Lottie flinched. “You may be right about that.” When he appeared to relax a little, she continued, “But you must also recognize that the human heart is not ruled by logic alone. Even if my feelings for him are based on the past more than the present, even if they are not mutual, they are feelings all the same. And, I must tell you, I acted on them. We both did.”

Mr. Wetherby watched her. “I see.”

Lottie let out a little sigh of relief. Finally, this madness would be stopped.

“Thank you for your honesty,” he said tersely, then stepped toward her. “But you should call me Gordon. At least when we’re in private.”

Lottie tried to back away but came up against the bed. “You—you can’t still wish to marry now,” she sputtered.

He stopped mere inches from her person and his mouth curved into something close to a smile. “You do realize I agreed to marry you even when we thought you had run off with an Italian.”

Lottie couldn’t manage more than a dazed shake of her head.

He then leaned in so close that his pungent aftershave tickled her nose. “It’s a bit of a relief, actually,” he drawled. “Now I won’t have to be gentle with you tonight.” He reached out and cupped the back of her neck. Though his grasp was firm, he stroked her hair with surprising softness.

“You horrible man,” she whispered.

“I will be whatever kind of man you wish, Lottie. If you want a brute, so be it.” Then he pressed his mouth to hers in a hard kiss. Gordon Wetherby was no mere toady. He was as calculating as Uncle Alfred, and in less than an hour he would have control over her fortune, her person, her entire life. She pressed her hands against his chest, prepared to push him away, but then an idea sprung forth. And she had just one chance to enact it.

She fought down her revulsion and began to move her trembling hands in slow strokes. Gordon had a rather muscular chest—not that she ever planned to see him shirtless. He immediately pulled back, surprised and panting hard. Lottie could now recognize the signs of desire in a man. He wanted her. Badly. And she would use that to her advantage.

Lottie took a deep breath and silently prayed that she could pull this off. “I…I had no idea you were so passionate,” she said in a breathy voice.

He inhaled slowly and stared deeply into her eyes. “I’ve long had a passion for you, Lottie. And unlike that bastard, I will not walk away from this. Ever.”

Lottie managed to flash him a coy smile at the unsettling words and continued to stroke his chest. “And yet you claim to not be sentimental.”

He actually blushed.