A License to Wed: Rebellious Brides by Diana Quincy

Author:Diana Quincy [Quincy, Diana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2016-07-04T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Will had not foreseen this development.

He waged an internal struggle to remain calm. Masking all outward signs of his inner agitation, he spoke in mild tones. “As you wish.”

“Then we are agreed,” she said, the words firm. “Once you confirm for yourself that I don’t have the packet, I can leave for England.”

“We.”

She blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“We will go to England together. I don’t intend to let you out of my sight until I have what I seek.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Although I don’t foresee this farce coming to that. I expect to divest you of the papers here and now.”

She set her jaw. “You will be disappointed.”

His immediate thought was that nothing about seeing Elle naked could prove disappointing. Dismayed at the direction of his thinking, he mentally steeled himself, calling upon years of training and the clinical detachment that had always served him well on critical missions. He’d searched opponents in this manner numerous times―there was no telling what deadly weapon an enemy might have hidden on his person―and this wasn’t any different.

Except that it was completely different. This was Elle, the only woman he’d ever cared for, and she was about to divest herself of her clothes. And he was expected to do nothing but watch.

She remained, unmoving, across the table and it occurred to him she might be waiting for a cue. He waved a careless hand in her direction. “Proceed.”

She exhaled a long, shuddering breath and stepped back from the table, giving him a full view all the way down to her peach half boots. “Will this position suit?”

“Admirably.”

She bit her lower lip, betraying her nerves. Relief sprinkled through him. She was bluffing, she had to be. She was betting he wouldn’t force a lady to disrobe.

In a bland voice, he said, “Whenever you are ready.”

She sat and untied her half boots then pulled them off in quick, confident motions. “Do you need to check these?”

He shook his head. “They’ve already been looked at.” He’d removed her boots and examined them thoroughly when she’d been under the effects of the ether.

She stood and turned to face him, smoothing both hands over the skirt of her peach silk gown. “You will have to help me with the buttons.” The words were matter of fact, betraying none of the nervousness one might expect from a lady asking a man to remove her clothes.

“Of course.” He resisted the urge to shake out his shoulders to relieve the tension building there. He rose and moved to stand behind her, where the scent of her skin mingled with violets rolled over him. And never failed to stir him.

She wore an outer gown of peach netting over her dress. He touched the first button, the cool silk at odds with the heat emanating from her body. Her breathing suddenly seemed more pronounced and yet also more shallow, and he wasn’t certain whether it was his own heightened sensitivity to her, given their physical proximity, that made it seem so.

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