Marquess of Menace (Lords of Scandal 10)

> He felt her tremble, her heartbeat quickening against his. It was like adding lamp oil to a fire. He pressed her closer, the curve of her hips, filling his hands.

Their kiss deepened and lengthened, their tongues sliding against each other over and over as they ground together. He wanted this woman.

Had from the first.

And now that she was in his arms, he didn’t know if he could stop.

But he had to.

His body refused to cooperate. A problem he was well acquainted with. He never followed the path he should.

That thought made him rip his mouth from hers.

Eliza, her body still pressed to his, gazed at him with hazy, passion-filled eyes, her cheeks flushed, her mouth puffy.

Dylan nearly came undone. It took every ounce of control not to dip his head back down and take her lips again.

Drawing in a cleansing gulp of air, he squeezed the roundness of her hips. “We can’t.”

Her chin pulled back. “Can’t? Why not? Didn’t you just propose?”

His eyes drifted closed as he continued to hold her. Pulling himself up straighter, he attempted to remember all the reasons that he’d wanted to keep distance between them. “Yes. I proposed. An arrangement. A business partnership of sorts. One that does not involve such personal connections.”

She sucked in a breath stepping back. “Your club is based on personal connections.”

He grimaced as he resisted the urge to pull her closer again. “Not like this.”

Her arms wrapped about her chest. “So you want to marry but not be intimate?”

“Something like that.” He supposed he hadn’t fully considered the implications of Eliza moving into his home for some length of time while he kept a respectable distance. As usual he was mucking up this plan.

She dropped her arms, her shoulders pulling straighter. “Forgive me but both our futures rest on this decision. I think it’s time that we decide upon a few more details.”

Scrubbing his face, Dylan twisted his neck, a crack filling the air. What had he gotten into this time? “How can you venture off to America if you’ve had a child?”

She blinked then. “That is a valid point.” Eliza turned away so that he looked at her profile as her chin dropped. “I don’t see myself as the sort of woman who would abstain from a physical relationship nor would I ever abandon a child. For both those reasons, I think it best that I say no to your offer.”

“No?”

“No.” Then she started for the door. Without another word, she opened the heavy wood panel and left the room. Left him standing and staring where she’d disappeared.

Chapter Nine

Eliza reached the hall and leaned against the wall, covering her face. What had she just done?

Unfortunately, she’d forgotten that all three of her sisters were also there…waiting. They descended like a flock of vultures.

“What happened?” Isabella asked.

“Did he hurt you?” Abigail demanded.

Emily touched her arm. “Should I get Bash?”

“No and no,” she said as she pushed back off the wall and started down the hall. The flock followed. “And I don’t want to talk about it.”

Abigail huffed behind her. “Sorry but that isn’t an option. What happened that has you so upset?”

She stopped, spinning around to her sisters. “He proposed.”