His Reluctant Lady by Ruth Ann Nordin Page A

“If you wish to
be a rake, you’re free to do so, but you’ll be a gentleman when
you’re with me.”
    Lowering his voice, he said,
“But you don’t need a gentleman. You don’t even want a gentleman. You want to be
pursued. You need to be won.”
    “ Are you comparing me to
some animal you need to hunt?”
    He laughed and turned with her.
“Hardly. I don’t desire to make love to an animal.”
    “ I’m surprised, considering
the fact that you’re acting like one.”
    “ And which one would that
be?”
    “ A wolf.”
    “ A wolf? Not a bad choice.
Quick, smart, territorial. They mate for life, you know?” When she
groaned, he grinned. “I love your quick wit. I also love your
beauty. You’ll make a marvelous wife once you decide to love your
husband.”
    She shook her head. “I will never
remarry.”
    “ Why don’t we go outside?”
he said in a soft voice. “Take a nice stroll, maybe even share a
kiss?”
    “ You may add ‘intelligent’
to the list of things you claim to admire about me, Mister
Robinson. You think I don’t know what a scandal that would
be?”
    “ You can’t blame a gentleman
for trying. We’ll be married either way, but if you insist on
prolonging my torture, then so be it.”
    “ I know I’m going to be
sorry I asked, but ‘torture’?”
    “ My heart won’t be complete
until I make you my bride.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I was right. I’m
sorry I asked.” The music came to an end and she curtsied. “It’s a
pleasure to end this dance.”
    “ Maybe next time we dance,
it’ll be between the sheets,” he whispered, knowing it would bother
her to no end that he said it.
    And he was right. Her jaw dropped then
she narrowed her eyes at him. What a lady of passion! He had a
feeling that once she fell in love with him, she’d make his life
very much worth living.
     
    ***
     
    The next morning, Christopher bounded
down the stairs in his guardian’s townhouse. It would be nice to
get out of here and move into Lady Richfield’s
residence.
    “ What are you so happy
about?” Perry asked as Christopher leapt off the final step and
planted his feet on the floor.
    Christopher grinned at his guardian.
“Love, my dear cousin, love. It’s everywhere around us, isn’t it?
Soon you will exchange vows with your bride, and I’ll exchange them
with mine.”
    “ I think you’re taking
things for granted. Besides, I wasn’t aware that you were
interested in a young lady.”
    “ The lady I’m going to marry
is two years older than me, but it’s such a small gap in our ages
that no one can protest our union.”
    “ Who is this lady?” Perry
asked, his eyebrow raised in interest.
    “ Lady Richfield.”
    “ Lady Richfield?”
    Noting the amusement in his tone,
Christopher frowned. “You don’t think we’ll make a suitable
match?”
    “ I’m acquainted with her,
and she has more sense than to marry a young man who takes little
responsibility for his life.”
    He gasped and pointed to himself. “You
think I don’t take responsibility for my life? Need I remind you of
the torment your friend, Lord Pain, put me through? I haven’t
consumed too much wine or gotten into any brawls since. I’ve
behaved admirably.”
    “ So one would think, but I
sense you engage in mischief from time to time. However,” Perry
leaned on his cane and headed down the hallway with Christopher, “I
think marriage is exactly what you need. It’ll be a stabilizing
influence in your life. But if you think my friend Nate is hard on you, I
don’t think you can handle Lady Richfield. Compared to her, Nate is
a harmless puppy.”
    Christopher chuckled. “Her
bark is worse than her bite. But with Lord
Pain , his bite is as bad as his
bark.”
    “ I’d argue with you on that,
but I suppose it doesn’t matter. If you manage to get her to agree
to marry you, I give you my consent to marry her.”
    Good. At least he had his guardian’s
approval for the match. “And considering you’ll marry