John tossed and turned in his large, empty bed. As the hours crept by, he found it more difficult to understand why he’d thought it better to sleep alone.
He didn’t regret asking Amelia to marry him. He was confident they’d be good together in every way, not just in the bedroom. But as the clock chimed each hour, he started to convince himself that perhaps the road to wooing the stubborn Amelia Weston lay in giving her what they both wanted.
When he finally managed to fall asleep, nightmarish recollections of battles past woke him early the next morning. Giving up on sleep, he dressed and went for his customary morning ride. He’d hoped the exercise and morning air would clear his head, but when he returned to the stables, he was still conflicted about his future course of action.
Normally he made his way to the breakfast room where Amelia would be waiting for him, but he suspected she would need just as much time and space to think as he. He asked a footman to arrange for a tray to be brought to his study and headed there instead.
What he didn’t expect was to find her waiting for him in his study. She was seated at his desk, and it took him a moment to realize she was going over the estate’s account book. Jeffers must have updated them, and they made it a habit of going over the figures together.
He drank in the sight of her. Her dark hair was pulled back, not one curl framing her face as it had the day before. He was glad to see that she hadn’t gone back to wearing her lace cap. But her spectacles were perched on her nose as she read.
She glanced up when she realized she was no longer alone. The wide smile that spread across her face had him answering in kind.
She rose and moved around the desk, stopping before him. “I wasn’t sure I was going to see you today,” she said, dipping into a deep curtsy.
He almost swore when he saw that the dress she wore was designed to show more of her décolletage than the ones she normally wore when at home. It didn’t take much imagination to guess what her breasts would look like because they almost spilled over the top of her dress. And the way she stayed in the curtsy for several long moments…
He wanted to swear. “What are you doing, Amelia?”
She looked up at him but didn’t rise. The mischief in her eyes had him wanting to groan. Clearly she hadn’t given up on her scheme to seduce him. If anything, she seemed more determined than ever.
Ever so slowly, she straightened. “I’m attempting to change your mind. Is it working?”
If she lowered her gaze, she’d see just how well it was working. “Yes, it is.”
A hint of elation lit her eyes when he took a step closer, but it disappeared when he moved past her and put the desk between them. She pouted at the large piece of furniture that now separated them.
“Is there anything I need to know about the accounts?”
She shook her head, defeat evident in her posture. “Everything appears to be running smoothly.”
They stared at one another for several seconds, and John came to a decision. If Amelia wanted seduction, he’d give it to her. But once he started on that path, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself from taking her to bed before she accepted his offer of marriage.
He reached out to her. Her mouth turned up again with a cautious smile as she rounded the desk and placed her hand in his. Neither of them were wearing gloves, and warmth unfurled in his chest as he engulfed her smaller hand in his.
“One kiss,” he said.
He didn’t mind the look of triumph that crossed her face. They were both getting what they wanted in that moment.
“I’m content to start with that, my lord.” She dipped into another curtsy but kept her hand in his. Once again, he was presented with a generous display of her breasts.
With a mock growl of annoyance, he pulled her closer, enjoying the laugh that escaped her. “I see you’re intent on testing my restraint.”
“Restraint is vastly overrated.”
She rose onto her toes, slipped her hand from his, and grasped his shoulders. He settled on holding her by the waist, telling himself he wouldn’t stray from that spot.
This time there was no tentative press of his mouth against hers. Even if he’d wanted to go slowly, she opened her mouth under his and stole all his senses.
Her hands were in his hair, her body pressed tightly against his. Her low moan of contentment had him groaning in response.
This had been a tactical error on his part. He wasn’t going to be able to resist her for long if he allowed her to continue to get under his skin in this manner.
To his surprise, she pulled away first. One of her hands moved to his chest, where she flattened it over his racing heart. He longed to do the same to her, but if he touched her breasts, he would have her right there on the desk. And he wanted to make sure their first time together wasn’t a rushed affair. She deserved a comfortable bed and seduction.
She hasn’t agreed to marry you yet.
But even as the thought rose to the surface of his muddled brain, he realized he’d already lost this battle. He wouldn’t be able to wait for her to agree to his proposal. He wondered whether he could induce her to accept him after they made love.
She wet her lips, and the sight of her tongue peeking out for that small moment had him hardening even further.
“Perhaps later tonight…”
She didn’t need to finish the statement. She was clearly an innocent if she thought she needed to wait for night to fall before making love to a man. He grasped onto her invitation to delay their current activity, needing to get his jumbled thoughts under control. It probably wouldn’t help, but he didn’t want to scare her away with just how much he wanted her. There would be other times to show her the different times of day—and places—they could make love.
He nodded and forced his fingers to release their grasp of her waist. Her smile this time wasn’t one of triumph but what he hoped was genuine affection. He watched her as she turned and left the room, his eyes glued to her backside under the voluminous folds of her skirt. Soon enough he’d know what it felt like to hold that part of her in his hands. Amelia had asked him to make love to her, and he would give her exactly what she wanted.
And then he’d make her see just how much they were suited and she’d agree to marry him.