He placed a soft kiss on her temple. “I won’t bring up the matter of marriage or badger you on consequences. I’ll wait until you demand marriage from me or badger me on the consequences.”
She pulled away a bit to lift her chin at him. “Wait for me to demand marriage?”
“You ruined me after all. Should you not take responsibility in the future? ’Tis your duty.”
“Duty, my arse,” Selena teased in a deep, mock voice.
“A true gentleman you are.”
“Settle in then, you might be waiting forever. I am quite the rake,” she declared in her most rakish tone.
Another kiss. “Then I will have to come up with a plan to reform you, even if it takes forever.”
Selena settled back into his arms. This was a side to Warrick that she had never experienced before. An uncomfortable knot formed in her belly. She didn’t know how to deal withthisWarrick. This Warrick had too much power. She could feel hers slipping through her fingers. “Let’s not promise each other anything for now.”
A short, albeit relaxed, silence fell between them before he said, “I shall not pressure you to do anything you don’t want to.”
She nudged him. “But you want to, don’t you?”
“You know me too well.” A kiss. “I’d lock you in this very chamber and never let you go if I had a say in the matter.”
“You won’t ever do that.”
“You seem so sure.”
She lifted her gaze to meet the smile in his eyes. “I thought you were not a possessive man. Or have I stumbled upon a grave secret?”
He chuckled. “It’s not a trait I value or embrace, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.”
“Well, if you are going to act the possessive man, just lock yourself in here with me.” Selena shut her eyes. It would be so much easier to be locked up. Then she wouldn’t have to grapple with difficult decisions that life as an heiress with the world at her fingertips presented. “I’m sleepy.”
A finger trailed her brow. “Let’s rest for a few hours.”
“We won’t be disturbed?”
“No one enters my chamber without permission except you and your brother.”
That brought a smile to her lips. “That’s good. We don’t have to worry about him.”
His arms tightened in response.
Selena waited until Warrick’s breathing evened out before she opened her eyes. Sleepy didn’t mean she could sleep. Rather, the beat of her heart had yet to settle. He’d use up his forever to reform her? They had been teasing words, but they had struck at the heart of her. The offer of marriage... it was still there for her to seize. The only question remained, would she seize it?
Her gaze flitted over his face.
So handsome.
She wanted his heart, which meant... she had already given him hers. Of course, she’d already known she hadfalleninto lust with him, or she would never have made love to him. But the instant he’d shouted her name in pure ecstasy, Selena had known her infatuation had already bloomed into something more.
What did this mean for her?
If she stayed with him, if she married him, would her greatest attribute then become Warrick? Would her identity merely shift from sister to wife? Would she find herself or lose herself even more? And yet she couldn’t help but recall the loneliness she’d felt with Theodosia at the alehouse when her brother had arrived instead of Phineas. And this morning, claiming him while he claimed her, she’d dropped all and any pretenses to deeper explore this attraction between them.
The scent of him curled around her, tempting her, teasing her, stealing all the wits she required to think. She didn’t want to leave. Not like this.
But she didn’t want to stay either. Not like this.
She could forget herself in moments such as these. She could surrender herself without question. And she wasn’t ready for that. She needed time. They truly didn’t do anything the conventional way. First they explored each other, now she had to explore the link between her head and her heart.
