Her lips parted. “Ian, I—”
His lips traveled to brush a kiss on the sensitive skin at her wrist. “Do you want to know what I think?”
She nodded.
His dark gaze lifted to hers. “I think you’re a highly intelligent lady. Gifted.”
Something flashed in her eyes, relief? gratitude? before her gaze shuttered and it was gone. “There are men who would consider it unattractive in a woman, especially a wife.”
“I am not one of them. Your intelligence has the opposite effect.”
“And what effect is that?”
He leaned forward on his knees until his lips were a hairbreadth away from hers. “It arouses me.”
She inhaled sharply. “Ian—”
He lifted her chin and forced her eyes to his. “Would you have me lie? You already believe me to be dishonest.”
“That’s not fair,” she whispered.
“I suppose not, but after learning what I have about you tonight I have a request.” The thought had come to him after learning of her secret, her mathematical and business genius, and hope had blossomed in his chest.
“A request?” she asked.
“I want you to visit the place.”
“Visit what place?”
“The Raven Club.”
Her mouth parted, but he placed a finger on her lips. “Shh, love. Please listen. I want you to visit as my guest. You were only there twice, once to meet me and once for us to come to our arrangement. But you have never visited it for pleasure.”
“Why would I do that? You know how I feel about gambling.”
“You think of it only as a hell, a place people like your father feed their addictions and cause pain to their loved ones.”
“Do you deny it?”
“Yes and no. But there is more. Much more. The club offers escape for those who need it—men and women. It also offers salvation for some.”
“You mean through your charitable donations? Or for you?” Determination shone in her eyes. But something else as well.
Curiosity.
His hopes lifted. “Both. Say you will let me escort you.”
She shook her head. “I’ve been there already.”
“Ah, but that was before. We barely knew each other. You are now my wife.”
He felt her shiver at the words. She may have said she wanted a marriage in name only, but her body was saying something else.
“Will you allow me to show you where I’ve spent the past ten years of my life?”
Her lips parted and he held his breath. There could be hope for him, for them, if he could show her how much the place meant. Could he make her understand?
She let out a deep sigh. “Yes. A tour. But do not think it will change my mind.”
Satisfaction coursed through him. She’d agreed. He didn’t know what it meant, if indeed it would mean anything. But she’d agreed.
He cradled the side of her face, and her eyes widened at the contact. “You have no idea how much you have pleased me. I want to kiss you, Grace. Just like last time. Remember?”
“I remember.”
He moved forward on his knees, pressed between her thighs. He was desperate to taste her. He hovered over her lips, then claimed her mouth. She tasted like sweet brandy, heady, intoxicating and oh so tempting. He slanted his mouth against hers, slowly exploring the softness, the lushness. When her lips parted on a sigh, he slipped his tongue in to explore the recesses of her mouth. Heat leapt to his groin when her tongue tentatively met his own.
She leaned forward in the chair, the leather creaking, until her chest grazed his. He was afraid to move, afraid she’d push him away. He needn’t have worried. Her fingers grazed his arms, then reached up to grasp his biceps. With a low growl, he slid his hand around her neck, and caressed the tender skin there as his mouth covered hers hungrily. He touched her with only one hand and his lips, yet lust consumed him.
He pulled her closer until she sat on the very edge of the chair. Her hands rose and her fingers dug into his hair. She made a sexy mewling sound deep in her throat that drove him wild.
He could no longer stop himself from touching more of her. He reached for her, one large hand curving around her ankle and trailing a palm up her calf to stop at her knee. He reveled in the touch of her satiny skin without her stockings. Her legs were slim, and the exposed flesh tempted him, drew him to touch her. “Your legs are lovely. Long, slender, and perfect. Like you.”
He became urgent. His hands ran up her legs, bunching the cotton fabric higher, and he pressed himself between her splayed thighs. Before he could go farther, she tugged on his hair and pulled away.
The fringe of her lashes cast shadows on her cheeks in the candlelight. “Wait. I need to know. Why did you come home?”
“For you.”
“For me?” Her chest rose and fell beneath the thin cotton, and he wanted to bury his face in her breasts. To worship her flesh until she begged him not to stop.
“It’s our wedding night,” he said.
“Have you forgotten what I said?” she whispered.
She still intended to keep him from her? Impossible.
“No, love. Have you forgotten what I said? I never agreed not to try to seduce you.”
Chapter Nineteen
At Ian’s words, and the hungry look in his eyes, Grace felt a shiver of anticipation travel down her spine. She also felt trepidation. She was aware of their indecent position, her nightgown bunched to her thighs, and her husband on his knees between them.
Her husband.
Oh, God.
He was tempting as sin. She wanted him to kiss her. Wanted desperately to feel his heat, wanted to explore his muscled chest with her fingers.
What had she said? She didn’t want him in her bed.
Liar.
She wanted him desperately. But intimacy would not change the fact that he’d lied or that he intended to keep his gambling hall. She’d agreed to a tour. On his arm as his wife. She should be horrified, but after studying his books for hours, a part of her was wildly curious. It was nothing like the books she’d kept for the milliner—as different as the earth from the stars—and it stirred her interest.
Then there was the man himself. His attractiveness was devastating.
He kissed her lips, her cheek, then made his way to the delicate shell of her ear. He nipped on the sensitive flesh, and she let out a held-in breath. It felt so good.
“Sweet Grace. Do you have any idea how badly I want to make love to you?”
Oh my. Did he have any idea how badly she wanted him to? Her curiosity was replaced with a deep yearning.
“It’s true. I came home to spend a wedding night with my bride. But what I found was infinitely more fascinating. You at my desk invading my ledgers. Rather than be angry, I found myself drawn to you as I’ve never been to another. Your intelligence is like an aphrodisiac.”
It was as if he knew exactly what to say. A poet’s words would have no effect on her, but being called intelligent was something she could not easily resist.
Did she want to resist him?
Nothing about Ian was as it seemed. Her heart squeezed in her chest. She’d learned much about him tonight through the club’s ledgers. The tiny figures spoke to her much more than a person’s words or actions. He worked hard. Very hard. He didn’t gamble himself but donated a lion’s share of his profits to the needy.