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“Yes, and you called me… a horrible, beastly man?” How much did he adore teasing her? The longer he stood there, the more he wanted the right to kiss her senseless, to show her how much he desired her… loved her.
A blush stained her cheeks. “Among other more uncouth things, but you called me a harridan.” Amusement reflected in her eyes as one of the building tears fell. “Despite all of that, I’ve seen the man you truly are, how you interact with your mother and with Luke, how you act like a gentleman… And like a ninny, I’ve gone and fallen in love with you.” Another tear fell.
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” He brushed the moisture from her cheeks. “There’s one way, I think, that we can more fully explore what this romance means.”
She nodded. “I suppose you’re right.” The same need coursing through his body lay mirrored in her eyes.
“Please marry me.” From the floor below, the longcase clock struck the midnight hour, and his heart pounded all the harder. “Make me the happiest of men on this Christmas morning,” he urged in a barely audible whisper.
“You won’t change your mind?” She caressed a hand along the side of his face.
“Of course I won’t. I only expect to love you more as time goes on.” He fought the urge to burrow into her touch. “I’d like our futures entwined, and if you feel the same, you merely need to answer my question.”
For long moments she stared at him. Disbelief and amazement danced in her dark eyes. “You wish to marry me even knowing I might not be able to bear children? It’s a horrid sentence to give any man and—”
“That matters not, for through life’s pitfalls, I’ll still have you, the woman who changed my life and the way I look at it.”
“Oh.” A half-sob, half-sigh escaped her.
“If all of our couplings fail to produce a child and you wish beyond everything to become a mother, there are other avenues open to us.” Would that set her mind at ease? It had certainly heated him enough. Coupling… with her.
Dear God.
The hope lighting her eyes nearly sent him to his knees. “Then yes, I’ll be your wife, and be glad to accept your proposal.” When he would have embraced her, she held him off with a palm to his chest. “But know I didn’t accept your offer because I’m desperate or without chances.”
“I know that.” He went in for a kiss but again she held him steady.
“Also, as much as your mother bedevils me, I still want to do all the things I currently do for her, for I fear she’ll run off someone else.”
While that was true, her duties were about to change. “Within reason, my love. You’ll have the business to attend to with me, and you will be my wife. I’ll wish to spend a rather scandalous amount of time in your company.” Even now, his shaft hardened with desire and need.
“Fair enough.” A blush raged in her cheeks. “I can hardly believe this is happening.”
“Neither can I, but here we are.” Then he took her into his arms and claimed her lips with his. Leisurely, hungrily, possessively, he kissed her until she parted those exquisitely soft pieces of flesh, and he found her tongue with his. When he broke off, they were both breathless. He reached for her hand and began tugging the glove from her hand. “Shall we commemorate this new partnership?”
“You’ve given me so much, especially yesterday.” Her giggle mixed with a snort, but she let him divest her of the gloves. “My bedchamber is like a bower for hopeful suitors.”
“Only from me, darling.” Bartholomew dug a finger into the pocket of his waistcoat and brought forth a ring that featured an oval-shaped deep-red ruby surrounded by tiny diamonds in a delicate gold setting. “From Siam, just waiting for the right woman.” As she gawked, he slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand. “Now, there is only one question left, my soon-to-be wife.”
“What’s that?” Her hands shook as she fumbled at the buttons of his jacket and then waistcoat.
“Do we dare mark this occasion with something incredibly scandalous?”
