie down, please,” she commanded.
His grin grew as he complied.
He thoroughly enjoyedher knowledge of the male body before demanding his turn to lead. She started to lie beside him.
“No.” He held her hips and sat her astride him, where he could touch all her most sensitive spots. With his thumb on the nub in front of where they joined, he said, “Sit at whatever angle works best for you.”
From there, it was a fast road to ecstasy for both of them.
After, they curled on their sides facing each other.
“What else do I need to do to convince you we are a good match?” he asked.
“Nothing. It shan’t work. I’ve gone over it a dozen times in my head. ’Tis not the first time I’ve considered marrying a titled lord.”
He lifted his head to stare at her in the room, moving out of the path of the candle so he could watch her expression. “What? You had an opportunity to marry before?”
“Not quite an opportunity.” She looked chagrined at having said anything, her lips tight. “He hinted several times. But he lived almost as far as you could travel and still be in England, and it seemed like the end of the earth to my twenty-something-year-old self. He was an earl, but older, and already had his heir, so I needn’t worry about besmirching his reputation, as he was not one for Town life.”
“Hmm. Perhaps we should talk about where you’re willing to live then, as one might say the same about my family’s country seat.”
“I’m older and wiser now and prefer to live far away from London, the Ton, and gossip, ironically. But I was serious about how far his home is. He’s on the edge of Scotland and told me once it is a longer trip than to Gretna Green.”
Luke swallowed, feeling his heart pound in his chest. Sweat prickled his palms, and rough memories of maps of the borderareas spun in his head. She couldn’t possibly be referring to...? He managed to croak, “Where?”
“Northumberland.”
No. No, no, no, NO!
He shot out of bed to pace the floor.
Belle half-sat, the sheets pooling at her waist. “Luke? What is it?”
He thought back to when they reintroduced themselves after she’d brought him home. The blur of drink and hangover fogged the memory, but he was rather sure she’d cut him off, not caring about his title.
How different these past weeks might have been if she’d allowed him to state fully, “…heir to the Earl of Northumberland.”
Instead, here he was naked, having just come from bedding... his father’s ex-mistress. Worse, Belle had obviously cared about The Earl if he was the only client she’d considered marrying. How could she love such a curmudgeon?
“Luke?”
Best to get it over with. He turned and stood ramrod straight, nudity be damned. “Miss Rossi, I do not believe we were ever formally introduced.”
She sat straighter and clutched the sheet to her chest as he bowed, her eyes wide and unblinking.
Rising, he continued, every muscle locked, his words pushed through tight lips. “Luke Lynwood at your service, madame. Heir to the Earl of Northumberland.”
Belle gasped. After several blinks, she whispered, “Mercy.”
