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Ah, God, she wished she hadn’t said anything, but Jack was one of her best friends Unfortunately she suddenly realized sos shouldn’t be shared, but who else was there for her to ask? She certainly couldn’t ask Catherine, when her brother was the one causing Frannie’s dileht it up"

He flung hiainst the seat "Greystone, the bastard"

"What? No! Why would you think hiain, he took her hands "Frannie darling, I’h you were a delectable er He disappeared for a bit You were gone for a while I’ a clandestine moment he made his indecent proposal"

It hadn’t felt indecent As a matter of fact, she’d been quite flattered, but then she’d also been lightheaded and lost in a passionate fog, following his heat-searing kiss But what really astounded her was Jack’s description of the way Greystone had been looking at her with hunger that she could satisfy She’d had h she were fine crystal that could easily crack, but never with hunger It was quite exhilarating She squeezed Jack’s fingers "Would it be so wrong, do you think--to entertain the notion of being someone’s lover? I’ve been a thief, a whore--"

"It was not your choosing to be a whore," he ground out

"A man paid for iven e when e, I’d never given any thought to being a wife I can’t see myself married"

"Why ever not? Jim would marry you in a heartbeat So would I, for that matter, if I didn’t think you deserved far better thanh to further his argument, he reminded her, "He’s a duke"

Jack knew the discomfort she experienced around the aristocracy They all did It was the reason they’d circled around her at Luke’s "That would be a problem if I had plans to marry him--which I do not Lovers are private, a secret sin, aren’t they? I wouldn’t have to move about in his world"

"The answer to your earlier question is no No love exists between lovers You’re likely to get very badly hurt, Frannie, and I’d feel responsible because you have a skewed view of the world froage in sin, but I don’t want the with you Besides, any decent man would be fortunate to have you for a wife You shouldn’t settle for less"

With a nod, she worked her hands free of his and sat back against the seat "I suppose it wasn’t truly a co me"

"No, it wasn’t," he said tartly

"I daresay I probably should have slapped hiazed back out theThe probleain To want to be so close to aexperience Pity was she couldn’t stop thinking about it, and the ht about it, unfortunately, theknew the hour was fast approaching when everything that had been within his grasp would be beyond his reach

Sitting in his library, drinking his brandy, listening as the incessantly loud clock on the e of his life, he taer required energy he could ill afford to squander Not now Later perhaps, when he had nothing better to do except reflect on how ht have been if only…

He’d been deter to make their presence known He would reflect on the up his reservoir of memories He had one ht with her ence, his final bit of wickedness before he turned his attention to duty He had little doubt she would be worth delaying the inevitable course of his life

Frannie Darling

She was slender, but soer than she was--as though she’d battled life’s disappoint a commoner, she was not the sort ato wife But as a lover, he had a feeling she would excel

Closing his eyes, he brought forth iers had run up into his hair Her mouth had played skillfully over his Her delicate rose scent had wafted around hi in his clothes He wanted her fragrance lingering in his bed It had been so very long since he’d actually anticipated holding a woman in his arms, and she hadn’t disappointed

He could hardly fathoested they become lovers Her bold answer, before she’d turned on her heel and waltzed out, had stunned him

"I’ll consider your offer"

Did she a as a seductress Or at the very least she was a witch, because she’d cast a spell over him that he was unable to escape He was obsessed with the softness of her skin, the green of her eyes, the vibrant red of her hair He wanted to kiss her again, wanted to slowly peel off her clothes and reveal all the hidden treasures He’d seenhad ever held his interest as she did Would she come around? Would her answer be yes? How could she refuse a duke?