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It felt like he’d been plunged into a pool of ice, all his good humor and satisfaction disappearing. “Why?”
She issued a soft, almost painful laugh. “And what did you offer me just now that you have not given to countless others on this very sofa?”
The sensation that followed that statement was not unlike a blow to the stomach. He was reminded of their first true encounter when she had escorted Annabelle out of the house. He had done much the same with Annabelle as he had just done with Nora and more besides.
For the first time, he felt a bit of shame. “I…. Nora, I am…”
She shook her head, standing abruptly and resettling her skirts to look less disheveled. “There is no need for apologies or pretty words.” She faced him, back straight and face calm. “I am not a little innocent miss of theton.”
“Even so…” He struggled to find words to convey his thoughts.
Once again, she took it out of his hands. “You needed no pretty words to ask me for my hand, frivolous speech at the ball aside. Do not think I need them now when we have agreed to this arrangement and enjoyed some of each other’s company.”
“I... I thought you…”
Her chin tipped a fraction higher. “Enjoyed myself? I did. And you need not think I was unwilling. I assure you, this little encounter was as much my pleasure as yours.”
Her face was flushed, her eyes glittering, expression proud and open with a range of complicated emotions flitting over it, too quickly for him to properly read her mood.
The flush indicated she was well satisfied, but a spark in her eyes suggested that she might well be angry with him. There was also a sense that she was near tears; something in the set of her chin and the way she held her hands that looked as if she might start to cry in a moment.
They stared at each other for a long moment, distrust and distress and swirling emotions hanging in the air between them. Then Nora sighed and relaxed a small amount as she looked away, suddenly appearing somewhat weary.
“I should go. I have errands to complete, and before that, I shall have to join your mother for the fitting she wishes me to have…”
She turned toward the door, and he moved without thinking, stepping to catch her arm. Nora froze.
He let go but stepped a little closer. Nora, his fiery little Nora, stiffened but didn’t move away. He sighed softly. “Nora... Nora…”
He sighed again, then gathered her close in a gentle grip that she could have broken with less effort than a full breath, and gave her a tender kiss. He kept it light and chaste, and felt the slight relaxation of her shoulders.
“I do not want this marriage to be a farce. No longer Nora. I no longer want this to be a sham marriage in name only, with separate lives. I want you, all of you, and more. I would give myself to you, body and soul, for you have truly bewitched me.”
“You said that in your jest last night.” There was no heat in her voice, and he took that as encouragement.
“And it was foolish of me to do so, to waste such words on jest when they would have served me better now, in sincerity.” He took a deep breath. “I would have your heart and give you mine. I know you do not have reason to trust my words, but they are true. I cannot picture being with another woman anymore.”
She laughed, a disbelieving sound, and he hugged her tighter. “It is true. I do not want another, and I will confess that I acted as I did just now in hopes that you would no longer have any desires for another man.”
“Truly?”
“Truly.” He stepped back and offered her a small, gentle smile. “You have bewitched me, body and soul, my darling Nora.”
For long moments, her sea-colored eyes searched his face, then a small smile turned up the corner of her pert mouth and softened the lines of her face, transforming her expression into something youthful and playful.
She leaned up, and for a moment, he thought she would be the one to initiate a kiss. Then her breath was on his ear, accompanied by a whisper that sent blood straight to his groin. “Well, Your Grace, you shall have to try harder if you should wish me to say the same.”
Then she was gone before he could martial his thoughts, leaving him aching and bereft.
With a soft curse, Arthur left the office, heading for his room, intent on doing something to combat the painful tightness in his trousers.
Tomorrow night cannot come soon enough, and never mind the wedding!
* * *
Nora left the study with reddened cheeks, all too conscious of the stickiness drying on the inside of her thighs. For all that she could not stop the soft smile playing around her lips; her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings.
She had not meant to succumb to Arthur’s temptations. And yet…
