He closed the door to the library—her library—and leaned against it. “You’re right, I am. And, damn, I’m enjoying it.”
She turned to face him, propped her hip against the bookshelf, and willed her heart to quiet its mad romp. She searched her mind for what to say, how to thank him, how to tell him. But only tears came, in great, heaving gulps.
He reached her in seconds and pulled her into his arms. “Raine, don’t. This is meant to be the happiest of places. Almost from the first moment at the duke’s home, I’ve dreamed about creating this spot for you. Don’t cry. Please, you’ll have me on my knees in moments.”
She melted into him, his heart thumping beneath her cheek. “I love it. I love you. But you don’t have to…do so much.” She sniffled, unused to emotional displays when she’d been profoundly expressive since the day of their wedding at Hartland Abbey five weeks earlier. “Give so much.”
He tipped her chin high, his smile contrite. “This next bit may not help your tears subside.”
“What?” she breathed. “There’s more?”
He reached in his trouser pocket, retrieved a small wrapped parcel with a hand that shook. “I’d like to say this is nothing, but it’s everything. More than the sapphire on your finger, more than this library and the phaeton put together.” Tapping the package to his chest, he whispered, “This is my heart.”
She unwrapped the parchment, knowing before she looked inside what he’d given her. The watch was delicately crafted, smaller, and more elegant than his usual pieces; the silver case etched with roses interwoven with her initials. The chain was one she recognized. “I thought I’d lost this,” she murmured and brought the timepiece to her chest.
“Too fine to be a bookmark, I agree.”
“There was never anything wrong with the filigree, was there?”
He shook his head. “No. But like my heart, I knew it was yours. There’s an inscription on the inside.”
Snapping the case open, she saw the words and felt her heart drop: at first sight. “Kit…” Her eyes stung, and she blinked rapidly. “I will treasure this forever.”
He pressed a tender kiss to her brow, her temple, her cheek. “Darling, I’m a watchmaker. This can’t be that much of a surprise.”
“But you’ve never,” she sniffled again and tucked herself into him, “the wenches.”
His chest rumbled with his laughter. “Never have I given a wench a watch. You are the first. The only.”
“That’s good,” she said into his now-damp linen shirt. “Because when the ton sees this, every woman in London will demand one. Prinny will have you make one for Maria Fitzherbert, you can certainly bet.”
“I’ll avoid that if I can.” Taking her shoulders, he moved her back a step and reached into his trouser pocket.
“Oh, no more, Kit.” She backed away, shaking her head until her hair fell like a shroud around her face. “My heart can’t take it.”
He grinned, a wicked, knowing turn of his lips. “This gift, the third and final for today, is perhaps more for me.” Crossing to the door, he fit a key into the lock and turned the tumblers with a snap. “The sturdiest bolt in England, or so I’m told. Enough to keep out even the most inquisitive of valets.”
“Penny doesn’t have a copy?”
Christian pocketed the key and leaned against the door with a licentious smirk. “No, and he’ll never get one. This room is ours.”
She tilted her head toward the chaise lounge. “That looks sturdy.”
“Hmm, very. I selected it myself.”
Giving her watch a swift glance, she crooked her finger, beckoning. “Do you have time to assist me with a project?” She flipped a button on her bodice. “A particularly knotty one, requiring a most refined touch.”
Everything he felt for her swept his face, filled his eyes—matching every wondrous thing filling hers. Pushing off the door, he moved to her. “Darling, I thought you’d never ask.”
The lock held.
And the love lasted.
THE END
Thanks!
Thank you for taking the time (Kit would love this reference) to read Tempting the Scoundrel! Who knew watchmaking in Regency England could be so sexy?
If you’d like to experience more luscious Regency Splendor, stick around for a tantalizing excerpt from Amanda Mariel’s Courting Temptation, the fourth book in the House of Devon series.
The opening book in the series, The House of Devon is FREE! Click here to read it.
House of Devon Series
Below stairs is where the romance begins…
FREE! The House of Devon by Amanda Mariel and Tammy Andresen FREE!
A Touch of Temptation by Ellie St. Clair
Tempting the Scoundrel by Tracy Sumner
Courting Temptation by Amanda Mariel
Tempting the Footman by Lauren Smith
Tempted by the Windflower by Sue London
Tempting Miss Daisy by Tammy Andresen
Tempting Taffy by Meara Platt
Chapter One
Yorkshire England, 1818
The hot summer sun beat down on Miss Tabetha Barkley as she made her way down the Duke of Devon’s crushed stone drive. The sun had just crested the horizon when she had set out on her errand. It now hung high above. She used the corner of her thin shawl to wipe the sweat away from her brow. The combination of heat and nerves was stifling.
She slowed her pace as she approached the circle in the drive that surrounded a grand fountain so large it
