Tears sparked her eyes. “Kit, you don’t have to tell me this.”
“Oh, yes, I do. I absolutely do. You said we don’t know each other well, so here I am. Like my tools, laid out on the duke’s desk, ready for inspection.” He curled his fingers into a fist against the door. “Tavistock House was a desperate destination, though I had nowhere else to go. The earl not far from my father in temperament, unfortunately, which I could no longer countenance. I knew within three days of arrival that I couldn’t stay. He was wretched and…I loathed him almost as much as I feared him. I’d been offered an apprenticeship with a watchmaker, one I decided to accept without delay.” Laughing, he pressed a playful kiss to her cheek. “Then, I saw you. The very night I sent the note to Cambridge announcing my plans to arrive, there you were. In that darkened corner, bathed in moonlight, pressing a book against the globe of an oil lamp. I was like a butterfly caught in a net, immediate entrapment. Visceral. Gut-deep. Final. You must believe me. I beg you to believe me when I say I knew in one second that you were the only woman for me. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, but it was true for me.”
She slipped her hand over his lips, but he simply kissed her palm, this caress not playful, bringing a needy sound from her that shocked them both.
Drawing her fingers to cup his cheek, he leaned in until his lips grazed hers. “I didn’t have the courage to stumble down the marble staircase at Tavistock House and introduce myself to the girl on the veranda. So I’ll do that now. Christian Emory Bainbridge, pleased to make your acquaintance. Now that that’s over, will you please marry me?” Then he slanted his head, his lips covering hers, taking possession, branding her as she’d branded him on a lonely night ten years ago.
Tunneling her fingers in his hair, she gave the strands a tug, her nails gently scraping his scalp. Touched her tongue to his and shyly began an erotic dance. Stepping between her legs, fitting himself as close to her as he could while standing, he murmured an approving hum that mixed with another of those enchanting sounds she freed when she liked what he was doing.
He would enjoy learning what she desired. Needed. Loved. What made her heart race, her skin flush. Like his watches, he’d study her until he could disassemble the unique pieces of her to find the glorious, perfect fit.
He’d spend a lifetime making sure happiness and pleasure were never far from reach.
Predictably, the door opened as they were losing themselves in each other, sending Raine stumbling into Christian. Penny peered around the open space, one brow rising, a trick he’d perfected in his chipped mirror until he had it down, only putting in the effort because women appreciated it and invited him into their beds that much quicker.
Penny took them in with a flat smile, snorting as Raine danced away from Christian.
She straightened her sad mobcap, smoothed her dress, and tugged on her apron before throwing up her hands in mortification and slithering through the doorway without a backward glance.
Penny shoved Christian back a step when he tried to follow. “Get a grip on yourself, man. I don’t know what’s happening in that usually gifted brain of yours, but if you don’t want to ruin her position in this household, ruin your relationship with Devon, you should let your able manservant assist with this scandalous post-encounter as you look like you’ve been dipped in something sticky and are not yet dry. And she looked about the same.”
Christian muttered an oath and yanked his hand through his hair. “I asked her again, much better this proposal, romantic even, and then there you were, barreling in.” He brought his knuckle to his mouth, winced. “Cut my lip on her tooth when she bumped into me. Your timing is impeccable, Mister Pennington, utterly impeccable.”
“At your service, sire.” Penny gave Christian’s cravat a rectifying yank. “You didn’t allow for much time between proposals. A tad desperate, isn’t it?” He yawned, stretched his shoulders like he’d just woken from a nap. “You think she’ll accept?”
Slapping Penny’s hand away, he growled, “How should I know?”
His valet’s brow rose, that odious trick again. “You couldn’t tell from the kiss? My, you are losing your touch.” He released a sardonic smile and leaned lazily against the doorjamb. “At least marriage means I won’t have to deliver any more necklaces to departing mistresses. No joy in that task. Remember that crazy countess who pulled the pistol on me? Can only be thankful she had no idea how to use it.” He crossed the room and collapsed in the chair Raine had recently vacated, gave the air a little sniff as if
