Page 31 of Courting the Earl
“I’m going to need to hear the words from you. Why am I here? Your uncle could have told me about the broken betrothal himself. And more importantly, why are you telling me about your plans for the future?”
She stared at him for almost a full minute. He waited. Embarking on a physical affair would be no small thing for Eleanor, not if she was as innocent as he suspected. He’d pursued her, yes. He’d crossed several lines that would have people gossiping about the two of them if they were discovered. But he wouldn’t push her on this. He wanted… No, he needed this decision to be hers.
“I want to have a discreet affair with you.”
Affair. Not love affair, which he would have thought she’d want. Somehow that thought bothered him.
“And if I refuse you? Would you find someone else?”
Chapter 17
Her mouth dropped open in shock. Did he actually believe she would—nay, that she could—make this same proposal to another man?
She tried to pull her hand from his grip as she rose to her feet, but he refused to release her. Instead, he followed and stood far too close for her sensibilities. Their fingers were still entwined.
Heat colored her cheeks. “Never mind. I am sorry to have bothered you with this request. Since you now have the freedom you wanted, I beg you to release my hand and do the same for me.”
His gaze remained fixed on her face. “You haven’t answered my question.”
Why was he being so infuriating? “If you must know, the answer is no. I have no intention of approaching another man.”
His mouth curled up with a smirk of satisfaction that had her temper spiking. That could be the only reason she added, “But one never knows what the future may hold.”
She let out a small yelp when he tugged her hand, setting her off-balance, and she collided with his chest. His other hand splayed across her upper back, holding her against him.
She met his intense gaze, and for a moment she forgot to breathe. She’d seen desire in his gaze before, when he’d kissed her. But that was nothing to the heated fervor within the blue depths of his eyes now. She was unable to move, trapped by whatever was happening between them.
“Wrong answer,” he said.
Good heavens. Hargrove’s voice was a low growl that sent shivers of awareness through her body. “What—” Her voice broke on the question. She had to lick her lips and swallow before she could continue. “What is the correct answer?”
He pressed her even closer to him. The feel of his arousal was unmistakable. “The correct answer is that you want only me.”
His mouth crashed down on hers in a bruising kiss, and she opened immediately to receive him. Her legs felt weak, and if he hadn’t been holding her against him, she feared she would have swooned.
The kiss was over far too soon, but Hargrove didn’t release her.
She blinked up at him, her thoughts muddled, and then pressed her face against his chest. A shudder went through her. Finally, after taking a deep breath, she pulled away from him.
“We can’t do this here,” he said as he released her, his arms dropping to his side.
She felt the loss of his embrace acutely. Trying to hide her embarrassment, she aimed for levity. “You were the one who kissed me.”
One corner of his mouth lifted, and the heat in his gaze had her stomach swooping.
“I’d like to do more than kiss you.” Impossibly, his voice had dropped even lower.
She was incapable of thought. He’d rendered her speechless. “I…”
He laughed, the sound light. “I’d very much like to accept your offer.”
“So would I,” she repeated, caught up in the heightened awareness that seemed to be swirling around them.
He gazed at her, clearly amused at her inability to form a coherent thought. She was completely out of her depth and would have to rely on him as to how to proceed.
She cleared her throat. “How?”
“I’ll escort you to my carriage and then speak to my driver. He’ll take you to my sister’s town house. The one in which she resided before she married.” He pressed a key into her hand. “The house will be empty. Wait for me.”
