Free A Secret Proposal by Valerie Bowman Page B

cachet in society. Handsome, rich rogues who were the grandsons of dukes were quite welcome and sought after at country house parties. Blast it all.
    Amelia would just be forced to redouble her efforts to make him jealous. Now where was the Duke of Stanford?

CHAPTER 14
    The door to Amelia’s room flew open. She whirled around to see Thad standing in the doorway looking like an avenging knight. A shudder of anticipation ran through her. It had worked. He was jealous. And he was here. Perfect.
    She glanced down. She was only wearing her chemise. Thank God Mama was already in bed next door and Hannah had retired to the servants’ quarters. What was Thad thinking, bursting in like this? Very well, yes. She liked it. A lot. But what was he thinking? She hid her smile behind the back of her hand.
    Thad took two bold steps into her room and firmly pushed the door shut behind him.
    She held her breath, waiting for him to speak first.
    He stood there with his feet braced apart and a determined look in his eye. “Damn it, Amy. I am not going to allow you to waste yourself on one of those fools on your list.”
    “What are you talking about?” She should cover her chemise with a blanket or sheet or something, but then again, what fun would there be in that? Instead, she thrust out her chest and pretended as if it were absolutely not out of the ordinary to be having a conversation with a manin her bedchamber in the middle of the night wearing nothing more than her chemise.
    “Highland, Bartholomew, and Stanford.” He spat. “You deserve…” Thad scrubbed his hands through his hair. “You deserve a damn sight better than any of them.”
    She turned this time so he wouldn’t see her smile. It was working, her plan to make him jealous. Perhaps if she pushed him just a…bit…more. “I must marry one of them.” She shrugged. “I have no choice.”
    “That’s not true and even if it is, I won’t allow you to.”
    Oh, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop the smile that provoked. “I don’t see what say you have in the matter,” she countered. And then, just for good measure, she marched up to him, planted her hands on both hips, tilted her head back, and stared him straight in the eyes. “Besides, what do you intend to do about it?”
    “This!”
    He pulled her into his arms, hard. Yanked her against him, then swept her up, tossed her across his shoulder, and in three long strides, laid her on the bed. Then he followed her down, and ripped her chemise away with one hand. Amelia shuddered. Oh, God. She’d done it. Made him jealous enough to do this. And it was…magical. She lay there naked to his roaming, assessing gaze and all she could think about was how badly she wanted this to happen. Wanted him to make love to her.
    His mouth found hers. He kissed her, savagely, passionately. And Amelia clung to him, fit her naked body underneath him, wanting to rip at his clothes until he was nude too.
    She squirmed beneath him, tugging at the top of his breeches. He moved away long enough to pull off his coat and toss it to the floor. She helped him with his cravat and his shirt. He stopped for a moment to shuck both boots and Amelia waited in breathless anticipation. He still had on his breeches, but otherwise, they were both naked. He pushed her back down to the bed. His blue eyes hard, intense, and the feel of his smooth hot skin beneath her fingertips made her shudder again. She let her hands roam over his bulging muscles. Oh God, what life in the boxing saloon had done to him. He was positively gorgeous. Big, hot, and male, and when he pushed his hips against hers she couldn’t stop her moan. She never wanted it to end.
    His mouth never leaving hers, he moved his hand down her thigh. His bare hand on her naked skin made her gasp. No one had ever touched her like this and just the memory of how she’d touched herself the other night, thinking of Thad doing it, made her even more wet. Here he was with his hand