Page 75 of Because You're Mine
“It’s a list…a-an estimate of the expenses for the ball. Obviously some things must be eliminated, and I would like your advice—”
“Come here and show it to me.” He moved his chair back from the desk and patted his knee, wearing an expression that made her uneasy.
Approaching him with caution, Madeline sat gingerly on his lap, her spine held straight. “Perhaps you would be more comfortable if I sat over there—”
“I’m perfectly comfortable,” he said, his arm tightening until she reclined against his chest. Taking the paper from her, he glanced down the list of numbers. To Madeline’s amazement, he seemed to find nothing untoward. “It’s more or less what I expected,” he said calmly.
“It’s going to cost afortune,” Madeline replied. “I kept telling the duchess there was no need to be so extravagant, but she kept ordering the best of everything, and doubling the amounts I asked for, and…why are you smiling like that?”
“I had no idea you were so reluctant to spend my money, sweet.” Logan discarded the list and resettled Madeline on his chest. “Prudence is a fine thing, but you’re hardly a fiddler’s wife.”
“Of course not, but…what will we live on for the rest of the year?”
He toyed with the lace at the neckline of her bodice and pulled gently at the gauzy scarf that covered her throat and collarbone. A smile touched the corners of his mouth. “You can set your mind at ease, Maddy. We could comfortably afford a ball like this every week for the rest of our lives.”
Perplexed, she stared at him, her brow wrinkling. “You…we…have as much as all that?”
“Four estates, not including a hunting lodge in Wiltshire.” Noting her interest, he continued casually. “We also own a yacht, a brewery, a building yard and tilery, and holdings in a colonial mining company. In addition, I’ve invested in railroad and shipping stocks, which are producing excellent revenue. Then, of course, there is the art collection and the theater, as well as other assorted properties.” He seemed amused by her thunderstruck expression. “You may open accounts wherever you choose, madam. I have no doubt that I have the means to afford you.”
It took a moment for Madeline to gather her wits. It appeared that she had married into a fortune greater than that of her parents or either of her sisters, and larger by far than Lord Clifton’s.
Logan watched her expression and laughed suddenly, as if he could read her thoughts. “Before you get too high for your buttons, madam, remember that I’m not a member of the peerage, and none of your children will have titles.”
“That doesn’t matter to me,” Madeline replied, while her heart quickened at the implication that they would have more children.
“It may to them.”
“They won’t need titles to distinguish them. They’ll learn to stand on their own accomplishments, as you have.”
“Why, Mrs. Scott.” His mouth curved in a mocking smile. “I believe you’re trying to flatter me.”
As he shifted her on his lap, Madeline felt the hard ridge of his sex straining beneath her, and she flushed. Although his advances were hardly unwelcome, it was improper behavior for the middle of the day. One of the servants might walk in, or someone might pay a call. “Logan,” she said faintly as his mouth slid along her throat, “I…have so many things to do…”
“So do I.” He began to unfasten the front of her gown, brushing away her hands as she tried to deter him.
“What if one of the maids comes in?” Madeline asked, quivering as he slid his hand inside her bodice to fondle her breast.
“I’ll tell her to leave.” He reached beneath her skirts, his fingers delving inside her linen undergarments and searching the most sensitive parts of her body. His eyes narrowed in excitement as he pulled her to straddle him, and there was a rending sound as he tore the delicate fabric of her drawers.
“Not here…let’s go upstairs,” Madeline begged, turning scarlet with distress. His body was hard and powerful between her thighs, sleek muscles flexing as he positioned her to ride him.
“Here,” Logan countered, reaching down to unfasten his trousers. A short, breathless laugh escaped him as she squirmed on his lap. “Stop watching the damned door.”
“I can’t help it.” She gasped as she felt him enter her, a hard pressure that slid easily within her moist depths. “Oh, we shouldn’t—”
“Put your arms around me,” he said, his voice guttural. Muttering instructions, he guided her with his hands as she rode up and down his swollen length.
Madeline’s eyes closed with pleasure, her hands clawing over his waistcoat and shirt, groping blindly for his solid shoulders. They strained and arched together, while Logan muffled her soft groans with his mouth. She would never have believed herself capable of it…wantonly straddling him, thrusting herself on him, discarding every scrap of propriety that had been instilled in her every day of her adult life. But Logan encouraged, demanded, that she abandon all shame in his arms. He filled her with each downward push, the current of pleasure rising higher and faster, until she shook with spasms of ecstasy. Logan’s body went taut beneath her. The crescent of his teeth pressed into her shoulder, the hint of pain somehow intensifying her shivering delight.
Afterward, while Madeline collapsed against his chest, Logan smiled into her disheveled hair. “All those mornings at the Capital, when you helped me with those piles of correspondence…I wanted to do this with you.”
“This?” Madeline repeated, lifting her head to look at him drowsily. She felt disoriented, giddy, as if she had been drinking. “I had no idea.”
“If you would have looked in the right place, madam, you would have seen ample evidence.”
“Oh.” Raising herself on her elbows, she smiled at him. “In that case, I insist that you have no female secretaries.”
“You’re the only woman I want,” Logan said gruffly, fighting the urge to cuddle her like a kitten and give voice to the endearments that filled his mind. His face hardened, and he heard himself add…“For now.”
