Free One Night Scandal by Christie Kelley

glanced up at him through her lashes as a slow smile lifted her lips. “My earring,” she said in the most seductive voice he’d ever heard.
    “Is there anything else you might desire while you are here?”
    “We shall have to wait and see.” She moved closer to the fireplace until her dress shimmered in the firelight.
    He walked to the brandy and poured a glass for both of them. Handing it to her, he asked, “So tell me, why is that earring so important to you?”
    She laughed lightly. “I cannot wear only one.”
    “I suppose you can’t,” he said with a chuckle. “Who bought them for you?”
    “My . . . friend.”
    “Only a husband or lover would buy something that fine.”
    She sipped her brandy. “Perhaps,” she replied with a shrug. “But since I have had only one lover and no husband, I shall call the person a friend.”
    He realized that no matter how hard he tried, she would not reveal the name of the man who bought the earrings for her. Perhaps they were from her father. After all, he’d heard the stories that her father paid her expenses as long as she never named him. That might explain their significance.
    “Do you plan to give me the earring?” she asked, placing the snifter on the table. “Or was this just a ruse to get me to your home late at night?”
    He stalked her until reaching her position by the fireplace and then dragged her into his arms. “What would you give me for the earring?”
    Her musical laugh tickled his ear.
    “I have already given you more than any other man.”
    “True.” He bent his head and kissed the side of her soft neck. “But I believe a reward might be in order.”
    “Hmm, what do you have in mind?”
    He trailed kisses down to her shoulder. Feeling her shudder, he nipped her skin with his teeth. “I think you know what I have in mind.”
    She pressed her lower belly against his burgeoning erection. “I believe I do.”
    “Sophie, I want you as my mistress.”
    Sophie stiffened. Hearing his words had a strange effect on her. A mistress entailed more than she was willing to give him. She didn’t want that, but she didn’t want to end their relationship just yet.
    She wondered if he would reject her offer. Jennette was lost to him, and Sophie doubted Jennette’s feelings were ever anything but loving friend. Sophie knew of no man of quality who would ever offer for her. So she could never get what she wanted either. Therefore if neither could get what they wanted would this idea hurt anyone?
    “No,” she finally replied.
    “Why not?” He continued his loving assault on her shoulder. “I can give you anything you want, a house, carriages, servants.”
    She laughed. “I already have those items.” Quieting her voice to a whisper, she added, “All I want is you.”
    He fell silent and stopped his hot kisses. “I don’t understand, Sophie. You won’t be my mistress, but you say you still want me.”
    She pressed her lips against his strong jaw. “I will be your lover. An equal. With the right to tell you what I want and when. The same as you. With the right to end this relationship if I decide. There will be no gifts and no money. Nothing to make me feel like a prostitute.”
    He smiled against her shoulder before lifting his head and looking down at her. “I believe we both might enjoy that alliance.”
    “There will be no talk of marriage or love,” she added. She could never allow herself to fall in love with him when she already knew they could never be together. By protecting her heart, she wouldn’t feel the bitter taste of abandonment when they ended the relationship.
    “How does one stop oneself from falling in love?” he asked with a deep frown.
    “Surely, you haven’t fallen in love with all your mistresses.”
    “No, but I never created rules such as yours with my mistresses. We both knew going into the arrangement that I would not and could not marry them.”
    “Exactly, as is our case. Only that also includes love in our