“How unflinchingly bold you are, Miss Heyford. I agree to all your terms. Your skills are worth even more.”
His acquiescence unrooted her, and she flung herself at him, hugging him around the waist. It was reckless and impetuous, and Georgianna could not say what pushed her into his arms, but the earl did not ease her from him but returned her hug. They stayed like that for an endless moment before she untangled from his body and peered at him.
A hunger was brewing inside for his touch, and she did not want to deny its existence or argue it away. Only then did Georgianna realize she was still looking to see the naked longing within his eyes whenever his gaze rested on her. And there it was, burning dark and wanton. She leaned against the bookshelves, aware of the slight trembling in her body.Oh, Georgianna, do not do this!
“I’ve missed you,” he murmured, using his fingers to caress her cheek.
“Have you?” she asked, aware of the breathless ache in her voice.
“It is a befuddling awareness.”
Yes, her heart sang.Yes, yes, yes.“This is not wise,” she murmured, pressing a hand to his chest.
His hands lifted to her jaw, and her head tipped back. “Why not?”
His tone was rough with want, and she realized he might expect them to be lovers.Oh God. The wretched, dissolute rakehell!“Should I indulge in an affair with you, I might develop an inconvenient attachment, my lord.”
“There is nothing about you that would ever be inconvenient to me,” he said roughly.
Her heart started to race. “I am already falling in love with you.”
He faltered into astounding stillness.
“Would you love me in return, my lord? Or is it not in men of your consequences to love women as…inconsequential as those from small towns in the countryside?”
A shadow touched his eyes, and his expression grew unfathomable. “How direct you are.”
“Is that not the only way to deal with a gentleman with your power and influence?”
“I have not thought beyond knowing I want you more than I have ever wanted anything or anyone. That is a simple truth, Miss Heyford.”
Longing halted Georgianna’s breath. And then pain forced her to exhale. It was not a confession of anything that had meaning, and looking at the elegant, powerful man before her, she knew she could never be more to him than a lover…or a cook. The social divide between them and the evident wall around his heart were simply too great, and she understood now how ladies had become mistresses to men whose consequences and power far outweighed theirs. Her heart had been entangled, but they were a star in the sky she could not touch no matter how recklessly and boldly she reached.
Georgianna knew that despite this sensual passion and attachment between them, the earl would not dare offer for someone of such reduced circumstance or connection to theton. However, agony still pierced her chest, and she worked to mask the feelings. “Ground rules,” she said shakily. “There must be rules in our working relationship.”
“What rules, wi…Miss Heyford?”
His thumb feathered over her cheek, and she closed her eyes, letting that tender touch sink into the crevices of her body that had been cold since he last held her in his arms. It took immeasurable strength, but she stepped away, needing the space from his nearness.
“No ravishment,” she said, lifting her chin. “No seduction. If you can…promise this, I will gladly avail to reside under your roof for the duration of our agreement. If not, I will take lodgings at a hotel in St. James at your cost.”
His eyes gleamed with amusement and an expression she could not identify. The earl was so physically beautiful and appealing that he was dangerous to any person’s willpower.I can be a lady of stiff, moral rectitude, she silently wailed, then had to bite her lip from laughing at her absurdity.
“I’ll not touch you under this roof.”
She heard the distinction in his promise and recklessly thought it enough. “I also require half of the amount before I start working, my lord.”
“Done.”
His eyes were far too watchful and gleamed with a cunning sensuality that made her wonder if she had entered a trap. The earl walked over to his desk, wrote a bank draft for two hundred and fifty pounds, slipped it into an envelope, and handed it to her.
“Thank you, my lord.”
“You are welcome, Miss Heyford.”
“When is your grandmother’s birthday?”
“In four days.”
