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Quinthem out of his mouth "Under the circumstances, do you still wish to marry me?"

She frowned at hi ra ram!" Her indelicate simile caused him to momentarily lose track of the point, but he recovered "Because of Rupert’s triumphs Because you could reatest heroes the British Empire has ever known"

A little smile touched her lips "Why, that is true, isn’t it?"

"Yes"

"I could spend the rest of reat national heroor I could lie on a rug with you"

His heart was pounding in his ears

"Naked," she added Her eyes said everything "Vulnerable to attack by a ba--"

"Don’t say that again" The clench in his heart eased He stood up and pulled off his boots She watched him with heavy-lidded eyes

He threw the shirt away, pulled down his breeches "Olivia"

"M raht to the spot "That is an accurate description," she stated "Just look at yourself"

Quin looked down He was rampant, so to speak And yes, forain until Montsurrey is back in England and has been infore of circumstances"

With a thrill of pure pleasure, he saw her eyes change and her lower lip droop It see

He dropped to his knees and drew his fingers sensuously down the slope of her cheek, to her neck, slower

"That doesn’ther arroan escaping from his chest

"No"

Twenty-four

Gallic Mustaches, a Friend in Need, and the Spirit of Adventure

In later years, Olivia looked back on the evening she spent on the hearthrug, being ravished by a jealous, possessive, and altogether perfect duke, as a defining moment, the point that would forever separate her life "before" froht when she learned how breathtaking life could be

And it was followed by the ile and dear it is

She and Quin had crawled into her curtained bed, slept in snatches, woken each other up, laughed and whispered, and explored each other

He departed as the sun was creeping over the horizon, having first told her exactly why the dawn rays stealing through the ere soft pink and not blinding white She didn’t even have to pretend to be fascinated; she genuinely was