‘No.’
Then, suddenly, a grin curved up one corner of my mouth. ‘There’s always an alternative, you know.’
He blinked. Mr Rikkard Ambrose actually blinked.
‘Alternative?’
‘Yes. We could try living in sin.’
Only on very few occasions had I been privileged enough to see something akin to a facial expression flicker over that stone mask he called his face. Never before had
it been as sweet as this one.
‘I beg your pardon, Miss Linton?’
‘You have it,’ I told him generously. ‘So, would you like to take my clothes off now?’
The temperature in the in the room instantly shifted. But did it go up or down, or all over the place? I had no idea. His eyes were suddenly burning into mine in an entirely new way, and shivers were shooting up and down my spine. I was hot and cold and everything beyond, all at once. When his hands dug into my arms, pulling me hard against his chest, my breath hitched.
‘Have you lost your mind, Miss Linton?’
‘I don’t know, Sir. Would you like me to check my pockets?’
His sea-coloured gaze devoured my eyes, my face, my entire body. ‘I am a gentleman, Miss Linton. I have done many things in my life - fought, threatened, even killed when it was necessary. But never have I ever taken advantage of a woman.’
One corner of my mouth quirked up. ‘Only because you thought it would be a waste of your precious time.’
‘Well yes, but-’
‘Thought as much.’
His grip tightened even more. For a moment, it became almost painful. Almost. ‘My motivation is not the issue here!’
‘Isn’t it?’ Slowly, I leaned toward him until my breath was skimming over his skin. I felt him stiffen under my hands. ‘There’s no need for promises or lifelong commitments. You want me. I want you, and have given up wondering why. Let’s do this. Right here. Right now.’
‘No. Marry me!’
‘No. Seduce me!’
‘That,’ he ground out between clenched teeth,’ is what you are doing to me, Miss Linton.’
‘Oh? Well… I guess I am.’ I grinned. ‘Is it working?’
‘No!’
‘Too bad.’ Riding up on my tiptoes, I brought my mouth to his throat, skimming my lips over his skin, up to his ear. ‘Are you sure?’
A muscle in his jaw twitched with the effort to remain immobile. I kissed his neck, and his entire body shuddered. ‘I. Am. A. Gentleman.’
‘What,’ I whispered, sliding one hand up to the top button of his tailcoat, ‘if I don’t want you gentle?’
Something snapped. Maybe something in him. Maybe something in both of us. In an instant, I was pushed back against the door, the hard surface heating beneath me. Grabbing my hands, Mr Ambrose slammed them against the wood.
‘These are too dangerous to be allowed to roam free,’ he growled.
Breathing heavily, I gazed up into his mesmerising eyes. ‘I could say the same of you, Sir.’
‘No, you couldn’t.’