Free A Touch of Passion by Bronwen Evans Page B

any virginal young lady, if it came to it.”
    Her gaze traveled to his handsome profile, his look proud, arrogant, and confused. “Don’t get all huffy. You wouldn’t have compromised me. I would have freely given myself to you. I’m four and twenty, a virgin boarding on spinsterhood. It seems that marriage is not in the cards for me. Why should I not discover passion, desire, and making love, like any man?”
    “Because you are not a man. I’m sick of having the same conversation with you over and over. Whether it’s right or wrong, this is a man’s world, and you have to live in it. You must follow the rules, as I do. There are consequences to actions, and the situation we find ourselves in now demands a certain outcome that neither of us desires.”
    She finally smiled up at him, and he sensed her response before she said it. “No harm has been done. I am still alive and unhurt, except for my pride. If Philip is safe, then all in all, it has been an exciting adventure.”
    Grayson could not believe she was ignoring the point he was trying to make. “There will be consequences to this adventure, and you’re foolish to think otherwise. Not only society but your family too will require both of us to do the right thing. I for one will not disappoint them.” He sighed. “Perhaps we should retire to Captain Seaton’s stateroom for sustenance before we discuss the way forward, since you’re obviously not thinking clearly.”
    Her bottom lip jutted out, a sign he recognized from their childhood. “Stubborn” was Portia’s middle name.
    “There are no consequences to my kidnapping that concern you. There is no need to feel guilt at my abduction. You saved me, and that makes up for the inconvenience—”
    “Inconvenience?” Grayson placed his hand on his hips, knowing that the action would irritate her further. “Slightly more than inconvenience. You could have been raped!”
    “But I wasn’t, thanks to you and Philip. I’m sure once we’re home, we can come up with a reason for my disappearance, such as visiting other cider mills.”
    He took her shoulders and turned her to face him so that he could try to make her see how serious her situation was. “Half of Whitehall knows you were taken, so half of London must know. Philip went to the Home Office for information about who might have taken you. That is how we learned of the sultan’s offer. I really think we should go below and discuss the situation rationally.”
    “I’m perfectly rational on deck, thank you.” She leaned back to look up at him. “Or do you think I’ll swoon at the prospect of my reputation lying in tatters? You should know
me
better. I do not swoon.”
    “I’m not just concerned with your reputation. There is also mine. You must realize that your journeying home with me, alone and unchaperoned, means you have been thoroughly compromised. I’d be a cad of the first water to leave you to face society’s wrath.”
    She moved out of his hold and halted by the railing, gripping it and staring out over their wake. “I will not be forced to marry a man who neither understands me nor has any feelings for me. Blast society’s view. I’m more than content to remain a spinster.”
    He couldn’t understand why she would not be thrilled at the prospect of becoming his wife. She’d made it very clear by her actions that she was enamored of him. Why, she’d made herself an easy target for her abductors by agreeing to meet him in Vauxhall Gardens late at night, intent on his seduction.
    “Of course I have feelings for you. I have known you since I was five and ten years old. We grew up in the same household. I know neither of us finds the situation acceptable, but is our friendship not a good basis for marriage?”
    “I’d hardly call us friends—you barely tolerate me.” She turned to him, her eyes pleading. “You may be happy to give up your chance for love, but I am not. I want to feel driving passion, and desire, and need