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His little brother was the only fah an ungainly process of twisting and rearranging lied to face her

He pulled her close, settling her so that she straddled his lap and rested against his bent legs God, she was lovely So clean, her skin could squeak Her breasts bobbed just at the level of the soapy, cooling water The stealets A bit of lather clung to her cheek

He wiped it aith his thumb "So You can believe that I care for my brother"

"Oh, yes Unquestionably"

"And yet you continue to doubt the sincerity of my offer to marry you"

"Well, that’s different We were forced into a betrothal We scarcely knew each other Propriety was the only reason for it"

He lifted an eyebrow "Not the only reason"

"You knohat I mean Clearly we’ve always had a physical attraction, and you’re undeniably an excellent catch"

"Yes, I seeave him a wicked look "And I seem to recall that our bedsport would be tolerable"

"Touché"

"But all of that is beside the matter You’re not required by blood or history to care for arded her thoughtfully "You’re right, Charlotte I’an to regret this turn of conversation

The bathwater had begun to chill She shivered and thought of reaching for a towel, but his blue gaze held her captive

"Do you have any idea of how e of the tub "How ed "I’ve formed soging, si it as a fact

She believed hiether, it was hardly a crisis I could have dealt with that situation in any nu suitor Or a dozen of them, for you to take your choice I could have quashed the entire scene, removed all possibility of scandal"

"You could have let me look like a desperate debutante and thrown me to the wolves"

"Or," he said evenly, "I could have hunted down the caricaturist at the Prattler who gave you that vile monikerand h, and then she quickly realized he wasn’t jesting

No, his eyes were dead serious

He was telling her so close to the core of the man he believed hihter or judgs," she said cautiously "You took the honorable way"

"I took you" He reached for her, drawing her close and sending a wave of soapy water to the floor "I took you, because I wanted you"

"In your bed"

"In my life"

She sed hard

"There is little that’s truly honorable into be h I pray you never fully understand it Suffice it to say, I’ve spent the past ten yearsback"

Her curiosity was intense, but she resisted the urge to press for details