Not Proper Enough (A Reforming the Scoundrels Romance) by Jewel Carolyn

Author:Jewel, Carolyn [Jewel, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781101589595
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2012-09-03T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Four hours later. No. 25 Upper Brook Street.

“THIS ISN’T BOUVERIE.”

“No. It’s not.” Fox dug the key from his pocket but kept his other hand at Eugenia’s back. As if that would keep her from changing her mind. She touched the numbers painted on the wall beside the door. He closed his fingers around the key. “The Dukes of Camber own the whole of this street and the six or seven surrounding streets. Eight years ago, the yearly lease came up here, and rather than negotiate with another tenant, I took this house myself.”

“For your bachelor quarters.”

“For an escape from Bouverie.”

“Why?”

“Bouverie reminds me too much of my father.” He put the key in the lock. “Every time I step foot in the place, I feel the weight of centuries of expectations.” He opened the door and held it open for her. “At times, it’s more than I care to deal with.”

His butler, Golde, kept candles burning in the chandelier in the entrance to the town house, so the foyer was softly lit. Exactly as he preferred. Light reflected off the crystal drops in the chandelier, from the gilt frame of the mirror across from the door, and from the mirror itself. As he turned from the door, he stole a glance at Eugenia. His heart skipped a beat.

This was his home, and Ginny was here. Against all reason and decency, she was here with him. He had every bad intention in the world so long as it sped them toward the moment when she agreed to marry him. When he had, at last, convinced her that her feelings were safe in his keeping.

Without giving voice to those thoughts, he escorted her to his study and lit candles before he crossed to the sidebar. Eugenia stood in the center of the room, her cloak drawn tight around her, candlelight flickering off her hair. He’d imagined this several times, being alone with her, though most often those dreams had a bedroom as the setting. He found the bottle he was looking for and turned back. “If we’re going to get drunk, whisky’s as good a way to go as any.”

“If you say so.” She slipped off her cloak and draped it over a chair.

“I do.” He studied her while he opened the whisky. “I can take you home if you’d rather.”

She shook her head.

“Good.” He opened one of the cabinet doors and found several bottles of wine on their sides. But it was glasses he was after. “Here we are.” He retrieved two tumblers from the back of an upper cabinet and splashed two fingers into one and half that amount in the other. “Aigen gave this to me. From the Wateresk distillery in the Grampian Mountains.” He crossed the room to hand the smaller portion to her. “Have you been drunk before?”

“Tipsy once. On wine. But not drunk.”

“Ah. A virgin. Not to worry, I’ve experience with virgins.”

She turned pink, but she laughed just as he’d hoped she would.

“We’ll go slowly.” He smiled down at her, and he thought she was the most alluring woman he’d ever known.

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