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“You would not be so smug if I tossed up your skirt right here in this chair and took you, amongst the dust and all,” he growled.
“Is that possible?”
He stiffened.
“You must show me, Tobias,” she purred, deliberately sliding her bottom against his arousal.
His soft chuckle sounded strained. “No. The latch on the door is broken and we must be vigilant. I also promised myself the next time I seduced my wife, it would be in a bed.”
She relaxed into him even more, soaking up the warmth from this body. She swore the heat from him was even more delicious than that coming from the fireplace. “Do you think the boy will return?”
“If he is foolish, mayhap. But he should be contented with the gold I gave him. It was quite hefty.”
“Thank you for being so kind.”
He grunted.
She smiled. “Is it not odd we are sitting here, me in your lap, and dare I say it, we are contented?”
“I am still thinking of wringing your neck, Olivia,” he said, then pressed a soft kiss to the spot where he must have been imagining wrapping his fingers.
She twisted and glared at him. He was smiling, and his relaxed charm drove the air from her lungs. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. With a sigh, she deepened the kiss and moaned when he responded. She withdrew and stared into his eyes, which glowed with unreserved passion. “Tobias?”
“Hmmm?”
“I ache.”
The tension in the room shot up perceptibly. “Do not tempt me, Olivia.”
A laugh caught in her throat. “I will endeavor to behave.”
“Do more than try, wife, succeed.”
“Thank you for taking me with you. I know it could not have been easy with you wanting to…gently clasp my neck between your hands,” she said with an unrepentant grin.
He smiled, and it was so sensually charming her breath caught. “Thank you for accompanying me. Your presence kept the demons from my head.”
She pressed her forehead against his. “I truly believe Francie will be well. Mr. Browning—”
Tobias’s hands tightened on her hips, almost painfully, and his dark brows came together in a harsh forbidding line. “He is a vile seducer who can possess no true regard for my sister. He has exposed her to scandal, ridicule, and scorn. If he held genuine affections he would have approached me for her hand.”
“And would you not have denied him?”
A scowl darkened his face.
“I am not defending Mr. Browning’s actions,” she hurriedly assured Tobias. “I am only hoping you can understand what may have prompted them to not declare themselves. Francie admires and loves you above all else. I would hate to see her grievously injured by your anger and disappointment.”
His face shuttered.
Livvie encircled his neck with her hand, gently playing with the curl of hair at his nape. “I enjoy cream of parsnip soup, boiled duck in apricot sauce, and gooseberries,” she said lightly, hoping to distract him from the dark thoughts she could see gathering in his eyes. If she could not seduce him, the best way to pass the time was to learn of each other. She was rather looking forward to it.
For a timeless moment, he said nothing, and the steady drumming of the rain on the roof and against the windows were the only sounds echoing in the small room.
“I like beef á la royale and Bakewell tarts.”
Pleasure burst inside of her, and she quickly shared something else. “One of my greatest desires is to establish myself as a respected painter.”
He frowned. “Selling your work?”
