with ‘however,’ that I am going to heartily dislike what follows.” Daniel sighed impatiently.
“I bow to your superior knowledge on the subject,” Alice acknowledged dryly as she looked at him with calm green eyes. “It is my intention for our marriage to initially be in name only. In other words, my lord, until such time as we know each other better, I agree to share your home but not your bed.”
No, not tedious at all! “In that case, Alice, perhaps we should make a start on ‘knowing each other better’…?”
Daniel was suddenly standing much too close, Alice realized slightly dazedly, the warmth of his breath stirring the tendrils of hair at her temples, her own eyes wide with trepidation as his mocking blue gaze held her captive.
Then his head lowered and his lips were soft against hers, gently exploring as he took her into his arms before deepening the kiss. The warmth of his tongue stroked against her lips, parting them before thrusting inside, the caresses making Alice’s body burn as his hands moved down the length of her spine to curve about her bottom and pull her into him.
Alice was at once aware of the hardness of his thighs and of the way they pressed so intimately against her, causing a sudden heat between her own legs. Her breasts swelled against the tight bodice of her gown, her pleasure deepening as Daniel moved a hand to cup one of those burgeoning mounds, his thumb caressing the hardened tip with an expertise that left her breathless.
At the same time Alice suddenly became aware of exactly where, and on whom, she had last smelled the woman’s perfume that now clung so insidiously to the earl’s elegant jacket.
“No!” Alice regained her dignity with effort as she put her hands firmly against the earl’s chest and held herself away from his seduction. “I am firm in my resolve, sir. I refuse—I will not become your wife, in the fullest sense of the word, until you have wooed and won me.”
Daniel’s eyes widened incredulously as his arms dropped from about her and he took a step backward. “‘Wooed and won’ you…?”
“Exactly, my lord.” Alice gave a measured inclination of her head, grateful that the length of her gown hid the slight trembling of her lower limbs. “If you wish for me to fully become your wife, the mother of your heir, then first I will need to be convinced that your emotions are as engaged as other parts of your body.” A delicate blush colored her cheeks in acknowledgment of her awareness of the earl’s arousal.
She might well blush, Daniel scowled darkly. How dare this chit come here and ask—no, demand!—that he court her like some lovesick youth? “That will only happen when hell freezes over!” he bit out harshly. Having observed during his childhood and beyond the deep and abiding love his mother felt for his father, as opposed to his father’s complete indifference to her, he knew that love for one’s spouse was as destructive as it was painful.
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