He flinched as he thought of his brother Solomon, dead for almost a year. He hadn’t spoken to him for a full year before that horrible day.

He never would again.

He blinked and turned away so as not to be vulnerable in front of her.

“At any rate, I don’t hate you for what you did,” he said, fiddling with papers on his desk.

“Thank you,” she said softly, and she moved to him. She reached his side and her hand came up slowly to settle on his forearm. “I appreciate your grace in a situation where you have been wronged.”

He glanced down at her hand on his body and wished for a wild moment that it were on his bare skin. He heard the catch of her breath and lifted his stare to her face. Her gaze was a little unfocused now. Unsteady with desire she likely didn’t fully understand.

Desire he very much wanted to cultivate.

“Perhaps it all worked out for the better anyway,” he murmured.

She licked her lips and his groin tightened with increasing need. Damn, but she was a temptress without even knowing it. And in less than one week she would be his, body and soul. He could drown in her if he wanted to, use her to forget his troubles.

He shook his head at that. Christ, he sounded like his father or his brother. Pleasure had always been first to them. Over duty. Over decency. He couldn’t allow that, no matter how much he wanted this woman.

He stepped away from her and broke the contact. “There is only one thing I demand from you going forward,” he said as he settled into his chair and looked up at her.

There was no mistaking the flash of hurt that he’d pulled away, but she erased it from her face quickly enough. “And that is?”

He leaned forward. “Do not lie to me again, Thomasina.”

She considered that a moment, then nodded. “I won’t. And I hope I can expect the same from you. This is not the match you wanted, Harcourt…Jasper.”

His breath caught, for that was the first time she’s said his given name. Now it hit him in the gut like a punch and made that wanting, that out-of-control longing, all the stronger.

“I know this isn’t your choice,” she continued, oblivious to his reaction. “But if we can be honest with each other, I hope it will not be one you regret.”

He jerked out a nod and then dropped his gaze to his work. “I realize we did not finish our tour, but I should probably focus on this now. Perhaps we can reconvene at a later date and continue. After all, there is no rush.”

He glanced up and saw her lips purse a fraction. Once again, though, she shoved whatever her reaction was aside and nodded. “I understand. But I do have one thing to ask you before I leave you to your business.”