The Kiss by Sophia Nash Read Free Book Online Page B

what she lacked in height, she more than made up for in the strength he could feel emanating from her body.
    She fought against the pull of his arms for but a moment before she stopped struggling against his breast.
    "Listen to me," he said softly into her dark brown hair. "John Wilde is one of the best men I've ever known. I'm not trying to hurt your family. I'm trying to do the very opposite. I want to settle the matter of this pension as soon as possible since my life is the only thing separating your family from an uncertain future. I dare not leave your father to the mercy of some delightful fourth cousin I don't know how many times removed if something should happen to me."
    She had stilled and Quinn was surprised she wasn't making any effort whatsoever to disengage from his embrace. She had suddenly gone very soft in his arms and he was finding it hard to ignore her lithe curves—especially when her fingers curled at the small of his back.
    He swallowed harshly and tried to clear his mind. "Georgiana, what have I done to make you so determined to challenge me at every turn? Have I ever—"
    "I'm sorry" she interrupted; her nose in his neck cloth muffled her words. "You're right, of course."
    Well, that was a first. Ladies, in his experience, never, ever apologized unless a gentleman apologized first.
    "Apology accepted," he said gruffly before she could change her mind. His body was becoming heated and he knew he should ease away from her but for some reason his body refused to obey his mind. Instead he found himself closing his eyes and leaning in to get closer to her warm soap-scented skin.
    "Shall we start over, Georgiana?" he whispered. "Shall we pretend I've just arrived, and you're happy to see me after my long absence? There was a time we were comrades, before we got on with our lives and went our separate ways as all children must."
    She finally pulled away and he watched a veil draw over her usual open expression. He had forgotten the depth of her fathomless, large, dark eyes. She looked ready to speak for a moment, but then she stopped. Instead, she accepted his arm to walk along the hedgerow which secreted scores of birds determined to fill the air with a song of pleasure for a storm survived.
    "Quinn," she said tentatively. "I'll allow Father is possibly unable to fulfill all the duties of a steward. But, if I can promise our family will keep Penrose in topmost working order, will you allow us to continue ... please?"
    He took a deep breath and turned to her, halting their progress. He shook his head slightly. "I realize you love it here. But this stewardship is too heavy a burden on your family. No, don't try to argue. Perhaps if your brother was a little older or had help . . . Where is Grayson, anyway? I've yet to see him or thank him for his obvious devotion to the estate."
    A flurry of pain flooded her expression. "To sea. The Duke of Helston, Ata's grandson, secured a midshipman's berth for him two years ago, before Father became ill."
    A ball of unease grew inside him. "Are you suggesting that you alone have overseen the estate? Georgiana, that is singularly appalling."
    "Please, Quinn."
    She said it so softly he had to lower his head to catch it. The intensity was such that he hated what he must do. "You can't think to continue on like this. It's impossible. Georgiana, I'm sorry, but I shall have to find a new man to—"
    "I can do it," she insisted, the pleading in her face piercing his defenses.
    "Georgiana, I know you can do it. But you simply must not do it. A marchioness—in truth or not—should not muck about in a pigsty. Even you must see the absurdity of it. Ladies are meant to undertake the feminine arts, oversee the female domestics, arrange entertainments, and that sort of thing."
    She stared at him, a terrible combination of misery and disappointment etching her features. And then he knew he could not take this away from her altogether; it must be done more delicately, in degrees over