Jack Valentine by Sue London

Author:Sue London [London, Sue]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

The shop was dusty, but had lovely woodwork. She couldn't quite decide what might have been here before. Perhaps a milliner? There were still some large tables for display of merchandise and a glass cabinet. It had a great deal of potential. She followed Artie through a door he unlocked with his keys and up some stairs. The quarters upstairs didn't have as much ornate woodwork as the shop below did, but it looked to be well-built and free of drafts. Because of her home she was well acquainted with the issues that could plague a house when it came to drips and drafts. There was some furniture under covers. Artie was quiet, so she ventured out to explore. A parlor with two front facing windows and two bedrooms that looked out into the alley behind. One chimney ran up the center of the building from the shop and there was a hearth in the parlor, another in the larger bedroom.

"No kitchen?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, no. We would be dependent on the tea and coffee houses."

She smiled. "Just as well, I suppose, as I don't really know how to cook."

"That's a sad way to starve," he said.

"It would be," she agreed.

"So this is it," he said. "It's all I have, although a great deal more than I thought to be able to offer you."

"This and some fine coats," she corrected him.

"You may have all my coats if you like."

"They are warm and smell quite nice."

"Then they are yours. Will you marry me, Teddy Minett?"

She took a moment to let the question run over her heart like sunlight and water. With her eyes closed she could feel the core of her warming as it hadn't since their kiss. As though she had been more frozen by his rejection than she ever had by the cold of winter. She opened her eyes again to see him staring at her anxiously. She had one more question. "If I say yes will you kiss me?"

"If you like," he said carefully.

"Do you want to?"

"I think of little else."

"Then yes."

He strode forward to pull her against him for her kiss. This time it didn't start with the gentleness of their first, but rather began almost exactly where their last kiss had ended. With a desperate, heated mating of lips and tongues. With both of them wishing to be closer than clothing would allow. His hands moved from the back of her neck down to her bottom, pulling her up tightly against him. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his.

He tore his lips away and rested his forehead on hers, his breath harsh. "Teddy, if I don't stop now then I might not stop at all."

"Don't stop," she pleaded. "The last time you did I think a part of me died."

His blue eyes were startled as he looked down at her. "Teddy, don't say that. I love you. I can't stand the thought that I hurt you."

"I've always loved you," she admitted quietly.

His grip loosened and he gently set her back on her feet.

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