Chapter 16

H olbrook barely held back his curse. He'd meant to pull out before finding his release, but instead, he'd finished inside her like an untried youth.

He rolled them over, and she snuggled against him. He loved the way she curled into his chest like a tiny kitten seeking his warmth, but his satisfaction was marred by worry.

Despite being married for many years, she'd never conceived, but that didn't mean she never would. He ran a hand up and down her back as he imagined her belly round with his child. A different kind of longing settled somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.

He'd never given any thought to having children aside from knowing it would happen at some point in the future. But now that future was in question because it was entirely possible Lucy wouldn't be able to give him an heir.

He tried to imagine giving her up. It was what she said she wanted from him—a love affair instead of courtship. That would free him to find someone else…

Panic seized him at the thought. No, he couldn't let her go. He had brothers. One of them could become the next viscount if he never fathered a son, because he wanted Lucy more than anyone—or anything—else. The viscountcy be damned.

Lucy raised her head, smiled, and cupped his cheek with one hand. "I can hear you thinking. Is something the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

He shifted so they were both on their sides, facing each other, and kissed her. "You, my temptress, are perfect."

"Tell me what's troubling you."

He blew out a breath. It seemed they were going to have this conversation now. "I was careless at the end."

A small vee formed between her brows. "Careless?"

"I finished inside you. I should have pulled out so as not to risk pregnancy."

Her eyes searched his for several seconds. Then she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "I might be barren."

He leaned onto an elbow and looked down at her. "But you might not be. It is no secret that your husband had affairs. Did he father any children with those women?"

"None that I'm aware of." She sighed and covered her face with her hands.

He waited, watching her carefully to ensure he hadn't caused her any distress. One minute passed, and he could no longer stand her silence. If she was angry with him—either for being reckless or for mentioning her husband—he wanted her to let it out. He couldn't make things better if she didn't speak to him.

He pulled her hands away from her face. "Tell me what you're thinking. Yell at me if you must, but please don't shut me out."

She gave him a small smile. "I'm not upset, but I'm afraid you might be when I admit that I don't care if I fall pregnant. In fact, I'd consider it a blessing."

His heart soared at her words. "This isn't the most romantic place to do this, but will you do me the honor?—"

Her hands covered his mouth, and she shook her head. "No, no, no…"

His foolish hopes came crashing back to earth. He waited for her to remove her hands and then said, "One denial was sufficient."

She sat up and he did the same. He placed an arm around her shoulders and held her to his side, half-afraid she was going to flee.

She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It is now my turn to apologize." She gave a wry laugh. "I wasn't turning down your proposal. Well, not exactly. But I was horrified you might have thought I'd engineered things—telling you first that I wanted just an affair and then telling you I hoped I was pregnant—to force a marriage proposal from you."

The small flicker of hope reignited in his chest. "So you're saying you will accept my proposal?"

She crawled onto his lap, straddling him, and he was powerless to stem his renewed desire for her. "I am saying that I will consider it."

He didn't think he'd ever smiled so widely in his life. But he couldn't find it within him to care if he looked foolish.

He brought her hips closer so her core was flush against his cock. "Is there anything I can do to sway your decision?"

She shifted her hips against him, dragging her wet folds over his hardness with a soft murmur of approval. "I am always willing to consider a logical argument— Oh!" Her breath shattered on the last word as he lifted her and rammed her down onto him. "And I must say, you do seem to have a very persuasive way about you."

He laughed, allowing hope to bubble through him. She was going to be his—he could feel it in his bones. Lucy was still holding on to her stubbornness, but he'd wait for her however long it took. Until then, he was going to do everything in his power to see that she became addicted to his touch.

"You've created a monster, Lucy. Now that I've given into temptation, you're never going to get rid of me."

Her arms tightened around his shoulders, and she leaned into him, taking over, her body rising and falling over his. She spoke softly against his mouth. "That might not be such a bad thing."

There was no longer any need to hold back, and he gave himself over completely, without guilt, to his desire.

Lucy was thinking about accepting his proposal. She wanted to have a child with him, so there was no need to take precautions.

Now he just had to figure out how to spend more time with her because he doubted Clarington would allow him unfettered access to his sister's body.

He'd need to count on the assistance of allies who were rooting for them, chief among them the duchess.

But for now he would think only of the beautiful, vivacious woman in his arms. Her body tightened around him all too soon, and he couldn't hold back his own release.

She let out a soft moan and then a louder one while her orgasm went on and on. He held her in place as he followed, giving her every part of himself, body and soul.

Before too much longer, he vowed to make Lucy Mansfield the new Viscountess Holbrook.