LITMIR.BIZ

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it becomes known”—her voice was charmingly musical. Why had he not noticed that before?—“the woman I brought will swear she was with me all the time.”

      He nodded, deciding to trust her. He wouldn’t get rid of her until she’d had her say. “In that case, perhaps you should remove your outer garments. It’s a warm evening.” Why the hell had he said that? Only that he wanted to see more of her than he could. At the moment, she was shrouded in a hat, gloves, and an enveloping cloak, perhaps more in an attempt to disguise her appearance than to keep warm.

      Ah well, he’d said it now.

      She stood and serenely drew out the long pins holding her hat in place before sticking them carefully back into the straw. She removed it and looked around, eventually hanging it on the back post of her chair. She did the same with her cloak.

      Her hands trembled. If he hadn’t been watching so closely, he’d never have noticed. He lifted his gaze to her face, and their eyes locked. Hers were dark. Blue or brown? He couldn’t tell from this distance, a matter of ten feet or so. He took a step closer and then another, went forward and held out his hand to take her cloak. She laid it over his arm. He didn’t remove his attention from her face.

      “Sir, I—I would rather you were not so close.”

      His lips relaxed in a smile. “After Monday, I will be much closer.”

      “It is one of the matters I wish to discuss.” Her voice deepened, grew throaty. Her lips were full, and he caught a flash of sharp, white teeth.

      Frowning, he moved back and laid her cloak across the nearby chair. She began to remove her gloves. She gave tiny tugs to the tip of each finger, and then pulled the glove off, slowly revealing soft, pale skin. Her fingernails were neatly trimmed, not the carefully manicured and polished shells of the society lady. She used those hands, worked with them. A tiny ink mark stained the base of her thumb.

      She performed the same office for the other glove, carefully easing off the thin kid, revealing her fingers slowly, carefully, as if unearthing a secret personal treasure.

      Max had rarely seen anything so erotic in his life. He longed to know what those hands could do if he placed them on his body and told her to make free with them.

      She kept her gloves in one hand. She caught her lower lip in her teeth, worrying it for a bare second before she stopped. Those lips parted as she took a deep breath and firmed her chin. A pretty chin, one he’d love to touch as he held her steady for his kiss. He would have at least that before she left. It would serve her right for coming here on her own.

      “Where is your maid?”

      She grimaced. “She is my chaperone for this visit. I don’t have a companion or a respectable female, so I brought her. I did my best to make her appear a companion. What did I do wrong?”

      “My butler, Rayne,” he said, his eyes warming. “He can spot domestics at a glance. But fear not, we won’t betray your secret. What is so urgent that won’t wait?”

      She took another deep breath, her bosom shifting enticingly beneath her thick practical linen fichu. He would enjoy revealing her body. He had never taken much notice of it before, but now it would be his, he decided he liked it. Liked her.

      She was slender, but with curves that hinted at the pleasing shape beneath.

      “I wanted to discuss this marriage with you. I don’t want to have my life arranged for me.”

      “Did your father not consult you first? I thought you willing.” Regretfully, he pondered the possibility of not marrying her. Once he’d made up his mind, he’d considered the matter settled. In this case, it seemed not.

      “I wasn’t asked, I was told. Sir, I don’t know you very well. I need some assurances.”

      “Please, take a seat,” he said, belatedly recalling his manners.

      She shook her head, dark curls bouncing against the white column of her neck. “I’ll stand, thank you. I must not stay long. My father is at a guild dinner, but he won’t be long tonight. I left him a note so he wouldn’t worry, but I’d rather he never saw it.”

      Thus the ink spot.

      “You’d no doubt prefer to be back before him.”

      She shrugged, but he didn’t miss her hesitation, the way her eyes flicked to one side before she returned her attention to him. “I am willing to marry you, but I don’t wish for…r-relations.”

      He suppressed his smile. “In what way?” He knew what she meant, but he was curious to know why she asked for this. Besides, he wanted to see more of that pretty flush.

      “In the bedroom, you know. We will have separate bedrooms?”

      “Of course. I have no wish to intrude on your levées or your dressing rituals.” That left her to assume he intended to intrude at other times.

      “I don’t wish us to visit each other at all.”

      He took pity on her. “You desire a white marriage?” He used the French term, meaning a union without consummation. “My dear, I hate to disappoint you, but I do need heirs. I have only a sister, no brother to inherit. The duty of providing heirs is mine. And yours, once we marry.”

      Her eyes widened. Stricken, she stared at him. “You can’t make a will—”

      “For my fortune, yes. But not the estate. That’s entailed. As is the title.”

      She bit her lip again, a fleeting movement, as if she were aware it wasn’t allowed. “Of course. I’m sorry. No male relatives?”

      He shook his head, taking it as no male relatives he wanted to inherit. A pity his mother’s relatives couldn’t inherit, but there it was.

      She wrung her hands together. “Then may I request more time to accustom myself to the idea? If you ask for it, my father will surely grant it.”

      He moved closer, observing her carefully. She seemed jumpy to the point of panic. “Is there something wrong?”

      “No, why should there be?” Her response came too quickly. The little pulse at the base of her throat beat erratically and she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

      She’d shown great courage coming here by herself, although he would wager her maid remained within screaming distance. Not that he meant to make her scream. Not tonight, at any rate, and never from fear. “Then I advise you to let it happen. Is there nothing else? Your concern is personal?”

      She jerked a nod. “I will ensure that my portion is fair, and I would request that I oversee where it’s invested, but I know you can do it as well as I.”

      “Yes, that’s true. But I have no objection in you overseeing your own investments. Or in taking an interest in my concerns.”

      She brightened, her mouth relaxing. “That’s very enlightened of you.”

      “If half of what your father says about your expertise in commerce is true, I’d be a fool to ignore such an asset.” Business was the last thing on his mind, but he understood her concerns. That demand sounded reasonable to him. But not the other.

      “Thank you.”

      “No doubt we’ll arrange financial matters later, when we meet to sign the contract. So do you wish to discuss the personal aspect now?”

      Swallowing, her throat tight, she nodded.

      He had to go gently here, but she must know the truth. “I have no intention of staying away from your bedroom.”

      He hated the expression that returned now. Tight lips, wide eyes, tiny creases at the corners of her mouth, and her pulse didn’t so much beat as flutter, it was going so fast. But he wouldn’t let her build barriers between their bedrooms. On impulse he reached out and took her hands.

      They were cold. When she tugged, he

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