"You fascinate me, Georgina, remember?"

"You fascinate me too, Mr. Drummond, but not in a good way."

"Damian," he reminded her.

"Yes, Damian."

"Ten o'clock tomorrow morning," he said. "Meet me in my private quarters."

"I most certainly will not."

"I'm afraid I have to insist."

"I'm afraid I have to too."

"If you don't show up, I'll come over here and carry you there."

"You wouldn't."

"I would, and I'd do it loudly and boisterously so everyone can watch me."

She scoffed. "You don't scare me, Damian. You would never behave like that."

"I might."

He grinned, and she grinned too.

"Goodnight," she murmured.

"Goodnight."

He reveled in a long, slow kiss, which was intriguing. He'd never spent so much time kissing any woman. When he was with a female, he was always in a hurry, desperate to get to the end of the road. He hadn't realized the journey in between could be so sweet.

"Ten o'clock," he said again as he pulled away.

"I'll consider it."

She opened the door without glancing out to see if anyone was walking by, and he almost wished Augusta had been there to observe them. He'd love for her to discover him strolling out of Georgina's room. It would underscore his power over all of them.

He sauntered back to the manor at a leisurely pace. There was a precious languor to the interval he'd passed with her, and he didn't want it to fade.

When he entered his suite, he was still smiling. Briefly he wondered if she'd appear the following morning as he'd commanded, but it didn't matter. If she didn't, he'd march over and fetch her. He'd threatened he would, and he'd been serious. He relished the notion of how she'd spit and fight and complain.

As he poured himself a brandy, as he sat in the chair by the fire, he hoped the scene would play out exactly that way.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

Let me take down your hair."

"Must you?"

"Yes, I must."

Kit spun Sophia and tugged out the combs that held her blond tresses in place. The golden strands tumbled down her back in an enticing wave. As he nibbled at her nape, she shivered, and he grinned, ecstatic that she'd been brave enough to visit him.

He was randy as a bridegroom and could barely restrain himself from falling on her like a ravening beast. But he didn't dare. He intended they would have a lengthy and satisfying affair so he had to ease her into carnal conduct.

"Lie down with me," he whispered.

Skittish as a colt, she glanced at the bed. She'd agreed to stay, but she was trembling, clearly not convinced she'd made the correct decision. He slipped an arm around her waist and tumbled them onto the mattress. In a swift second, the worst part was over, and they were comfortably snuggled together.

Not giving her a chance to fret, he began kissing her. He'd kissed her previously so it was familiar territory, and she heartily joined in. Yet too quickly, he realized he was in over his head.

She attracted him as no other female ever had. From the first moment he'd laid eyes on her, he'd been enthralled. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame, and it dawned on him that he and Damian were destined to have a long talk.

Kit pictured himself as a decent fellow, and while he'd told Sophia they would have an illicit fling, he couldn't imagine behaving so reprehensibly. She'd been the one to point out that a lurid liaison couldn't be hidden from the servants or neighbors so he had two options. He could halt immediately and walk her to Drummond Cottage with no harm done. Or he could proceed with their dalliance and jump to becoming a husband once they were through.

"Why did we stop?" she asked as he pulled away.

"I'm thinking."

"About what?"

"About you."

"I'm delighted to hear it, and since we're on your bed, and I've let down my hair you'd better be thinking about me."

He chuckled, then sobered. "I haven't been very kind to you."

"You've been unkind in some ways, but you've been awfully kind in others. You offered to help me when no one else would. In my book that's being very kind."

"I've been horrid too. I've pressured you to succumb to my male attentions in order to get that help."

"I haven't succumbed to pressure though. I'm an adult and I can make my own choices. I choose to be here with you."

"I'm glad."

"So am I."

He sat up and yanked her up too. As he climbed to the floor and dragged over a chair, she frowned. They were facing each other, her hands clasped in his own.

"You look incredibly serious," she said. "What's wrong? Please don't confess a terrible secret. I've had enough bad news this week."

"It's not terrible." He frowned too. "Well, I hope you won't view it as terrible."

"What is it?"

"I want to ask you a question."

"Ask away," she blithely retorted.

"Don't be shocked and promise you won't laugh."

"If it's extremely absurd, I might not be able to prevent a giggle from slipping out." Appearing concerned, she sighed and shifted nearer. "Just tell me, Kit. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be fine."

He took a deep breath and let it out. Took another and let that out too. "I've had a hard life."

"I'm sorry for you."

"My father died when I was little, and after he was gone, it was difficult for my mother without him."

"Where did you grow up?"

"We lived in a village outside of London."

"What about your father? Was he in trade?"

"Something like that," he lied.

His father had actually been a wealthy landowner. They'd resided in a grand house on a huge farm, with tenants and servants and lots of animals and all the rest. But he'd never been precisely certain of what had transpired after his father perished.

His mother had been kicked out and left penniless. Vaguely he recalled quarrels late at night, his mother fighting with his uncle, his father's brother, then relatives had swooped in and seized their belongings.

At least he recollected that as being how it had happened. He'd never been positive of the details and wasn't even sure he'd lived near London. As a desperate orphan, he'd concocted many parts of his history, and it was tricky to separate what was real and what he'd invented.

"My mother couldn't care for us, and she died too. My siblings and I had to fend for ourselves."

"How many siblings do you have?"

"Two sisters and a brother."

"Are they in London?"

He lied again. "No, they've passed on too."

He had no idea whether they'd survived or not. He liked to envision them thriving in London where he'd last seen them, but the more likely ending was that they were all dead.

"You're all alone in the world," she murmured.

"With Damian as my only friend."

She smiled sympathetically. "You poor thing."

"I've always been anxious to replace what I had. Damian is giving me the chance to replace the home, but I have to find my own wife and family."

"He won't arrange a match for you?" she facetiously said.

"Oh, he probably would if I asked him, but I couldn't bear to have him lecture me on the perils of matrimony."

"He deems it folly?"

"Absolute folly."

"He's an outlier then. The whole kingdom marries. It's the road people are expected to travel."

"I know so..." He took another deep breath and let it out. "Will you marry me, Sophia?"

Her head was cocked to the side as if he'd spoken in a foreign language she didn't comprehend. "What did you say?"

"Will you marry me?"

She blanched. "Gad, that's what I thought you said."

"I've been insisting I couldn't propose, but I've had a change of heart."

"Why? When?" She scoffed. "I'm babbling. You've rendered me incoherent."

"I don't want a mistress. I don't want to use you badly."

"I don't want that either."

"I should behave properly toward you and have you as my bride. Will you have me too?"

She studied him, and he could practically see the wheels turning in her mind as she tried to figure out his ploy, but he had no ploy. He was ready to wed, and Damian had given him the means to proceed.

"I'm confused," she said.

"About what?"

"When we were in the sitting room, you lured me into your bed with a lewd proposition. I joined you to save myself and matrimony wasn't on the table."

"I told you I had a change of heart."

"But so quickly! We walked twenty steps from there to here, and you're suddenly eager to be a husband."

"It sounds mad, I know."

"Pardon me if I'm a little perplexed. You want me by your side as you take over the reins at Kirkwood. You think I'd be up to the challenge."

"Yes. You once mentioned that you'd been raised to order the servants about, and it's all you've truly been trained to do."