Page 20 of Only a Lyon Will Do
“Thank you, Demetrius,” she said far calmer than she felt inside. She had no idea who might be on the other side of that door but there was only one way to find out.
“Ready?” the wolf asked and at her nod he pushed opened the door for her.
It closed behind her with a soft click and she stared in disbelief at who she saw. Was this some sort of a trick? If so, it was far from funny.
Asher stepped forward and gave her a very formal, and proper, bow. “Good evening, Mrs. Moore. May I say you look beautiful tonight,” he said so politely they could have been in a ballroom.
She remembered herself and the fact that he was a titled gentleman and must be greeted as such. She dipped down into a curtsy. “Lord Rowley… good evening to you, sir.”
He pulled a rose from behind his back and presented it to her. She took the pink bloom into her gloved hand. He gestured to a chair and she made her way to take a seat before her legs buckled beneath her. She set the rose down on a small table next to her chair and clasped her hands together.
As he pulled the other chair closer to her own, she could only stare at the man in a silent question. “You must be wondering why I am here,” he began quietly.
She nodded her head. “It has crossed my mind. Especially since I have seen so little of you as of late. I thought perhaps you might be trying to avoid me.”
A slight smile lifted at one corner of his mouth. “To be perfectly honest, I have done nothingbutthink of you since I last saw you.”
She raised an eyebrow, questioningly. “You have?”
“Yes. I have.”
“In what respect?” she asked. “If you wish to propose once more to take me under your protection, you should know thatmy opinion has not changed. I will not become your mistress, sir.” She would not have thought Mrs. Dove-Lyon would arrange a meeting between them for such a purpose…but perhaps Asher had misled the widow as to his intentions.
“No, that is not what I wish to offer. You, my lady, have changed my mind about the prospect of marriage,” he murmured.
“I don’t understand how I could have possibly managed such a miracle,” she said with a shrug. She still wasn’t sure the man before her was talking with a sincere heart. A rogue, after all, was still a rake at heart and until he proved otherwise, she could think of him in no other way. How could she trust him and believe that he spoke the truth?
He reached out so quickly she didn’t have time to prepare herself before he pulled her glove off and took her bare hand. Those same tingling currents raced up her arm and when his thumb began to make a small circular motion on her skin, she knew with complete certainty that he felt it, too.
“Thisis how you have changed my mind, Patience,” he said repeating the gesture she had performed on him previously. But it was the sound of her given name in such a husky tone that had her heart fluttering inside her chest. Such a tone could be interpreted in so many different ways. The sound was like that of a lover, and she shivered inside.
“You feel it too, then,” she replied hoping he would confirm his feelings.
“I will no longer deny the connection between us that you spoke of. If marriage is the only way I can explore it, then I will not close myself off to the idea. The only question now is will you allow yourself the time to get to know me so we can find out together if we might suit?”
“How can you assure me that you will not take advantage of my kindness, using the ruse of courtship to persuade me intointimacies I would only allow to my husband?” she inquired softly while lowering her eyes.
He took hold of her chin giving her no choice but to look directly at the man who was slowly opening his heart to her. “I promise I will never hurt you, Patience, and will never ask more of you than what you are willing to freely give.”
“I am at a loss on what to think,” she said in a breathy whisper.
“Then don’t think. Let us take each day as they come.”
“And how will we spend the coming days, my lord? I suspect you are not entirely happy about the possibilities of rounds of balls and other Society events for the Season.”
“As much as I would like to spend as many hours as possible of the day alone with you, I fear that we will most likely not have many moments such as this for private conversations,” he said, and she swore she saw a small bit of unhappiness flash in his eyes.
She gave him a small smile as she had cherished the rare moments alone with him. “No more teasing between Hades and Persephone?”
He chuckled. “Maybe only when wedohave a stolen moment or two together.”
“I pray you know what you’re getting yourself into, Lord Rowley. I didn’t lie to you when I told you I was not raised within Society. I would hate for your reputation to be tarnished because of your association with me.”
He pulled her to her feet and stood close. “And I didn’t lie when I said perhaps we can fix things together. I will have my mother help with getting you accepted within theton.”
“Y-your m-mother?” she gasped out. “She hardly thinks the best of me and only tolerates me because of my care of your brother.”
“She will come around. Trust me.”
