Page 39 of How to Fall for a Scoundrel

Harry watched her efforts with unconcealed amusement, and when she finally shook her head, free of the last pin, he gave a silent nod, despite the fact that she probably looked an absolute fright.

“That feelssomuch better,” she breathed.

“You look delightfully rumpled.” His eyes lookedalmost black in the shadows, and there was a roughness in his voice that made her spine tingle.

They traveled in silence for a few minutes, then he glanced at her again.

“Do your parents expect you home tonight?”

“No. I told them I’d be staying with Daisy, but you can drop me off at King and Company. I’ll put the prayer book in our safe, and sleep on the cot in the back office.”

He tilted his head and his gaze burned into her. “Do you really think you’ll be able to sleep, after so much excitement? I doubt I will.”

Her breath caught. “What are you suggesting?”

“Come back to my house.”

She sent him an arch look. “And…?”

“We’ll have a drink and inspect our ill-gotten gains.” His eyes dropped to her thigh, where the tiny book rested beneath her skirts, and her body tingled. Just the way he looked at her made her heart miss a beat.

His gaze traveled inward, to the wrinkled silk in her lap, then up, over the exposed skin of her chest, lingering in the shadowed cleft between her breasts, and a dull, aching throb pulsed between her legs.

She wasn’t naive. Harry wasn’t simply inviting her in for a nightcap. If she said yes, she’d be tacitly agreeing to so much more.

If he kissed her again, she’d kiss him back—willingly.

And if he wanted to do more than kissing, well… she wanted that too.

She wantedhim.

“And after that?” she asked softly.

His brows rose. “I’ll show you how to run three-card monte, if you like. In case you change your mind about pursuing a life of crime.”

“It never hurts to have a backup plan.” Her voice sounded scratchy, hoarse. “Will you take me back to Lincoln’s Inn Fields after that?”

The look in his eyes made her stomach somersault.

“If that’s what you want. But, Ellie, if youstillweren’t sleepy… then I suppose I could kiss you.”

Her pulse stuttered, but she couldn’t resist teasing him. “To pass the time? Or because your kisses make ladies want to go to sleep?”

He raised his brows. “Did you feel remotely sleepy when I kissed you earlier?”

She bit her lip. “No.”

“I didn’t think so.” He uncrossed his legs. “You could kiss me back. And then I’d strip off that dress you’re wearing—the one that’s been driving me slowly insane all evening—and I’d do what I’ve been dreaming of since the first moment I saw you, which is to take you to bed and make love to you until we were both so exhausted, we’dhaveto sleep.”

Her bodice was definitely too tight. He wasn’t even touching her, and she felt like she might go up in flames.

“Oh,” she managed weakly.

His dimples flashed. “Oh, indeed. So, what’s your answer?”

Chapter Nineteen

A thrill of excitement speared through her, but caution still tugged at her brain.