Page 21

She laughed. With that laugh, the prizefighter with his black and blue face and the rake who wanted her for naught but his own pleasure vanished.

“Certainly not. Heavens! I can’t even fathom such a thing. You are to be my husband. I’ve not the stamina to entertain any gentleman beyond your formidable self, Lord Albie.”

His gaze ran over her dazzling figure. When their eyes met once more, she held his stare for a moment before running her gaze over his form every bit as boldly.

A sliver of optimism seeded in his heart.

But he made no move closer to her. He drew attention enough and would not place her in an awkward situation. Not after all she had already endured.

“I only hope we can remain friends no matter what.” She flushed, which made her look all the more alluring. “After we’re married, that is. I understand that matters might change after a pair weds.”

“How so?”

“Well, take your friend Prinny, for example.”

“Must His Royal Highness continually barge into this conversation?”

“He must know you more as a free bachelor than a married man. And I daresay likely finds you more fun for it.”

“You wound me! You don’t think I shall remain fun after we’re wed?”

“Now I said nothing of the sort. I merely want to be sure that you are firm in your decision.”

Albion leaned forward, closer to her though nowhere close as near as he wanted to be. “We haven’t known one another long, but I sense the connection between us.”

“I feel it as well,” she whispered. “I want to embrace our privileges as married partners.”

The growl in his throat was so low he felt assured she had not heard it. This boldness on her part was so devilishly alluring. She knew what she wanted and asked for it. He thought this was the key to many aspects of life, pleasure not the least among them.

For a moment, his body pulsing with desire, he thought he would do it.

Caution be damned. He would take her right here and indulge in another kiss, one that would make her melt.

That would make her care nothing for what anyone would say because who cared about silly things like the opinion of the ton when you were wealthy?

And because she would soon be his wife, Daisy needn’t care either.He would give her anything she wanted and the rest of Society could go straight to hell as far as he was concerned, for they had been foolish enough to shun this remarkable woman.

Diana didn’t think she had ever seen Albie look as attractive as he did today. And this was saying quite a bit, for she had agreed to marry a comely devil indeed. His tail coat was cut to frame his chest and strong thighs to maximum appeal.

This was supposed to be a practical arrangement, at least as he had initially presented it. The way she felt in his presence was anything but sensible.

“I feel the connection between us,” she told him, “but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take care as we proceed. I do worry about my family.”

Albion transformed. He became impassive as the Roman statues in the adjoining rooms, his Orcan origin tantalizingly apparent.

Albion’s fangs jutted out, more pronounced or possibly more conspicuous when the rest of his form stilled.

For a moment, Diana saw not her amiable fiancé but a powerful man, an impression that did nothing to calm her heart nor settle her head.

“They object to the match?” he said slowly. “Your father gave no indication of that. Though I allow he is a hard man to read.”

“No, no. Not as such. I do not expect they will. Not in the fashion you imply.”

“What do you think I imply?”

She hadn’t intended to spoil the moment. But Diana recalled Albion’s brother’s humiliation after he proposed to Lady Margaret. Behind fans, in whispers meant to travel, Lady Margaret had told anyone who would listen that she would never consider an orc for a husband.

And then she remembered Iris’s comments.

Though it might appear otherwise on the surface, Albion must have had a hard go of it here in London.

Even today, she had caught the stares he received from some of the other visitors in the museum, the way they moved quickly to put space between themselves and the giant orc.

Her Albie. It must have upset him, but he seemed accustomed to burying his true feelings.

“He does not object to an Orcan family, though it might take him some time to fully grow accustomed to it. But I am worried, Albie. I am a woman touched by scandal. I appreciate your name and value your protection. But the subtle slights of the ton may grow tiresome. You might choose at some point to live apart from me, and that I would understand. I hope it’s not impudent to suggest as much, for surely you have already considered it. ”

Albion made a dismissive motion with his gloved hand: his large hand, capable-looking for all its refinement.

“Your so-called scandal concerns me not in the slightest. Rest assured, I have Society well in hand. And innocuous behaviors London Society deems ‘liberties’ are natural and more than acceptable in my homeland. Otherwise, how are two people to know if they suit one another as partners?”

His sincerity touched her. Diana longed to unburden herself and confess that which she could not share with Lillian or anyone else: her mooning over Nigel Halman, her sister’s fiancé. Diana’s thoughts had been dishonorable, but she was well over them.

Before this confession sprung from her lips, she considered Albion’s likely reaction: the disappointment etched on his brow and a quick excuse to leave her company. No. She trusted Albie, but that guilt was hers alone to bear.

“We should both take every advantage of this match, Daisy,” Albion said in his mesmerizing baritone. “And our friendship shall grow all the stronger for it.”

“I only hope we might remain friends should either of us decide it is time to part ways. In the amicable Orcan fashion, of course.”

“You believe I am ready to flee at the earliest opportunity? Do I strike you as so weak?”

“I think nothing of the sort. We are friends? No matter what happens?”

“No matter what. You are entering into this marriage to protect yourself. To protect your sister. Are you not?”

Diana touched the velvet necklet again. Lillian had given it to her before she left so she would feel as though she were still right there with her.

“Yes. You know as much. But I’ve no desire for you to suffer for my sins.”

“I’ve an idea, then. Why don’t we see what happens and reassess at summer’s end?

If you still harbor concerns, you can repair to parts elsewhere.

Like any other respectable married English couple, we shall go forth with our separate lives.

” He leaned in close, whispering in her ear.

“But I daresay I shall remember this conversation. And take it as a personal challenge to ensure you have no wish to leave.”

“That is reasonable,” she said, subtly catching her breath as he pulled away, chiding herself for supposing another kiss might happen here of all places.

He arched an eyebrow. “Reasonable”

“All right. Thrilling.” She swallowed down any further admission, commanding her heart to beat not quite so loudly. “No matter what happens I am glad we are friends. Truly.”

“I shall never neglect our friendship,” he told her. “And so long as we are married, you will have all the romance, all the fun, you desire.”