Page 101 of My Kind of Scoundel
“Good evening, Mr Chance.” Her voice held the soft, teasing quality of a woman eager to make love. “You’re a hard man to find.”
He glanced at her while struggling to contain a surge of emotion. Swathed in a pink satin cloak, she looked confident and beautiful even though she’d had a difficult day.
“Missing me already, Miss Darrow?” He’d not stopped thinking about her since he’d left her bed this morning. “I should think you’ve seen enough of me to last a lifetime.”
“Not nearly enough. I’m sure you know why I’m here.”
He stood. The need to touch her had him veering off script. Closing the gap between them, he lowered the hood of her cloak to reveal her lustrous red hair. “You held me spellbound that night. You’ve held me spellbound every night since. I can barely catch my breath now.”
“I thought you despised me.”
He captured a curl and let it slip through his fingers. “I was hard for you then. I’m hard for you now. I’ve always wanted you, Eleanor.”
She stepped closer, brazenly cupping his cock in his trousers. “Is this not where you claim I’m infatuated and desperate for your attention?”
He inhaled sharply as her palm slid over his erection. “Aren’t you?”
“Undoubtedly. You’re like a drug.”
She released him and pushed him into a velvet seat. He’d hoped to surprise her tonight, yet she was always one step ahead.
“I don’t recall asking you to sit,” he said, watching her hike up her satin skirts and straddle him. He gripped her thighs, drawing her over the solid bulge in his trousers.
“As you said, I am suffering from an addiction I cannot control.” Her voice dropped to a sensual whisper. “I mean to hound you night and day until you give me what I want. And I’m not talking about the sewing box.”
“I know what you want,” he uttered, reaching between them to unfasten his trousers. “But I’ll make a trade.”
“A trade?” Having undone the button, her cloak slipped off her shoulders, revealing the gown that showed her figure to perfection.
“I see you’ve come armed to the teeth tonight,” he said, admiring the rapid rise and fall of her breasts. “Did you hope your pretty countenance would leave me defenceless?”
“By whatever means, you’re at my mercy.” She moistened her lips. “You’ll give me one thing I crave—your love.” When his hands settled on her bare buttocks, she said, “I want it now, Theo.”
He entered her, their moans echoing through the auditorium.
“You were made for me, love, but I hadn’t planned on reaching this part so soon.” His heartbeat thumped in his throat as she took him slow and deep. “Wait!” He’d hoped to propose before sating their desires. “I need to say something.” All the things he’d omitted to say that night.
“Say what?” Her lips parted as she sat on his lap, taking him to the hilt. “Is something wrong?”
Everything was perfect.
“No. There’s nothing wrong.” He gazed into her eyes, eyes as striking as the emeralds in the ring he’d bought her. “I never told you how incredible you were the night you charged into this box. As incredible as you are now.”
She blinked because she struggled with compliments. “I so desperately wanted to hate you, but then you kissed me and sent my world spinning.”
He cupped her nape and brushed his lips over hers, recalling the instant spark that had rocked his world, too. “Something magical happens when our mouths meet.”
“Something magical happens when you enter the room. I cannot explain it, but every cell in my body thrums with excitement.”
He studied her, drinking in the gorgeous sight. “Marry me. Let me take care of you. Let me love you for all eternity.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I belong to you, Theo. I felt it the first time you accompanied Delphine to her fitting. I called her back a week early, hoping to see you again.”
“Aramis offered to escort her, but I paid to take his place.”
Her eyes brightened. “You did?”
“I might have made my intentions clear, but Delphine spoke of your blossoming friendship, and I couldn’t take that away from her.”
