And he was fidgeting with something in his hands.
At the sight of his rugged profile, she licked her lips.
“Justin.”
He didn’t turn to look at her right away but tipped his head and stared down at his hands first.
When he did deign to look her way, his expression drew a smile from her. So intense, this man. So sincere and filled with character.
“I must warn you,” he finally said. “If you refuse to marry me this time, your reputation will remain in tatters.”
She ought to be concerned at such words, but her heart lifted instead.
“Tatters, you say? And why is that, my lord?” She took a few steps forward. The room glowed a golden hue as the sun breathed its last glow before dusk.
“I’m afraid you’ve been thoroughly compromised at last, and all of London is privy to such information. In fact, the magistrate’s account is likely to appear in theGazettetomorrow.” He strode across the room and lifted both her hands to his lips. “Along with the announcement of our pending wedding. If you’ll have me, that is.”
And then he dropped to one knee.
Nothing in the world had prepared her for the feelings she would experience as she watched Justin White kneel before her, grasping her hands, head tilted back so that he might allow nothing but love to flow from that blue gaze of his. “Marry me, Rhoda. Put me out of my misery. Make me the happiest of men. I beg of you.”
This was the proposal she’d dreamed of. But even more importantly, this was the man of her dreams.
A man filled with goodness, character, and honesty. A man she could trust her life with, their future children’s security, health, and well-being.
A man she loved with all her heart.
“I won the bet.” He grimaced. “It was the only thing I could think to do that would convince you of my worth.”
She dropped down to the floor before him. “You sacrificed your honor for me.” She’d suspected as much but to hear him declare it took her breath away. “For us.”
He nodded. “I love you. Now, are you going to put me out of my misery with some sort of answer?”
“I love you, Justin. I would have married you regardless. You didn’t need to, you know.” But she’d hold onto the fact that he had until her dying day. For she knew what his honor meant to him.
And then she was in his arms, his mouth on hers. “You are such a gift. My prize. My love. I refuse to wait for banns to be read. I’ll obtain a special license. I hear that’s a benefit of holding a title.” His hands were in her hair. They’d both been on their knees but in a matter of seconds lay on the rug together.
“Oh, Justin.” She pressed her body against his. She wanted to cry. “I believe my mother is just outside the door.”
He froze, and she felt him take in a deep breath. “Of course.”
And then she couldn’t keep herself from laughing. “Oh, my love. Ah, my love.” She buried her face in the crisp folds of his cravat. “This is killing me.”
And then he was laughing, too.
“It is my penance.” He kissed the top of her head. “She is in the foyer? You are certain?” One hand was inching the hem of her skirt higher. Rhoda shifted so he could slide his hand beneath it.
“She told me she would join us shortly.”
Rhoda’s hand drifted down the front of his shirt, and then lower, locating the bulge in his breeches. The very large bulge.
“How shortly?” His hand grazed the tops of her thighs, just above her garters. All the while, he trailed hot kisses across her shoulders, her throat.
Logical thought fled. His mouth igniting an inferno of need…
“Do we have some news in here?” Of course, her mother’s voice.
Cold air hit her as Justin began crawling around on the floor. “Absolutely, but my fiancée has dropped the ring I presented to her. Oh, here it is.”
