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He lifted her, pressing her into his swollen cock. With grim satisfaction, he noted how her eyes glazed, how her head fell back.
“Every time I close my eyes these last bloody weeks, I see only you,” he ground out. “So no, it’s not a high opinion I have of myself. It’s a high opinion I have ofyou,Clara. Of this…acquaintanceship…we have between us.”
James grasped behind one of her knees, lifting her leg up and around his hip. She grasped his shoulders, holding on as he pressed into her.
“When I set myself to a task, I don’t stop until it’s completed. And lassie, I’ve set myself to pleasing you. I’m relentless. Whatever it takes, whatever you like, I’ll do—without complaint, without excuse.”
He paused, shaking his head.“I can’t ask for your dance card. I can’t call on you when it’s light out. You won’t acknowledge me in public. But when it’s you and I together like this, we’ll be equals.”
Despite the command in his voice, his eyes sought her permission. When she nodded, he took her breath away by putting one arm around her waist and sweeping the other under her knees.
His arms tightened around her. “I have you, and I’m not letting go. Not until we get to the stairs, anyway.”
Clara threw her head back against his chest and laughed.
True to his word, James carried her until they reached the white marble staircase in the center of a vast atrium, then set her on her feet. Upstairs, the next floor awaited, forming a columned square around the atrium.
“Conserving your strength?”
“Aye. We need every bit for what’s coming.”
She picked up her skirts and ran up the stairs playfully.
As glad as James was for her lightheartedness, he didn’t share her mood. He stopped halfway up the wide staircase, gripping the banister and watching her.
James’s achievements and acquisitions came from hard work. He was grateful for them, but he knew they hadn’t fallen into his lap by chance. He’d earned them.
He felt a strong sense of gratitude for the woman standing on the landing waiting for him. He didn’t merit her, but he wanted her, needed her, and was going to appreciate her.
Clara stood unaware on the landing, admiring one of the marble busts on a pedestal among the greenery.
This woman had figured in his daydreams for a month! He took in her unrestrained curves, his arousal pulsing between his legs.
James savored for one more moment, then darted up the stairs after her.
