Free Compromising Prudence by Marguerite Butler Page A

we part. Yoked for all eternity!”
    “Now you’re making me nervous.”
    “You should be nervous. We both should be. It’s an enormous step we are taking and one which will not only affect us, but our families as well.” She turned to face him.
    He jammed his hands in his pockets. “I wondered when you might have second thoughts. But I’m afraid we are already past the point of — ”
    “Your brother knows I’m staying here. Doesn’t he?”
    “Yes, I’m afraid it’s obvious you’re in residence. But he would protect you if I asked him to. Graham only seems like a dasher. He’s actually rather circumspect.”
    “And the one you called Sherry?”
    “Has no notion you’re staying here. Are you asking me to release you from our bargain?”
    She shook her head and he exhaled. He wasn’t aware he’d been holding his breath, but the tension between his shoulders eased slightly. She started to move away from him and turned her face, but halted and lifted her chin instead. In their brief acquaintance he had come to admire her curious way of plain dealing. He would have expected a girl of her upbringing to be missish.
    “What would you normally do after you dined at your club?”
    The abrupt turn of conversation made him smile. “Return home of course. I’m not one for gaming and such. “They were close enough now that he could reach out and touch her if he chose.
    “You would be working if I weren’t here, wouldn’t you?”
    “Probably.” Now that his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could make out the lovely lines of her face.
    She sighed. “It has occurred to me that I owe you an apology.”
    He took a step closer. “Why would such a thing occur to you?”
    “Something your brother said. I haven’t been very good about living up to my part of the bargain.”
    She ducked her chin, but he placed a finger under the tip and lifted it back up. The firelight did beautiful things to her face, highlighting her cheekbones and making delicate shadows underneath them. “Tell me what you imagine you’ve done wrong.”
    “I promised to leave you in peace, to occupy myself and I’ve done a wretched job of things. I may be a bit too managing for my own good. I turned your house upside down, invaded your study, kept you from going to your club, interfered with your ability to work — ”
    He cut her off with a kiss.
    Gently. Softly. She had every chance to refuse him, but instead she parted her lips and he drank more deeply.
    He’d wanted to do that all night.
    Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck as she pressed herself closer to him. He’d only meant to stop her self-flagellation, but he didn’t pull away. All through dinner he’d been entranced, watching her. The curve of her lips, the tilt of her head, her husky laugh, everything about her grew more alluring with each hour he spent in her company.
    He didn’t want her to leave him in peace. He wanted her just like this, sweetly inflaming his senses. His arms were around her now, holding her tightly. He would never let go.
    He needed to let go.
    He and Prudence had gone about the entire marriage and courtship the wrong way. They had violated every rule of civil conduct in almost every way imaginable — except for this. He wouldn’t defile her with his base needs. In spite of her sisters’ instructions, Prudence couldn’t possibly understand what it meant to lie together. He needed to stop for both of them. They would get this part right.
    She was not his wife yet. A dim part of his mind suggested that was splitting hairs, but the better part of his nature prompted him to leave her lips and trace her jaw line. She muttered something unintelligible that sounded like a protest.
    Charles planted a kiss on the velvet-soft skin just below her ear. “If I don’t stop kissing you, I’ll do something unforgivable.”
    “Whose forgiveness would you require?” Her voice was dark and husky.
    Oh God, it makes me want her even more.
    He needed