Page 62 of Scandal’s Daughter

He kissed her then, a kiss that heated her skin and made her shiver at one and the same time and she knew the truth of his words. She gasped as his large hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs teasing the nipples through the chemise that covered them.

Georgiana let her head drop back against the wall as pleasure spiked through her, the heat of his mouth against her neck. Her thoughts seemed more muddled than ever. Beau was simply temptation incarnate. She couldn’t deny her attraction to him, couldn’t deny that she liked him, was fond of him even but ... but ...

“No more,” she said, her voice unsteady, pushing him away. “You’ve made your point.”

Beau smiled and brushed a last kiss against her lips.

“I can’t pretend to have any riches to bestow on you,” he said a moment later, his voice quiet, and she looked up to see he had crossed the room. He was standing looking outside at the street below, his face uncharacteristically serious. “I can’t pretend that I don’t need your finances, and I won’t insult you by pretending that isn’t so. But if you think I’m unmoved by you, if you think any of my ... seduction is in any way forced, you are very wrong indeed.”

He turned to look at her and she could see the truth of his desire still burning in those usually cool eyes.

“I want you in my bed, Georgiana, and if you agree to be my wife, I swear you’ll not be disappointed. I can’t pretend that I’m ideal husband material. We both know I’m not and I won’t make any promises that are doomed to failure. But ...” He moved closer to her and held her hand, his fingers closing around hers. “But you are my friend, my very dear friend and you have my word that I will try very hard not to make you unhappy. I might even succeed in making you happy,” he added with a slightly self-deprecating smile. “I promise at least, that I will try.” He leaned into her and kissed her cheek, just close enough to her mouth to make her heart thud again. “Please, Georgiana, say you’ll marry me.”

She pulled her hand from his grasp and walked away. Oh God, what was she to do? The only man she truly wanted a proposal from wasn’t even here, and the other two ... how long could she keep them waiting for?

“I don’t know,” she said, feeling helpless and powerless to do anything about it. “I don’t know what to do for the best. Sometimes I think I’d be best to marry no one at all and just become some odd little eccentric. I could travel the world alone, or keep cats or ... or ...”

She jolted as his hand closed around hers once again.

“That would be a terrible waste, Georgiana,” he whispered. “You need to live, and you need to choose how. You can be safe and probably content enough with dull, sweet Percy. You could allow Sindalton to offer you a carte blanche and be near the man you love without ever truly being a part of his world. Or you can marry me, and I promise you this at least, you will always have the protection of my name, and life will never, ever be dull.”

She gave an unsteady laugh of acknowledgement. That was something she could readily believe.

“I need an answer soon, darling,” he said softly. “You don’t know how it grieves me to admit it, but I owe money to some people I’d really rather not cross, and if you won’t have me my options are becoming rather terrifyingly limited.”

She looked up at him in alarm. “You’re in real trouble?” she asked, seeing the answer in his eyes.

He nodded. “I am, so please, don’t delay. If the answer is no, I may need to run for the continent or spend the next five years or so in rather unpleasant circumstances.” It was said with a light and jovial tone that she didn’t for an instant believe. He kissed her cheek again, with warmth in his expression. “Don’t keep me in an agony of suspense, sweet Eve. Say yes and put us all out of our misery.”