“Tonight I have a proposition for you,” he said, his nose touching hers.
“What’s that?” she said, but her voice came out as a husky whisper.
“I propose”—his free hand moved along her hip, touched her waist and continued higher—“that we work together.”
Josie had to gulp to take a breath.
“I propose we become partners in this treasure hunt.”
His fingers brushed the underside of her breast, and Josie bucked. The shock of pleasure from his touch was so raw, she hadn’t anticipated it. His warm hand closed over her breast, and she could not help but moan. She’d been expecting this; she knew he would touch her. And she’d been touched there before. But this was not like it had been with other boys. When Westman squeezed her breast and flicked her hard nipple, she could not stop herself from moaning and arching with pleasure.
She wanted him. She looked into his eyes, so blue and so full of promise. She almost moaned again when he lowered his mouth to the fabric of her chemise. She felt the heat of his mouth through the cotton, and she bit her lip to stifle her scream. In that moment, she would have done anything he asked if he would just lower her neckline and take her aching breast into his mouth.
“Tell me about the treasure,” he murmured, and Josie snapped back.
She’d do anything but give him the treasure.
Her free hand came up, and she pushed his head away. Hard. The look on his face was full of surprise, but he recovered quickly. “Am I to take it that you do not wish to be partners?”
“The treasure is mine. I don’t want your help.”
He leaned close again, whispering in her ear, “But you need my help, Miss Hale. You need me.” Oh, Lord, she did need him. Why couldn’t he just agree to be her lover last night? Then she would never have mentioned the treasure, and she would not be in this position. If she told him no now, would that be the end of this pleasant seduction? And if she said yes, could she trust him enough not to double-cross her and keep the treasure for his own?
His mouth lingered against her ear, and she wondered if, at this point, she really had any choice. “This is hardly fair,” she said finally.
She heard him chuckle, and the low rumble had her pulse racing again.
“You were not exactly fair last night. I am simply better at this game than you.”
She couldn’t argue with that, and she didn’t try. “Do you want to be my partner?”
“Yes,” he breathed in her ear.
She shivered. “For better or worse?”
He chuckled again. “For richer or poorer, Miss Hale.”
“Those are the easiest of my terms.”
“Give me your worst.”
She turned her head and met his gaze. “Get off me and I will.”
And to Josie’s disappointment, he released her faster than a hot coal.
WHEN STEPHEN SAT BACK, it took him a moment to regain his bearings. He’d intended to play the part of the rake with Josephine Hale, but somewhere in there, he’d forgotten he was only acting. Sometime between when he’d first touched her and when he’d pushed her down on the bed under him, he’d gone from seducing her to being seduced by her.
Bloody hell. The woman hadn’t even been trying to tempt him tonight. It was her reaction to him that did him in. Her low moans and the way her body writhed under his had warped what started as his best intentions. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said he thought they were two of a kind. He could tell she would complement him perfectly in bed. She would be an adventurous lover, eager to please him and eager to be pleased.
And as he lay on top of her, as his body hardened and he filled his palm with her soft breast, he wanted her in his bed. He wanted to sink back into the gluttony and unbridled debauchery of his past life. She was the kind of woman who could bring it all back, who could remind him how it felt to live again.
Thank the devil she had finally agreed to his terms. When he wasn’t touching her, he could think again. He could remember why he was doing this— why he was chasing this ridiculous treasure myth. He needed to restore his family honor. He needed to restore his family finances. He may not be the best son for the job, but he was the man to whom the task had fallen. And Stephen would be damned if he’d disappoint again.
Her gave her room, and Josephine Hale sat and, after scooting a respectable distance from him—if any distance could be called respectable when they were alone in her bedchamber—she began straightening her chemise. She made a tempting picture in her virginal white with her fiery, disheveled curls about her face. Her eyes were a mossy green and slightly glazed.
Stephen looked away—tried to remember that he was dangerous to this woman. “You mentioned terms,” he said, still not looking at her. Better to keep their relationship as impersonal as possible. From now on, he would use his charms only under the direst circumstances.
“Terms,” she said. From the corner of his eye, he caught her nodding as though to remind herself. “I have several. First of all, I don’t trust you. I want some assurance that when we find the treasure—”
