“That wasn’t all. I gambled, lost a vast amount of our family fortune.”
“So that’s true.” She set her glass down. “I didn’t want to believe—”
“I tried to warn you,” he said. “I told you to stay away from me. And in the end, I did exactly what I always have—I took advantage of our relationship.”
“You treated me with nothing but respect,” she countered. “I seduced you.”
“I knew what I was doing. I could have resisted—”
She put a hand on his arm, leaning closer. The temptation to kiss her made it difficult for him to concentrate.
“You could have done a lot of things, and yet everything you did for me was well-intentioned.” She waved her arms exuberantly, and he caught the wine bottle and set it on the floor before she sent it flying.
“I didn’t like it when you tried to drag me away from Seven Dials, or when you yelled at me for climbing out of the window, but you were worried and acted out of kindness. I didn’t like it when you took my map or left on this trip without me, but I understand your reasons.”
“You do?” he said skeptically.
“I don’t like them, but I know how you men are.”
“We men? I see.”
“Face it, Stephen Doubleday, you are not a bad man. You are not the reprobate your Society has made you out to be.”
Much to her displeasure, he was sure. He’d never met a lady so desperate to get involved with a rogue. And he’d never been unable to oblige.
But she was wrong. Underneath all the good intentions, he was exactly the man his Society made him out to be. And it would take mere seconds to show her that.
He stood and looked down at her, already imagining her beneath him on the bed. He was watching her lips move and imagining all the wicked ways he could put them to good use.
“Don’t paint me too pretty, Miss Hale. I’m not the angel you seem to think.”
“Oh, please. I’ve never met a better-behaved scoundrel. I really had expected so much worse from you.”
A challenge? He couldn’t believe this. Did she realize the treacherous ground she was treading on? He shouldn’t touch her tonight. He shouldn’t ever touch her again. And yet she goaded him. Called him an angel. If she could just see into his mind, she’d see how far from the truth that moniker was.
“Are you saying I’ve disappointed you?” he said quietly, stepping closer to her until he stood over her.
“No, not disappointed—well, the first time I kissed you I was disappointed, but—”
He moved the table away from the bed, giving himself clear access to her, and then he took hold of her and dragged her to her feet.
Her eyes widened even as she fell into his embrace. “You’re not thinking to . . . now, are you? I mean—”
“You’ve had too much to drink, Miss Hale. That is an interesting position. A compromising position.”
“And you’re going to take advantage of me?” she breathed, excitement making her words husky. “Ooh, I like that.”
“Do you?” He yanked her shirttails out of her boy’s trousers and pulled the shirt over her head. She’d bound her breasts with a strip of linen, and he smiled when he saw it. So that was why he hadn’t been able to see the shape of her breasts all night. With slow, deliberate movements, he loosened the knot holding the material in place and began to unwrap her.
“I want to strip you bare, Josephine,” he said, turning her until she laughed. She stumbled, but his hands were on her warm torso, holding her steady.
“I want to see those perfect breasts of yours, squeeze them in my hands, suck on your nipples. Would you like that?”
“Oh, yes,” she said, and he executed the last turn. Her back was to him, and he reached around her cupping her in his hands, kneading her flesh.
“I love the way you feel, do you know that?” he whispered in her ear.
She shivered. “I love the way you feel.” She pushed her bottom against his hard cock. “I want to feel you everywhere.”
