Then Came You (The Gamblers #1)(78)

Lily was the first to break the languid silence. She raised herself to a sitting position, yanking at a corner of the sheet and pulling it up to her neck. “There are things we must talk about right away,” she said, making an effort to sound brisk. She cleared her throat. “I may as well be blunt.”

“For a change,” he murmured, his eyes glinting with a mocking smile. He couldn’t recall a single conversation when she hadn’t been blunt with him.

“It concerns money and obligations.”

“Oh, yes.” He sat up to face her, ignoring her attempt to drag the sheet over his lap. “My money, your obligations.”

She nodded uneasily. He was behaving strangely, his manner oddly lighthearted, the corners of his mouth tilted in a smile that made her feel off balance. “Last night you mentioned the five thousand pounds.”

“That’s right.”

Lily bit her lip in frustration. “Do you still intend to give it to me?”

“I said I would.”

“In return for what?”

All at once Alex didn’t know how to tell her what he wanted. It would have been easier if the moment were romantic. But she looked at him impatiently, her lips compressed with tension. It was clear that all the passion and adoration coursing through his veins was not something she reciprocated. He matched her businesslike tone. “To begin with, I want you to share my bed.”

She nodded. “I expected that,” she said gruffly. “How fortunate for me that I’m worthy of such a sum.”

The sarcastic jibe seemed to amuse him. “You’ll be worth even more when you’ve mastered a few elementary skills.”

Lily dropped her gaze, but not before he saw the flash of surprise and dismay in her eyes. It hadn’t occurred to her that there was anything beyond what they had already done together. He smiled slowly and reached a hand to her shoulder, smoothing over the tempting silken bareness. “It shouldn’t take you long.”

“I should like to be set up in a house,” Lily said uncomfortably. “It should be large enough for entertaining, and in a suitable location—”

“Would you like this one?”

He was mocking her, of course, offering the use of a family estate as if lodging a mistress there was a perfectly respectable thing to do. Lily glared at him. “Well, why not Raiford Park?” she snapped.

“If you’d prefer.”

Flushing, she gave him a pleading, angered glance. “Can’t you see this is difficult for me? You may find this very amusing, but I wish to get on with it! Do be serious.”

“I am being serious.” He pulled her against his chest and kissed her, his mouth warm and savoring. She responded helplessly, her lips parting at this gentle urging. Lifting his head, he stared into her bewildered eyes, his arms locked hard around her back. “I’ll make a deposit at my bank in your name—a sum I don’t think you’ll find fault with. I’ll have a carriage made for you in any style you wish. I’ll open accounts for you at any and all shops you desire. Despite my better judgment, I’ll even allow you to gamble at Craven’s, knowing your liking for the place. But you won’t wear any gowns I consider unsuitable, and if you accept the attentions of any man but me, I’ll wring your lovely neck. You’ll sleep in my bed every night, and accompany me whenever I go to the country. As far as your hunting and shooting, and the other activities you enjoy—I’ll allow it all to continue, as long as I’m present. No more riding alone. I’ll put a stop to any behavior of yours that strikes me as reckless.” He felt Lily stiffen. He knew the conditions were hard to swallow for a woman who’d never had even a marginal check on her freedom. But she offered no objections. “I won’t be unreasonable,” he continued more quietly. “I don’t doubt you’ll tell me when I am.”

She spoke then, sounding choked. “You should know something…I…I’ll take measures to prevent children. I don’t want them. I won’t have them.”

He hesitated, aware of the subdued intensity of her voice. “All right.”

“Don’t say that if you secretly intend otherwise.”

“I wouldn’t have said ‘all right’ if I didn’t mean it,” he growled. He sensed the importance of the exchange, that something was significant about her insistence. With time and patience, he would dig down to the root of her fear. But if her feelings never changed, he would accept them. If he never produced an heir, Henry would continue the family line.

“And when you tire of me,” Lily continued in a low, mortified tone, “you’ll allow me to keep everything you’ve given me.” From what she’d heard, that was a common understanding between a courtesan and her protector. If she were actually going to do this, she might as well look after her own interests. She was perplexed by Alex’s sudden silence.

“There’s something I haven’t yet explained,” he finally said.

Lily felt a chill of apprehension. “I can’t imagine what. Is it about the money? The house? If it concerns my friendship with Derek, there’s no need to worry, you already know—”

“Lily, hush. Listen to me.” He took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to tell you is that I don’t want you to be my mistress.”