“I have already told you I am not one of them, and obviously, neither is the Duke of St.Albans,” she reminded.“I would also have thought, considering how far away Moreland Park is from the nearest village or town, that the majority of your servants reside in this house too.”
“They do, yes…”
“Then we are not alone.”
He released a frustrated sigh.“You are missing the point.”
“No, I do not believe I am,” Georgiana insisted.“Isee nothing wrong in the two of us living here together.In fact”—that becoming blush colored her cheeks again—“now that I have met and spoken with you, I am very much looking forward to it.”
Julian swallowed, unsure whether he was reading too much into that statement or if it was just wishful thinking on his part.
Surely Georgiana could not be admitting she was as attracted to him as he was to her?
“I am, yes,” she answered, alerting Julian to the fact that he must have spoken those last words out loud.“As a member of the Spinsters Alliance, we have all dismissed any idea of being forced into a marriage with a man we do not love.But that does not mean we cannot admit to feeling an attraction toward one or act upon it.I feel no compunction in admitting to feeling that attraction toward you.”
“Georgiana—”
“As I have said, I have no interest in marriage,” she continued firmly, “and after your own short foray into that institution, you obviously now feel the same aversion to it.As you are, without a doubt, the most handsome and interesting gentleman I have ever met, and I do not find our exchanges in the leasttediouseither, I see little point in denying that attraction.”
“You cannot say such things to me!”he protested.
“And yet I just did,” she reasoned calmly.
It was not often that Julian felt unsure of his footing, and yet at this moment, that was exactly how he felt.
Was Georgiana really saying what he thought she was?
That she, a single young lady of theton, not only found him attractive but that she would be willing to—willing to— Even the thought of it was enough to cause Julian’s cock to pulse and harden.
He had already spent one night desiring and resisting this woman.Her words implied he did not have to continue to do so.A knowledge that tested his self-control to its limits.
She gave a wry chuckle.“Do not look so horrified by my candor, Your Grace.”
“Julian,” he bit out, totally distracted by his cock continuing to engorge in reaction to what she had just said to him.
She gave a nod.“Georgiana.”
“Then, Georgiana, I feel compelled to tell you that your comments to me just now were highly improper when spoken to a married man.”He forced himself to answer in the way he knew was appropriate.
“A possibly married man,” she instantly corrected.“Even if you are still married, your wife obviously chose to abandon both you and that marriage two years ago.You have already admitted it was an unhappy marriage for you.I have no idea of your…physical arrangements since the end of your marriage, nor do I need to know when they are not relevant to me,” she assured him.
There had been no women in his bed during or after his marriage.And that included his wife.But, much as Julian admired and desired the woman standing in front of him, his pride would not allow him to admit that.
Instead, he shook his head.“None of that changes my marital status.”
“I do not recall saying that it did.”Georgiana gave another chuckle at his no doubt nonplussed expression.He truly had never met a woman of such honesty.“Julian, the example of my parents’ marriage means that I never wish to enter into that state myself, hence my membership in the Spinsters Alliance.But none of the six members of that group made a pledge of chastity.”
“St.Albans’s wife and daughter are two of those six members,” he reminded.
“Exactly,” she drawled with a pointed rise of her brows.
“Oh,” Julian murmured when the truth of what Georgiana was saying became clear.“I cannot believe we are having this conversation!”he muttered self-disgustedly.
“I can,” she soothed.“But I believe the two of us should get to know each other better before we…explore that situation on a deeper level.Do you agree?”She gave him a warm smile.
It was that warmth in Georgiana’s manner and the curves of her body that Julian, deprived of human touch and kindness for so long, found himself unable to dismiss completely.He craved that warmth like a flower did sunlight.
“Also, I am sure you would not want to insult the Duke of St.Albans, after his kindness in sending me here to assist you, by immediately sending me back to London without so much as allowing me the opportunity to prove my worth,” she challenged.
