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“What if one of theas he slid his hand inside her bodice to fondle her breast
“I'll tell her to leave” He reached beneath her skirts, his fingers delving inside her linen undergar the most sensitive parts of her body His eyes narrowed in excite sound as he tore the delicate fabric of her drawers
“Not here…let's go upstairs,” Madeline begged, turning scarlet with distress His body was hard and powerful between her thighs, sleekas he positioned her to ride him
“Here,” Logan countered, reaching down to unfasten his trousers A short, breathless laugh escaped hi the damned door”
“I can't help it” She gasped as she felt him enter her, a hard pressure that slid easily within her moist depths “Oh, we shouldn't—”
“Put your ar instructions, he guided her with his hands as she rode up and down his swollen length
Madeline's eyes closed with pleasure, her hands clawing over his waistcoat and shirt, groping blindly for his solid shoulders They strained and arched together, while Logan roans with his mouth She would never have believed herself capable of it…wantonly straddling hi every scrap of propriety that had been instilled in her every day of her adult life But Logan encouraged, demanded, that she abandon all shame in his arms He filled her with each doard push, the current of pleasure rising higher and faster, until she shook with spasan's body went taut beneath her The crescent of his teeth pressed into her shoulder, the hint of pain soht
Afterward, while Madeline collapsed against his chest, Logan ss at the Capital, when you helped me with those piles of correspondence…I wanted to do this with you”
“This?” Madeline repeated, lifting her head to look at hiiddy, as if she had been drinking “I had no idea”
“If you would have looked in the right place, madam, you would have seen ample evidence”
“Oh” Raising herself on her elbows, she smiled at him “In that case, I insist that you have no female secretaries”
“You're the only woe to cuddle her like a kitten and give voice to the endearments that filled his mind His face hardened, and he heard himself add…“For now”
Logan kept his expression blank as he watched the glow fade froled herself froretted the hurtful words, they had been necessary Better to spoil the moment between them than to let her think she was i her once There would not be a second time
Thirteen
On the evening of the ball, Madeline stood before theroom while a own
Mrs Beechaant black dress with a snohite apron, had come upstairs to assist in the final preparations “Splendid,” the housekeeper exclai back to view her “You'll be the loveliest woht, Mrs Scott The master won't be able to take his eyes from you”
Madeline s anxiously “Have all the flowers been delivered? Has anyone visited the kitchens recently?”
“Everything has been taken care of,” Mrs Beecham assured her “The house is filled with heavenly flowers, and Cook appears to have outdone herself The guests will think they're visiting paradise—and when you appear to greet them, Mr Scott will be the most envied man in London”
Nervously Madeline held a hand to her entle curve, but her scarlet velvet gown had been designed to conceal her condition A tightly fitted bodice followed the slender outline of her body before flowing into an array of rustling skirts The goas startlingly simple, its only adornether, above which her brsts rose in creamy white splendor
The scarlet hue of the ball gown beca the aolden-brown hair had been pinned at the crown of her head in heavy loops and curls, displaying the slith of her neck
Logan entered the roonificent sight in black-and-white forray waistcoat of richly textured silk His eyes, theshade of blue Madeline had ever seen, flickered with so emotion as he stared at her When he spoke, his voice held a deeper timbre than usual
“I hope these are to your liking” He held out a black jeweler's box to her Pleased and surprised by the unexpected gift, Madeline moved forward to receive it
S, Mrs Beecha them in privacy
Madeline gasped in aold necklace strung in glittering loops, andpendants for her ears “How beautiful! I didn't expect…” Her gaze lifted to his “You're very generous Thank you, Logan”
A touch of color burnished his high cheekbones Taking the necklace from the box, he stood behind Madeline and fastened the heavy creation around her neck She watched their reflection in the ers brush her nape It took Logan a long time to fasten the necklace; he fuh her carefully arranged curls
Madeline attached the ruby pendants to her ears, enjoying their jaunty swinging as she turned her head “What do you think of an
To her disappointment, he showed neither admiration nor approval “It's cut too low”
Madeline frowned slightly “Julia has seen it, and she said it was perfect”
“Only if you're planning to start a riot,” he aze pinned on her breasts
“If you don't approve, I can change into so else—”
“No, wear the bloody thing,” he said, atte sullen
Madeline bit the insides of her lips to suppress a san continued to stare at her “You're going to catch cold, dressed like that,” he said curtly
“The house is very warm,” she pointed out “I'll be perfectly fine” She saw his fingers twitch at his side, as if he were struggling to keep froo downstairs?”
Logan responded with a surly grunt and gave her his ar the lavish party were an odious duty rather than so to enjoy
Thankfully, their guests see pleasure in the event Hundreds of people an's art collection, the su eer lilies in Oriental lacquered vases filled the air with exotic perfume
Inspired by the inescapably romantic atmosphere, couples stole away for hasty rendezvous in thewomen clustered like flocks of animated hens Julia had apparently selected a perfect cross section of the different worlds Logan had traversed: peers, wealthy commoners, artists, writers, and even a few politicians Itcreated to fill the papers and entertain the public for weeks Gentlears, and occasionally erupted into minor squabbles over the favors of an elusive female However, no woman attracted attention more than Madeline