Page 136 of From Rakes to Riches

“Would you like something to warm you?” he asked once they’d entered the drawing room. “There’s port, sherry and brandy.”

“Port will be fine,” she said as she took in the room.

A lively fire danced in the hearth. Before it, two brocade chairs flanked a satinwood table where a tray with biscuits and cheese waited along with a bottle of wine and two crystal glasses.On the mantel, a Chinoiserie vase overflowed with a large bouquet of roses in every color imaginable. She walked closer to the fireplace and removed her shawl, draping it over the arm of one of the chairs. “Everything looks lovely. You must have a wonderful staff.”

“Youlook lovely.” He came forward with two glasses of wine. “I wanted the house to be quiet for our time together, so I arranged for my staff to be released for the evening.”

She smiled softly, touched by his thoughtfulness although she couldn’t ignore how neatly his life wasarrangedcompared to hers. “It’s all a little overwhelming.”

“That wasn’t my intent. I want you to feel comfortable here.” He handed her a glass, raising his slightly as he spoke. “To us.”

She lifted her glass in kind. “To this evening.”

“One of many,” he added before they both took a sip of wine.

“I’d rather we didn’t plan too far ahead,” she said, striving to keep her tone light. “It would probably be for the best.”

“Best for whom?” he asked with a disarming smile. “Not for me.”

“Yes, for you,” she insisted, though her voice held little conviction. “You just don’t realize it yet.”

“Why would you say that?” He took her glass and set it down on the table next to his before he drew her into his arms.

She relished the warmth offered by his embrace even as she voiced the truth. “We are from two worlds that never shall mix.”

“You don’t believe that or you wouldn’t be here,” he countered. “Besides, who’s to define where one world begins or ends, or how the two blend together?”

“We should talk about something else,” she said, looking up into his handsome face and mentally calling herself a fool a thousand times over. “I don’t want to ruin our evening.”

“You’re here in my arms,” he said in an intimate murmur. “It’s impossible for this evening to be anything besides perfection.”

He didn’t allow her a rebuttal, leaning in to capture her mouth in a long, lingering kiss that made her breathless and that suited her fine since his declaration left her speechless.

22

Theodore deepened their kiss and tightened his embrace, wanting Lola to understand what he offered. It was more than a gesture of affection. More than a piece of his heart. Much more. Tonight, he offered a bond. A promise. The precious possibility that they could experience the world together, side by side.

He couldn’t identify the exact moment he’d fallen in love. Perhaps it was an ongoing process that had begun the first time he’d laid eyes on her, that very first day when she’d challenged him with her tart words, or later, when he’d tasted her sweet, sensual kisses. But there was no denying it now. He couldn’t envision a future without her in it.

He wasn’t certain if she felt the same, but he knew she desired him with the same intense longing as his own. That was evident in more than her kisses.

When she pressed closer to his chest, he slid his hand upward, splaying his fingers against her back to caress the soft skin where her neckline dipped lower in invitation. He trailed his other hand down over the curve of her firm bottom. She trembled and he broke away to nuzzle kisses along her cheek,bury his face in her hair, and breathe in her scent as a desperate act to temper his ardor.

“I adore you, Lola,” he said, his voice raspy. “At times it feels as though I’ll go mad from wanting to see you and touch you.”

“I feel that same madness.” Her words whispered against his jaw as her hands came up between them and rested on his chest. “When we’re apart I spend all day wondering when I will see you again, and then, when we’re together, the time always goes too fast.”

He kissed her temple, his lips gentle though her words aroused him further. Need and want thrummed with insistence in his veins. To know she experienced the same attraction made him wish he could carry her into his bedchambers and keep her there forever.

He groaned, the image causing desire to pulse heavily in his groin. He took her lips in another deep, openmouthed kiss and when they came apart, their breathing ragged, his every muscle was strained to the breaking point.

“Shall we go upstairs?” he asked, his voice hoarse as he gazed into her eyes, her skin flushed a fetching shade of pink.

She blinked, her long lashes lowering before she raised her eyes to his, a coy smile curling her kiss-swollen lips. “Yes, nothing would please me more.”

He reached for her hand, lacing their fingers as they walked toward the hall. Without a word they moved up the staircase and further, their footsteps muted by the carpet runner, until they reached the double doors of his bedchamber.

He glanced at her. His heart beat hard in kind to the rest of him. Yet he had to be sure. Had to know, she was sure. She sensed what he asked as soon as their eyes met.

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