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"Lucien, please I do only what I can"

"And modest as well," he mur a fool," she chided in flustered tones

There was a moment’s pause before Jocelyn felt a warently press her countenance upward

"Look at me, Jocelyn," he commanded

Slowly she lifted her heavy lashes to ht in the falling dusk

"What?"

"Be proud of what you have accomplished," he said firmly "Be proud of who you have becolected wife of some mindless dandy"

She paused as she pondered his words

It was true that the road she traveled had not been the one she had expected to Certainly she could never have dreamed as a child she would one day live in the dark streets of St Giles with only an elderly servant as company

Still, she could not deny that she found it difficult to think of herself in an elegant town house with nothing to occupy her ossip

Could she ever have been satisfied with such an existence?

Could she have found joy in tending to a husband who preferred his life at his club and his mistresses while she chatted over tea and flitted about dance floors?

Her life , but Jocelyn knew in her heart that it provided a sense of accomplishment that she never could have found in the more fashionable world

"Yes," she at last breathed softly

A sudden expression of satisfaction rippled over Lucien’s countenance before he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her own

Caught off guard, Jocelyn did not eventhe sweet caress She did not desire to resist, she fuzzily acknowledged

Tantalizing warh her blood, a burst of excite within her stomach Her lips parted in silent invitation, and with a fractured groan Lucien gathered her in his arainst her led to think through the fog of pleasure that clouded herlate"

He gave a soft laugh, his war over her sensitive lips

"Yes, it is I have waited too long to hold you in ing for nothing th of his hard fored The only place she desired to be

Alone with this man who had filled her empty heart with joy

Nearly overwhelled to break the spell of enchantment

"You have won no bets," she re fashion "Ah, you have forgotten Earlier I wagered that I would discover your s, and I assure you that I did so"

She gave a choked laugh at his absurdity "That was no genuine wager"

"Of course it was," he argued, his hands stroking the curve of her back "And now I demand my forfeit"

Jocelyn shivered in delicious anticipation "I do not believe that you play fair, sir"

"Why, Miss Kingly, surely you do not accuse ?"

It was decidedly difficult to keep her mind upon the playful conversation when those hands continued to trail up and down her spine and the temptation of his lips were only a breath away

"You are certainly swift to take advantage of the situation," she accused him

"I must need be sith you, "

She searched the dark countenance, wondering why she did not feel the panic or even reluctance that had plagued her since the scandal Surely she had not forgotten just how dangerous desire could be to a youngsense of distrust for such passions, she discovered that

she felt nothing but a growing need to give herself utterly to this man

"Not so elusive," she murmured