Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (124 page)

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richness of the marbled tiled entry with its gilded mirrors did not resonate with her image of Paine Ramsden's financial status. He was a gambler by trade, a man who ran a seedy gaming hell. Those were not the traits of a man with money to spare. Yet, this was a house only a wealthy man could afford to purchase. And it would take a large sum of money to renovate it as well.

They reached a curved staircase and halted.

'Would you like to go straight upstairs or would you prefer to sit and talk in my office, makeshift as it is?'

Paine offered, gesturing to a room farther down the hall.

Julia lifted her skirts with resolution. 'Straight upstairs, if you please. I am eager to see this business concluded .'

'Do not be too eager, my sweet. There is much you might discover to be enjoyed if you take time and savour our interlude,' he said in low tones at her elbow.

'You are quite sure of yourself,' Julia responded with disdain. 'I am interested only in seeing the deed accomplished in an expedient manner.'

Paine laughed, a throaty, intimate chuckle that sent an unlooked-for thrill through Julia. She spared him a sidelong glance that lasted long enough to see that his blue eyes danced with smug merriment, giving her the distinct impression that he knew something beyond her comprehension.

She didn't like being so far out of her depth. She was not fool enough to believe that she'd ever held the upper hand in their dealings. He held all the knowledge and all the power. Should he decide not to go through with

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her request, she had no way to coerce him back into compliance.

They ascended the stairs and she reflected wryly on her earlier thoughts to offer her as

compensation, thinking they would appeal to him in his lowly circumstances if she needed leverage. In light of this elegant house, her

seemed laughable. But

her powerlessness was not. She had no leverage now if he suddenly found his long-forgotten conscience and backed out. Then again, he was a rogue of the first water. Gossip had it that he seldom slept alone and the line of women parading through his bedroom was endless. He was a man of intense physical appetites. He wouldn't back out. He
needed
sex.

stopped before a panelled oak door and opened it wide, allowing her to enter ahead of him. 'My chambers,' he said without flourish, but she could feel his hot eyes on her, watching her reaction.

She hid nothing in her response to the room. Indeed, she didn't know how she could have schooled her features to remain impassive when faced with the seductive opulence that spread before her. The room was exotic and utterly unlike anything she'd seen before-not that she made a habit of frequenting male bedchambers. In reality, seeing one or a hundred bedchambers was immaterial. She knew instinctively she could view every bedroom in England and not find one like this.

Candlelight from candelabras placed about the room lit the place in a soft glow, casting shadows on gold

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damask-hung walls. Beneath the soles of her dancing slippers, Julia could feel the plushness of the carpet, the thick pile a marked contrast to the threadbare Axminster rugs that dotted the floors of her uncle's home. This carpet was of soft wool dyed in rich crimson hues and accented with gold to match the walls. Julia doubted anyone else in England would have been so bold as to decorate a bedroom in deep crimson and burnished gold, but the differences didn't stop there.

Her eye was drawn to the furniture; an ornate cabinet of ebony stood against one wall, inlaid with gold and ivory to create a design, perhaps a symbol of some sort.

Low-slung chairs filled with pillows sat at angles to a low teak table, but what garnered her gaze unequivocally was the bed.

Unlike the high, pillared beds she was accustomed to seeing, this bed was framed low to the ground, piled with pillows and silken coverlets. Blankets seemed too ordinary of a word to describe the lush swathes of fabric that lay strewn about the bed, vibrant in their shades of scarlet, saffron and jade. Julia could not resist the temptation to touch the fabrics. She walked to the bed and ran her fingers across the surface of the closest covering, revelling in the smoothness of the silk as it shushed through her hands.

For a moment, she'd forgotten where she was and why she was there. The heat of his gaze on her back served as a searing reminder. She dropped the blanket self-consciously and stiffened.

'It's a magnificent bed,' Paine said from across the

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Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady

room in a slow drawl that indicated

watched her

every move.

very interesting. I've never seen one like it,'

Julia replied stiffly, turning away from the bed.

'Are you sure you wouldn't like a drink before we get started?' Paine offered, opening the inlaid doors of the ebony cabinet to reveal assorted sizes of crystal glassware and an impressive collection of decanters.

Julia was tempted to say no. As a rule, she didn't drink beyond an occasional glass of champagne. But tonight, the thought-numbing properties of alcohol, which she had been warned against as a debutante, might be just the addition she needed to get through the evening. 'Yes, sherry, please.'