“But you won’t consider my wishes at all?”
“Certainly I will consider them.”
“Then why won’t you at least think about my proposal?”
“No,” Heath repeated adamantly. “It’s out of the question.”
With that staunch declaration, he rose from the bed and went to the washstand, where he wet a cloth from a ewer and washed his loins. When he strode naked back to the bed, Lily found her gaze riveted on his beautiful, muscular body-until he commanded her to lie back.
Warm color suffused her face as he carefully washed away the traces of seed and the pink tinge of blood from her thighs and the area between. Lily drew a shaky breath at the intimate gesture, but Heath’s touch was completely perfunctory, not seductive in the least.
Neither was his tone as he returned the cloth to the washbasin. “You can’t have considered the consequences of your proposition, Lily. You would lose all respectability if you became my light-o’-love.”
“Our affair would have to be kept secret, of course.”
“We could not keep an arrangement secret for long. And until then, we would have to sneak around to avoid scandal. You couldn’t go about town with me, or be seen anywhere in public. You would have to hide in the shadows, just as you do now.”
Heath crossed to the bed again, but this time he sat beside her. “I won’t be content with a few stolen hours together now and then. What kind of life would that be for us? What kind of future would we have? We most certainly couldn’t have a family without marriage.”
“I forgot,” Lily murmured, reluctantly meeting his gaze. “You want heirs.”
“Eventually, yes. What about you, Lily? Are you telling me you don’t want children?”
She wasn’t able to say any such thing, but her desire for children was not strong enough to overcome her objections to matrimony. “Not if it means I must marry.”
His gaze searched hers. “Why this sudden turnabout? Why this insistence on our becoming lovers before our game is even over?”
He was completely serious, Lily realized, deciding she owed him the same seriousness. “The truth is, I don’t want you taking another woman as your mistress.”
He stared at her for a brief moment. “I don’t want any other woman for my mistress. I want you.”
“You say that now, but as soon as the marriage lines are dry, you may change your mind.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I won’t argue with you or offer vows of fidelity when you won’t believe me anyway.”
“I won’t argue with you, either, Heath. But I mean to persuade you to listen to me.” Giving him a soft smile, Lily raised her fingers to his lips. “I know I have a long way to go before I can hope to satisfy a man of your vast experience and expertise, but I think I could become skilled enough in time. You could teach me what I need to know.”
“You already satisfy me, Lily. And I suspect you would make the best mistress I have ever known. But I am not interested.”
She reached down and lightly touched his flaccid member. “At least let me show my appreciation for your generosity…how grateful I am to you for helping my friends.”
Her offer caused his gaze to narrow. There was real anger in his eyes as his fingers closed about her wrist and held her hand away. “I won’t even dignify that with a reply.”
Standing abruptly, Heath retrieved his clothing and began to dress.
“You are leaving?” Lily asked in dismay.
“Yes, and so are you.” Bending, he picked up her gown and tossed it to her. “Put this on.”
Distractedly Lily clutched the garment to her naked breasts. “But I thought we would spend the night together.”
“We don’t have that right. We aren’t legally wed.”
“Heath…I want to make love to you again.”
He shot her a dismissive glance. “What you want is beside the point. I’m not touching you again.”
Lily raised her eyes to the ceiling in exasperation. “I have already lost my virtue to you. It hardly matters now how many times we make love.”