Page 30 of Worth Any Price
“You don’t know him as well as you think you do.”
His lips parted as he prepared to argue. But as he saw the trembling of her chin, the aggressive gleam faded from his eyes. “Don’t be afraid.” He startled her by settling his palm on her chest, on the smooth reach between her throat and her breasts. She inhaled deeply, her chest rising beneath the soothing weight of his hand. “I meant it when I told you that I would take care of you and your family,” he said. “You’re giving Radnor more importance than he merits.”
“You couldn’t possibly understand the way he has overshadowed my entire life. He—”
“I do understand.” His fingers drifted to her throat, stroking the tender place where he could feel her swallowing. Such a powerful hand—he could crush her so easily, and yet he touched herwith incredible gentleness. “And I know that you’ve never had anyone to defend you from him. But from now on I will. So stop turning pale every time his name is mentioned. No one is ever going to dominate you again, least of all Radnor.”
“No one exceptyou, you mean.”
He smiled at the pert accusation, toying with a lock of her hair. “I have no desire to dominate you.” Leaning over her, he kissed the tiny pulse in her throat and touched it with his tongue. Lottie held very still, her toes curling inside her stockings. She wanted to put her arms around him, touch his hair, press her breasts upward into his chest. The effort to hold back made her entire body stiffen.
“After we wed tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet my sister, Sophia,” he said against her neck. “Will that be agreeable?”
“Yes, I would like that. Will Sir Ross be there as well?”
Gentry lifted his head. “Probably.” He sounded distinctly less than thrilled by the prospect. “I received a warning today that my brother-in-law is hatching some plan, as usual, and wants to see me.”
“Is there no liking at all between you?”
“God, no. Sir Ross is a manipulative bastard who has plagued me for years. Why Sophia saw fit to marry him is still beyond any hope of understanding.”
“Does she love him?”
“I suppose,” he said reluctantly.
“Do they have children?”
“One daughter, so far. A tolerable brat, if one likes children.”
“And is Sir Ross faithful to your sister?”
“Oh, he’s a saint,” Gentry assured her dourly. “When they met, he was a widower who had been celibate ever since the death of his wife. Too honorable to lie with a woman outside of wedlock.”
“He sounds quite chivalrous.”
“Yes. Not to mention honest and ethical. He insists that everyone around him follow the rules...hisrules. And as his brother-in-law, I receive an ungodly amount of his attention.”
Having a fair idea of how well Gentry received Sir Ross’s attempts to reform him, Lottie bit the inside of her lower lip to suppress a sudden smile.
Seeing the twitch of her lips, Gentry gave her a glance of mock warning. “That amuses you, does it?”
“Yes,” she admitted, and yelped in surprise as he nudged a sensitive spot beneath her ribs. “Oh, don’t! I’m ticklish there. Please.”
He moved over her with easy grace, his thighs straddling her hips, his hands catching at her wrists to pull them over her head. Lottie’s amusement disappeared at once. She felt a pang of fear, as well as a confusing rush of excitement, as she stared at the large male above her. She was stretched beneath him in a primal position of submission, helpless to prevent him from doing whatever he wanted. Despite her anxiety, however, she did not ask him to release her, only waited tensely with her gaze locked on his dark face.
His grip on her wrists loosened, and his thumbs dipped gently into the humid cups of her palms. “Shall I come to you tonight?” he whispered.
Lottie had to lick her dry lips before she could answer. “Are you posing a question to me or yourself?”
A smile flickered in his eyes. “You, of course. I already know what I want.”
“I’d rather you stayed away, then.”
“Why prolong the inevitable? One more night isn’t going to make a difference.”
“I would prefer to wait until after we are married.”
“Principle?” he mocked, his thumbs tracing slowly along her inner arms.
