Free Grey's Lady by Natasha Blackthorne Page A

fingertip along the pearls, wanting to take her dainty pink nipples into his mouth until they were stiff peaks again. However, they had something to discuss.
    She unlatched the necklace, slipped it off and handed it to him. “You’d better keep these.”
    “I gave them to you.”
    “I cannot take them home. How would I explain them?”
    “Hide them.”
    “In a house full of curious children, nothing can be truly hidden.”
    “Forget this nonsense.” He tapped her hand with his finger. “I want this house to be yours.”
    She blinked hard, several times. “Mine?”
    “I want you settled. I want to go about my business and know you are safe and comfortable and I may come and visit you here at my leisure.”
    She straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. “I won’t be your mistress.”
    Her words stung. “I don’t know how to say this but you are already here, naked in my bed.”
    “Oh, be very clear, sir, ours is a temporary arrangement.”
    He scowled. “You are playing at semantics.”
    “No, I am not. If I took this house, you would expect a tyrant’s rights. Your requirements .”
    “I require nothing unreasonable. In return, I’ll provide you with a carriage and horses, a groom to care for them. A housekeeper and a personal maid.” He took her hand, turned it over and traced the reddened palm with a fingertip. “You needn’t be soaking your hands in lye like some lowly laundress.”
    Her chin jutted out in a way that infuriated him. “No, I won’t be a slave to—”
    “You’re making excuses.”
    “Besides, if I lived here, everyone would know I was your mistress.”
    “Another excuse.”
    “A very valid one!” Her face flushed and her breasts jiggled. She looked magnificent.
    She also frustrated the hell out of him.
    He took a deep breath, struggled to keep his voice even. “So long as we are discreet, not many will greatly care. We would hardly be the first.”
    “My family will care. If they knew… I couldn’t face their shame. Then you’ll tire of me—”
    “Not anywhere this side of forever.” Unable to resist, he leant down and captured a rose-coloured nipple in his mouth.
    She pulled away and hugged the sheet to herself. “Ha! Words! Gentlemen love to throw them around. They make life sound so pretty but they mean nothing. You would never come to my brother’s shop and ask to court me. Admit it.”
    “Court you? You would not relish the duties and responsibilities of being a New York City society wife. Believe me, your life would be just as luxurious and far more enjoyable as my mistress.”
    “Perhaps. Nevertheless, it’s knowing you wouldn’t that makes the difference. I may be poor—a soiled dove—but I still have my pride.”
    “But you said you didn’t want marriage. You’ve changed your mind?”
    “Maybe… Oh, I don’t know.” Her voice rose on the last words. She closed her eyes and her shoulders rose and fell with her deep breath. “You’ve mixed me up so much I don’t know what I want.”
    “Beth, you’re not talking sense.”
    “You offer me all of this so conditionally, with no care about the consequences to me. The balance of power seems totally on your side.
    “It’s a matter of security? I’ll put your name on the deed.”
    “You’d give it to me outright, simply because you’ve bedded me a few times?”
    “I am proposing a long-term arrangement.”
    “Wouldn’t it be a poor investment? You live in New York.”
    “I spend about a third of my time here on business. I like Philadelphia.” He grinned and took her hand. “I like Philadelphia women even more.”
    She jerked her hand back.
    “Would you prefer another house? Something larger?”
    “Well, I hardly know what I might expect. You were so intent upon your requirements we never did discuss my expectations.”
    Why was she being so damned difficult? Did she think he’d ever made such a generous offer to a woman before?
    “You want more security than a house and you