Love and the Single Heiress

dragged her eyes open with obvious effort, and he swallowed a groan of longing at the slumberous, languorous smolder in her golden brown depths. Surely there was something he should say to her. God knows his heart was close to bursting with all he felt for her. But he feared saying too much. Worried that if he spoke, he wouldn’t stop until he told her she owned his heart. Had owned it for much longer than she knew. Would always own it. Yet he knew he wouldn’t be able to contain the words much longer. Soon, she would know. And he prayed to God that telling her wouldn’t cost him what they now shared. Because as miraculous as it was, having her body simply wasn’t enough.

For several seconds she said nothing, just looked at him with an expression that seemed troubled. And confused. Then her expression cleared and a tiny smile lifted one corner of her lips, coaxing him to touch his lips to the spot. “Oh, my.” She sighed. “I just added to my list of firsts. That was my first time being led astray. I hope it isn’t my last.”

“I’d be delighted to oblige you at any time, my lady. You’ve only to ask.”

“I very much enjoyed my proper good-bye, Andrew.”

He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose. “That’s because it was your improper good-bye. And if you enjoyed that, I’m certain you’ll like tomorrow night’s proper, or rather improper, hello even more.”

“Oh, my. What does that mean?”

“I cannot tell you. It is a surprise.” When she appeared about to argue, he said, “Do I need to fetch the dictionary?”

“No.”She tilted her chin, feigning sticking her nose in the air. “However, I am therefore not going to tell you about the surprise I have planned.”

“A surprise? For me?”

“Perhaps,”she said airily.

“What is it?”

“Ha! Who requires the dictionary now?”

“How about a hint? Just a tiny one?” he asked, holding his thumb and forefinger close together.

A delightful sound that could only be described as a giggle bubbled from between her lips. “Absolutely not.”

Leaning forward, he brushed his tongue over the delicate shell of her ear. “Please?”

“Ooh. Well, perhaps… no. Definitely not.”

“Ah, a woman of strong will,” he murmured, skimming his fingers lightly down the center of her spine.

“As Today’s Modern Woman should be.”

“However, Today’s Modern Woman also knows that it is wise to make an indelible impression in her gentleman’s mind so he cannot ever completely dismiss her from his thoughts. Giving me a miniscule hint regarding the nature of your surprise would surely whet my appetite and guarantee that you’d remain uppermost in my mind while I’m away.”

She went perfectly still-except for her eyes, which narrowed. “What did you say?”

“That by giving me a hint-”

“Before that.”

Andrew frowned and thought for several seconds. “I believe I said, ‘Today’s Modern Woman also knows that it is wise to make an indelible impression in her gentleman’s mind so he cannot ever completely dismiss her from his thoughts.' Is that what you’re referring to?”

“Yes.”Her eyes narrowed further. “Where did you learn such a dung?”

“Why, from A Ladies‘ Guide, of course.”

Andrew had to clench his jaw to keep a straight face at her dumbfounded expression. “How on earth would you know what was written in A Ladies Guide?”

“Brace yourself, my dear, but one often does learn something when one reads.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve read the Guide.”

“Very well, I won’t tell you that, but why you’d want me to lie to you is a mystery.”

“You read the Guide?”

“Every word. Cover to cover.”

“When? Where? How?”

“Such an inquisitive nature. Let me see. As to when, the night before last-before we met at the springs. As for where, in my bedchamber. And to answer how, I purchased a copy the morning we departed London. Our conversation at your father’s party intrigued me, and I decided to read the tome to see what all the fuss was about. And I must confess, I was somewhat contrarily driven by the fact that you seemed so positive I would not read such drivel.”

“That was your description, not mine.”

“Was it? Well, I stand corrected.”

“Meaning what precisely?”

“That I found the Guide very… informative. And well written.”

There was no missing the smug satisfaction that fired in her eyes. “I believe I mentioned as much.”

“You did. Indeed, you defended the book and the author with the sort of fierce loyalty a mother tiger normally bestows upon her cubs.”

Crimson suffused her cheeks, and she averted her gaze. He brushed the pad of his thumb over the wash of brilliant color. “Surely you can understand why the book is causing such a scandal.”

Her blush deepened. “Yes, but I believe the information it provides women far outweighs any trodden-upon sensibilities. Charles Brightmore should be praised for what he’s done.”

“Again you fiercely defend him. Almost as if you… knew him.”

She pressed her lips together, then shifted out of his embrace. He let her go, watching her slide off the bed, then retrieve her robe, slipping her arms into the silk sleeves. After she’d tightened the sash around her waist, she turned to face him, her eyes intense with suppressed emotion.

“I defend him because God knows I wish I’d had access to the information provided by the Guide before I’d wed. Or at any time during the early days of my marriage. I went to my marriage bed knowing nothing about what to do or what to expect. I did not know women could experience pleasure during lovemaking. I had no idea lovemaking involved anything more than a few minutes in a darkened room with my nightgown rucked up to my waist. I didn’t know that the warmth that began during those few minutes could, if properly tended, ignite into a blazing inferno that scorched everything in its path. I did not know I was capable of the sort of lust and hunger that I’d always associated with men. Charles Brightmore taught me all those things and more. He taught me, encouraged me, to allow myself to feel those things. And to act upon them.”

“I see. You know, I’ve heard rumors that suggest Brightmore may in fact be a woman,” he remarked casually, watching her.

“Indeed? Where did you hear that?”

He rose, and adjusted his clothing while he spoke. “Most recently at your father’s birthday party. Personally, I think it’s intriguing, and entirely possible. Brightmore writes with an understanding of women that I’ve never before encountered in a man, no matter how sophisticated or worldly.” He smiled. “In case you aren’t aware, women are notoriously difficult to understand, yet Brightmore clearly does not suffer from the same confusions as the rest of us poor males.”

“Obviously he is well-versed in the ways of women.”

“Obviously. Yet it makes one curious as to how he gained such knowledge.”

“Through numerous intimacies, like the ones we’ve recently shared, I imagine,” she said, walking forward until they almost touched. She splayed her hands on his abdomen; yet even while he welcomed her touch, he had the undeniable suspicion that she was trying to distract him. But considering she was so very distracting, he shoved the suspicion aside.

“Perhaps,”he conceded. “You do realize, of course, that this now means that I am the winner of our wager.”

She cocked a brow. “Indeed? The wager that only last night you led me to believe I’d won?”

“I beg to differ. As I recall, you insisted, quite emphatically, that you’d won. I, in the spirit of being a