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She waved hiraceful toss of her wrist "You will not stray far Good luck to you"

After a quick bow, Colin reached into his pocket and tossed coins on the table "I will pray for you," he said to Quinn, squeezing his friend’s shoulder as he passed

Quinn’s reply was a blistering curse

Chapter 7

It was a shborhood The Earl of Ware had owned it for three years now, and during that tiht the los were dark, but candlelight flickered from one upper sash He pushed his key into the front door lock and allowed himself entry The home was maintained by two servants, a husband and wife pair ere trustworthy and discreet They were abed now, and since he did not require their services, Ware did not disturb them

He set his hat on the hook, followed by his cloak Beneath that he wore the evening gar of nights spent at balls and routs Except this evening had been slightly different Amelia was different He was different The awareness between theht, as he saw her in altered fashion as well

Cli the steps to the upper floor, he paused a ap at the botto of blood in his veins and the quickening of his arousal Then he turned the knob and entered, finding his dark-haired, sloe-eyed aze lifted toquicken and her lips part The book was shut with a decisive snap, and he kicked the portal closed behind hi back the covers, revealing a shapely figure "I was hoping you would coht"

Ware’s mouth curved She was hot for it, which meant the first fuck could be hard and swift Later, they would take their time, but now such dalliance would not be necessary A circumstance that suited his mood

Fro , he’d wanted her When her last arrangement with Lord Riley ended, Ware approached her with haste before anyone else could lure her away She was flattered and, later, enthusiastic They suited each other well, and the sex was pleasurable for both

He shrugged out of his coat; she untied the belt of her robe Within e of the mattress, his feet on the floor as he drove powerfully into her writhing body His frustration and unease were forgotten in the maelstrom of carnal sensation, much to his relief

But the surcease did not last long

An hour later he rested on his back with his hand tucked behind his head, his sweat-drenched skin cooling in the evening air

"That was delicious," Jane murmured, her voice throaty froravated"

"Aggravated?" He laughed and tucked her closer to his side

"Yes I can tell when so you" Her hand stroked down the center of his chest

Ware stared up at the ornate ceiling ain of hoell the rooilded furnishings He had encouraged her to spare no expense and to think only of her own co found over the course of several reat deal about her "Must we talk of things unpleasant?"

"We could work your frustrations into exhaustion," she teased, lifting her head to reveal laughing dark eyes "You knoill not complain"

He brushed back the da to her temple "I prefer that solution"

"But it would be only a teht be able to assist you with your problem, which I suspect is fe me," he purred

Her raised brows spoke of her skepticis harshly, he shared his thoughts aloud, trusting Jane as a friend and confidante She was a soman, one of the sweetest he knew She was not the kind of soul who sought to hurt others or advance herself at another’s detriment

"Do you realize that a man of my station is rarely seen as a e, but rarely more than that"

She listened quietly but alert

"I spent my youth in Lincolnshire, raised to think of myself only as Ware and never as an individual I had no interests outside of oals beyond that of my title I was trained so well that it never occurred toto do with theto do with me"

"That sounds like a very lonely way to live"

He shrugged and shoved another pillow under his head "I had no notion of any other way"

When he held his silence, she prompted, "Until?"

"Until one day I traversed the peri to fish in my stream"

Jane s her discarded robe beforea libation "Who was this urchin?"

"A servant fro lady whose father he worked for They had struck up a friendship of sorts, which intriguedlady" She warlass over the fla, wild, and free Miss Benbridge showed h the eyes of one who suffered under no one’s expectations She also coarded my title and treated me just as she treated the urchin, with playful affection"

Jane sat on the edge of the bed and drank lightly, then passed the goblet over to him "I think I would like her"

"Yes" He smiled "I believe she would like you, as well"

They would never meet, of course, but that was not the point

"I ad her," she said, "despite the sins of her father"

"How could I not ht ance is now te, Jane curled over his legs "How fortunate for the rest of us"

Ware ran a hand through his unbound hair "I will never forget the afternoon when she said, quite innocently, that I was devilishly handsome, which hy she sometimes halted her speechto me I doubt anyone had ever felt it When they stuttered it was because of intimidation, not admiration"