Page 35 of The Heir's Fortune
“Wait,” she said, and he immediately slid his hand back and out from under her nightdress.
“I said wait, not stop!” she said, taking hold of his hand, but he was already lifting her from the table and setting her feet back on the floor.
“You are right. This is not the best place for this,” he said, taking deep breaths to try to bring himself back into his body.
“I only wanted to say that I do not want you to feel any obligation toward me,” Madeline said. “You just finished telling me that you might need to marry for a significant dowry – one which I certainly do not have – and I understand that. Whatever happens between us, I will not expect any promise.”
Gideon was trying to think rationally, but his body was telling him an entirely different story than his head was.
“I would never ruin you,” he said.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” she countered. “I can only ruin myself.”
He chuckled wryly again. “You would say that.”
“It’s the truth. I make my own decisions.” She grabbed his wrapper and pulled him closer. “And right now, I want you. Why do we not find somewhere that is more comfortable and finish this?”
“You are bad for me.”
“On the contrary,” she said. “I believe I am very good for you.” She grinned. “Have you ever felt more alive?”
No, he hadn’t. Certainly not when he was working on the ledgers in frustration, nor even searching for the treasure. Not even when he was undertaking daring activities with his friends.
For the treasure hunting wasn’t fun for him. Not like it was for his friends, for whom it was just a game. For him, it was his life. And now it had taken on even greater meaning. For if he didn’t find the treasure, he couldn’t have Madeline. And that was beginning to seem like the greatest loss of all.
“Upstairs,” he said, making his decision as he tied his wrapper before clicking his tongue at Scout, who had just finished his scraps and sat dutifully by Gideon, although his eyes followed Madeline. “Go first and I will follow after.”
She nodded, beginning up the stairs before turning around and pointing a finger at him. “Do not disappoint me, Gideon.”
Then with a toss of her dark hair, she ran up the stairs, not quite realizing that her flippant words had more meaning to him than he would ever care to admit.
CHAPTER 13
Madeline was not a woman who often doubted herself.
But as she currently sat in Gideon’s well-appointed chamber, completely alone, she was beginning to wonder if she had been too optimistic that the side of him open to risks – and to her – would win out over his rational thought.
The large, opulent dark green walls reminded her of their night together out in the forest, oddly enough, though the four-poster bed with its voluminous velvet draperies was nothing like the thin blanket they had slept on.
She had decided to avoid the bed – for now – and had made herself comfortable in one of the scarred yet comfortable mahogany chairs in front of the fireplace. The only problem was that she couldn’t help feeling that the tall, handsome man with rather long dark hair in the portrait above the mantel was staring down at her. He didn’t seem judgemental, however. Rather… curious.
Madeline stood, unable to sit still any longer as she began to wander the room. She opened the wardrobe, only to find rows of carefully organized men’s clothing awaiting her. She couldn’t help but take extra time to sniff the sweet, comfortingsandalwood scent of Gideon that wafted out. She stopped in front of the gilded-frame mirror, peering at herself, wondering if Gideon truthfully found her attractive, and if he did, why it had taken him so long to realize it. She had known him forever and he had barely glanced at her in the past. Although, she supposed she had not been his biggest enthusiast either.
She lifted one of the books from the pile on the table beside his bed. A candle was still flickering beside it, and she wondered if he found these rather dull historical texts interesting, or if he had been using them to try to lull himself to sleep before his foray downstairs for food. Perhaps she should try one to help with her own insomnia.
A shadow of doubt flickered through her heart just as wavering as the flame of the candle.
She had been certain that he understood her meaning to meet him upstairs.
Apparently, she had been wrong.
Gideon paced upand down the bedchamber, worried that he was going to be caught.
“Did I misunderstand, Scout?” he asked the dog, who sat watching him, his head going back and forth, following Gideon’s pacing. “I wondered if she truly meant it when she asked me to meet her.”
He had never felt more alive, and, at the moment, he had no wish to give up what had been the greatest thing to happen to him since finding that slip of paper with the riddle on it – the one that had started all of this.
He hadn’t found the treasure yet, but this search had already opened his eyes to what it might be like to be with a woman ofone’s own choosing. He understood now what his friends had been waxing on and on poetic about.
