Page 17 of A Private Wager

“You had no choice, my lord,” the magistrate said. “He’d have never quit. Envy can make a monster of even the best of men.”

Those were the last words Barton heard.

***

Lucy was waiting in their bedchamber. She’d had no notion what to make of it when Harrison had informed the butler that her bags were to be placed in his chamber. Her parents, prior to her mother’s death, had never shared a room. Her father and stepmother certainly didn’t. But then she hardly wanted a marriage that in any way resembled either of those relationships, so perhaps he knew best.

When the door opened, she rose. A servant had already informed her of what had occurred—that Mr. Barton Warfield had been shot dead. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Better than I ought to be, quite honestly,” he replied. “I have no notion who that man was, but he wasn’t the cousin I grew up with. He wasn’t the man I knew. His jealousy and greed twisted him into something I no longer recognized.”

It was the most natural thing in the world to approach him, to wrap her arms around him. It wasn’t about heat and passion so much as comfort. “I am sorry. I know it hurts you.”

His arms closed about her, pressing her against him until she had to stand on her tiptoes. “Nothing hurts me right now. I have you with me. That’s all that matters…and our wedding night has been delayed long enough.”

On that point, she was in complete agreement. “Then make me your wife…in every way.”

She was not prepared for what he did next. War simply scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. It took her breath away. “I’m too heavy.”

“You’re perfect,” he insisted.

When he deposited her on the bed, coming down on top of her, she didn’t have to breathe to utter another protest. He’d robbed her of it with his nearness, with the firm press of his body and the heated gaze which traveled over her like a caress. Then he kissed her, his mouth moving over hers with a kind of sensual promise that left her trembling.

He continued to kiss her in that way. She was so distracted by it, she hardly noticed when he removed her clothes. One item at a time, he stripped them from her until she wore only her thin shift. Then his hands were moving over her, tracing the curves of her body in a way that made her feel as if she were floating. It was all languid heat and pleasure…and the anticipation of more.

“Is it all like this?” she asked.

“It only gets better,” he vowed.

“Show me.”

And he did.

EPILOGUE

Three Months Later

They were in London for The Season. It was an entirely new experience for Lucy to be choosing from all the many invitations that had already descended upon them. Apparently, her newly married status to a man who had been reported to be a confirmed bachelor had dramatically increased the social demand for her presence.

“We’ve been invited to a ball by Lady Pandora,” she said, as Harrison entered the morning room where she was sorting through her correspondence.

“That makes the gift I have for you even more perfect,” he replied, placing a velvet box before her.

Lucy’s eyebrows raise, and a delighted smile spread across her lips. “You are spoiling me.”

“Why shouldn’t I? You are very easy to spoil, Viscountess Harcourt, and I thoroughly enjoy it. Now, open the box.”

Lucy freed the latch on the box and lifted the lid. Nestled inside was a parure of delicately etched gold set with sapphires. It was beyond beautiful. “This is too much!”

“It isn’t. The necklace is a family piece. We’ve had it for ages The others I commissioned to match, and they will look stunning on you,” he said. “Now, leave those invitations for later and come upstairs with me so you may thank me properly.”

She laughed. “Since when do we need to go upstairs for that? Just yesterday we did unspeakable things on your desk in the study.”

He eyed the dainty writing table. “My desk is a bit sturdier. That one will not survive the things I want to do to you.”

“There’s always the settee,” she offered with a sly and seductive smile. Their mutual desire for one another, along with his unwavering attentions, had given her a kind of confidence she had never known until he came into her life. He made her feel beautiful. But she had no chance to reflect on it further. He had grasped her hand and was pulling her toward the aforementioned piece of furniture with single-minded determination.

Once there, he seated himself and then pulled her down on top of him until she was sprawled inelegantly and very intimately across his lap. The position put them eye to eye and very nearly lip to lip. But before it went any further, she had to say it. The words had been weighing heavily on her. A dozen times they’d been on the tip of her tongue, and she’d bitten them back. But it was time. Surely, if she could bare her body to him without qualm, it shouldn’t be so difficult to bare her heart?

“I love you,” she blurted out.

Harrison smiled at her, his hands gently cupping her face. “I know. I have known for some time. Just as I hope you know how much I love you. And how much I desire you.”

“Now, as I believe I’ve told you in the past, show me.”

His gaze heated. “That wager was the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“To us,” she corrected, even as she reached for his elegantly tied cravat. She slipped it free and dropped it to the floor. As buttons were freed and clothing was rearranged, there was no longer a need for words. They could communicate everything they needed through touch, through the giving and receiving of pleasure.

And when it was done, when they were breathless and replete, Lucy snuggled against his chest and wondered how it was that she’d inadvertently gotten everything she had ever wanted… all because of one foolishly undertaken private wager.