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He lifted an eyebrow at her words. “Well, perhaps this lady could teach you a thing or two about jewelry and gowns.”

“I cannot say anything against that,” she agreed, chuckling and lowering her gaze to what she was wearing at that very moment. “The gowns you have chosen for me are… beyond reproach. They are the most beautiful things I have ever seen, honestly.”

“One beautiful thing deserves another,” he flirted with her.

That fire inside of her was raging now. She thanked heavens that the table was between them. Otherwise… she had no idea what might have happened.

“You are too kind,” she said, endeavoring to keep at least a semblance of a distance, but that was increasingly becoming more difficult.

“Not many would grace me with that epithet, I assure you,” he reminded her of something they were yet to discuss, but this was not the moment for it. She didn’t want to talk about bad things. She didn’t want to talk about anything other than the way he made her feel that day and that evening. Only, it was a conversation she didn’t know how to start.

The dinner seemed to fly by like a whirlwind until they both found themselves having tried a little bit of everything on the table before them, and feeling completely satiated, at least food wise.

“Well, I do believe it is getting late,” he suddenly said, getting up.

Penelope almost gasped. She didn’t want to go. Not yet. She wanted this evening to continue in any manner, just as long as she would remain in his company. However, seeing he was approaching her, she got up. Now, she was standing before him, facing him with her heart beating all the way down into the soles of her feet, feeling like a frightened little rabbit, wanting to run away, but not being able to.

He gently brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, staring at her. His gaze lowered to her lips. That was the moment she thought he would kiss her again, and she would allow him to. In fact, she wanted nothing more than that. However, he didn’t do it.

“Let me walk you back to your chamber, my dear,” he said, offering her his arm instead.

“Th-thank you,” she managed to muster as they were walking back toward the house.

They climbed the stairs, heading toward her chamber slowly, as if he purposefully made their walk last as long as possible. She couldn’t blame him. She wanted it to last as long as possible, too. Finally, they reached her doors. That was where they lingered, neither of them willing to separate.

“This is where I bid you goodnight,” he stated.

A part of her wanted to offer him to come inside. Another more ravenous part of her wanted to grab him by the face and kiss him passionately, only then pulling him inside her chamber and slamming the door closed with her foot. But all of that remained only within the confines of her mind, for she did none of it. She remained standing in place, just listening to his words.

“Oh… yes, of course,” she managed to muster, much to his obvious delight.

“I wish to help you uphold your deadline of a whole year,” he reminded her with a voice that seemed to tangibly caress her ears as it reached her. “That is what you said, right? A year?”

That scoundrel, she thought to herself. He knew exactly that it was a year. He didn’t need to ask. He was merely asking because he knew that he was right. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but she dared not admit that.

“Yes,” she said, taking a barely noticeable step back. “A year. That was what I said.”

“And I heard you, have I not?” he asked, still with that devilish grin she hated and loved at the same time.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard well or not,” she said with mock indignation although it was obvious that they were both pretending, fighting the urge to jump into each other’s arms.

“I have,” he nodded. “And I am acting upon it, being a gentleman and all.”

“Not that you were a gentleman the previous evening,” she reminded him.

That was when he took a step closer to her. Their noses were almost touching, their breaths mingling. “Did you like it when I was being ungentlemanly?” she heard him ask, and a million little goosebumps erupted down her back, rushing in all directions of her body, awakening every single sense to the danger of his presence.

“I… it was rather ungentlemanly, yes,” she said, not even knowing what it was she was saying.

He took another step closer. They were almost kissing now, their lips just a few inches away from each other, tormenting her.

“That’s not what I asked, Penelope,” he murmured in that deep baritone of his that she loved so much that made her weak in the knees. “I asked if you liked it.”

“I… I did,” she finally managed to admit, feeling her cheeks blazing red, revealing everything she was feeling at that moment.

He grinned even wider at her confession. “Well then, should we do something about it?”

Yes, yes, a million times yes.