Page 79 of The Duke and the Lady in Red
“What about all the things you want for Harry?”
“I have the five thousand quid.”
“Not unless you finish out your week. Otherwise all you’ll have is a trip to Scotland Yard.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“So are you. You’re not going to leave. You’re not going to give this up, not as long as your brother is the beneficiary of my good graces. After that, I’m not even certain your promise to me will keep you here.”
It wouldn’t, dammit, but she wasn’t going to confirm it, wasn’t going to confirm that she might have no choice. Even with a choice, she couldn’t swear she’d stay. Hoping to turn them off this path, she placed her palm on his chest. “I don’t like when we’re at odds.”
“Then be honest with me.”
“I can be honest with you regarding my feelings for you, my desires where you are concerned. But not my past. I’m a criminal, Avendale. You need know no more than that.”
“How much of a criminal?”
She laughed lightly. “That’s like asking, ‘How much with child are you?’ ”
“There are degrees of criminality. Murder is worse than picking a silk handkerchief from a gent’s pocket. How many have you swindled?”
“Enough to survive.”
“You were much more forthcoming last night.”
“Last night, I was upset, lowered my defenses for a bit.” Stupidly lowered them, revealed far too much. As kind and generous as he was, he could never truly understand all her transgressions. “I’ve regained control, and the drawbridge has been effectively raised.”
“I don’t like that you continue to hold secrets from me.”
“Ours is a temporary arrangement. My secrets have no impact on it.” Another lie.
“And if it wasn’t?” he asked.
She was again hit with the sensation of falling. “I don’t see how it can be anything else. You’re a duke. I’m a swindler. You might be comfortable introducing me to a few of your intimates in the back room of a gaming hell, but publicly? To every peer of the realm? To the queen? I know precisely what I am, Your Grace, and what my place in your life would entail. I’m relegated to being your mistress. I should hope that when you marry, you would care enough about your wife to send me on my merry way. Care enough to spare me the torment of sharing you.” Dear God, she thought it would be worse than prison.
He slid his hand around her neck; his thumb stroked the underside of her jaw. “It seems you’ve given this a great deal of thought.”
“I have spent a good portion of my life calculating and weighing the ramifications of my actions. I may not be honest with others, but I’ve always been honest with myself.”
“While I’m the opposite. Brutally honest with others, seldom honest with myself.”
“Why aren’t you honest with yourself?”
“It would involve flaying my conscience and I have an aversion to pain. Which I suppose is the reason that I focus on pleasure. If you don’t want that hideous nightdress tattered, you’re going to need to remove it out here. Because once you step into my bedchamber I’m ripping it off.”
It took her three heartbeats to realize that he was abandoning the discussion. That they were moving on to more pleasant things, more daring things. While only the pale lamplight washed over him, she could still see the challenge in his eyes. What was it about him that made her want to pick up every gauntlet that he tossed down? She wanted him to remember her when she was gone from his life, when he climbed into bed with a woman of sterling reputation and gave her children.
She flicked a button free of its mooring, heard his sharp intake of breath, saw his eyes darken. “I suppose the next thing you’ll want is me dancing in your fountain,” she said.
“Would you?” he asked, desire causing his voice to come out raspy with need.
Heat pooled between her legs, and she thought he could bring her to the pinnacle without ever touching her with his hands. It took only his voice, his gaze. Just knowing that still he yearned for her as though he’d yet to possess her. Another button freed. “You should have asked before we had a guest.”
“His room doesn’t look out on the fountain.”
“But he likes to walk about at all hours of the night.” Another button.
“I should make arrangements to keep him occupied one night but ...”
