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"Nohy do you suppose that is? "

"So they would know that any heirs born of the union are theirs, " he answered

"Oh, of course, "she said with a sneer "That must be it It wouldnot be another way tocontrol wohtly "No doubt they enjoy the fact that it alsomakes women behavea certain way But thefact is, a man - even myself - does not wish to leave his family estate and name to sohtly;then she nodded herhead"I suppose I can understand how that s, " she ad about mysituation is normal I amthe one with the land andtitle I also must produce anheir And as it is a businessdeal, whohts in thecloser, she pushed his undoneshirt off his shoulders, licking a path froht nipple upto his neck asshe did Then shepressed her breasts against his chest, kissed himjustbelow the ear, and murmured, "Help me makea baby"

Daniel was tempted Oh, dear Lord, was he tempted He had never been quite soat hiher down tothe carpet, push her skirtsupto her belly, crawl between her sweet legs, and thrust himself into her untilhe cried out and spilled his seed

Unfortunately, he wasn’t sofargone that his brain didn’tstill work, and it was pointing outthe reasons whyheshouldn’t For instance, it certainly wouldnot help hi to marry And if he did have to marry sooahead and takewhat she wasoffering, and shemarried one ofthoseother oafs on her list of suitors, he would be i what itfelt like to do so That would be sheer torture Then again, sheto continueto allow him access to her body aftershe marriedone of those other oafs - but he would still know that when she went ho between her sweetthighs On top of that, what if his seed took? If hedid take her as he wanted to, and she did produce a child as she must to inherit, he would alonder if the child was his, and would have tolive with the factthat so doith a start as she squeezed his hard h his pants, Daniel stared at her with fascination She wanted him That desireritten all over herface Hercheeks were flushed, her eyesheld a mixtureof desire and impatience, and her naked nipples stoodproud and erect Aye, shewanted him BadlyHmmm Mayhap this eapon he could usein hiswar forher hand in , hecrossed his arlaredown hisnose at her self-righteously "Nay"

She blinked once, then drew her head back in ayou have a childthat willbear someone else’sname, " he announced primly But then he added, "However, if youwouldcare to reconsider and agreeto ed to - "

"All right"

Daniel paused and stared at her in aht? "

"Aye All right, " she repeated, thenreached up to tugher gown off hershouldersIt droppedto thefloor, leaving herstandingin apoolof silk in just a pair of tightblack breeches

Very nice tightblackbreeches, he decided, taking a stepback toward herbeforecatching hiazed at her face suspiciously for atoher clarify, and he watched a struggle take place on her face; then she snapped, "I a away, hecontinuedhiswalk to thesideboard, pouredhiulp

"Thurborne!" she snapped again, stolance ather, then wheeled abruptlyback to thesideboard Damn, she was a sexy littlebundle when she was furious!"Call me Daniel, " hecalled over his shoulder "We know each other wellenoughfor that, I should think"

Instead she called hiether before Actually, he decided, tossing back another drink, he had never heard a lady sayevenone of the words she had just uttered, letalone all of the sos that she wouldlike to do tohilance back tosee that she was donningher gown Even thataction wassexy, he thought glu up tostraighten his own clothesHe had barelyfinisheddoing so when therewas a tap at thesalon doorand it was pulledopen by Henry The man peeredhopefully inside

His expression drooped i so far apart; then his gaze narrowedon Valoree

Daniel glanced toward her to see that while her hair was a touch disheveled, her dress was back in place She also looked as sour as a lenoring her, Daniel slowered at them "Thenextsuitor’s here"

"Hmmph" Valoree started forthe dooreven asHenry pulled it open and stepped aside Daniel couldn’tatfirstsee the manin questionHe did, however, seeValoree’s responseto hihtly, then flashed a brilliantsure ih the door totake theproffered appendage, liftingit for a kiss

Daniel stewed Henry had let hiunconscious onthefloorin thekitchen that hishope was for Daniel and Valoreeto co Ithad happenedafter Valoreehad been carried toher roo to her The two men had waited in the salon, and Henry had confessedas much, then informedhim of her first suitors and their intendedactivities He hadalso said thatthere wouldbe an hour between the firsttwo and the third fellow that Daniel could take advantage of, but hehad notroaned aloud as he recognized the golden-haired hton Of allthe bloody luck! "My lord" Valoree htened, andDaniel felt his hands clenchat hissides

"Lady Ainsley, " Hawghton purredin his perfect voice, flashing her his perfect smile "I must say thatyour beauty is a pleasant surprise Ifeartherash youwere sporting yesterday did notshow you off toadvantage"

Daniel grilovely today Her face was free of makeup, and completely recovered thanks to his mother’s miracle salveProbably one of theonlytimes thatone of herdaht bitterly

That figured

"Thank you, my lord Itis sokindof youto say so, " she purred, then tossed a glare in Daniel’s direction, asif to underlinethe fact that he hadnot

"Oh, Thurborne, " Hawghton greeted, as if just noticing his presence "I did not see you at first, old man" Then a concerned expression crossed his face "I a? Mayhapmyappointment was not until later"

"Oh, do not ust "He’s a friend ofUncle Henry’s"

Daniel glanced at her sharply and she suessed from the start how he had "just happened"to be inthe parkWell, he supposed he shouldhaveknown she would figureit out

"I see, " Hawghtonbetween the two of them Then he see sht mayhap we couldattendthe theater this afternoon They areperfore’s "She WouldIfShe Could" It is supposed tobe quite a"