An Offer From a Gentleman (Bridgertons, #3)

by Julia Quinn

“Come,” he said. “Dance with me.” She took a step forward, and he knew his life had been changed forever.

“Tomorrow I shall disappear.”

“Then we must pack a lifetime into this very night.”

“What do you see?” he asked. Sophie stumbled, but she never took her eyes off his. “My soul,” she whispered. “I see my very soul.”

“I want—” His voice dropped to a whisper, and his eyes looked vaguely surprised, as if he couldn’t quite believe the truth of his own words. “I want your future. I want every little piece of you.”

But where reputations are at stake, appearance is just as important as fact.

And he kissed her. Really kissed her, with fierce lips and probing tongue, and all the passion and desire a woman could ever want. He made her feel beautiful, precious, priceless. He treated her like a woman, not some serving wench, and until that very moment, she hadn’t realized just how much she missed being treated like a person. Gentry and aristocrats didn’t see their servants, they tried not to hear them, and when they were forced to converse, they kept it as short and perfunctory as possible. But when Benedict kissed her, she felt real. And when he kissed her, he did so with his entire body. His lips, which had begun the intimacy with such gentle reverence, were now fierce and demanding on hers. His hands, so large and strong they seemed to cover half her back, held her to him with a strength that left her breathless. And his body—dear God, it ought to be illegal the way it was pressed against hers, the heat of it seeping through her clothing, searing her very soul. He made her shiver. He made her melt. He made her want to give herself to him, something she’d sworn she would never do outside the sacrament of marriage.

♥

“Be mine,” he said, his voice thick and urgent. “Be mine right now. Be mine forever. I’ll give you anything you want. All I want in return is you.”

♥__♥

The sight of him had ignited it anew, and his touch was like kerosene, sending her into a conflagration.

Somehow,” he said, touching his fingers to her chin, “it felt right.” And then his heart skipped a beat, because all of a sudden everything felt right. He loved her. He didn’t know how it had happened, only that it was true.

Deadddd ♥

“They say that a smart person learns from her mistakes,” she interrupted, her voice forcefully ending his protest. “But a truly smart person learns from other people’s mistakes.” She pulled away, then turned to face him. “I’d like to think I’m a truly smart person. Please don’t take that away from me.”

“At any rate,” Colin was still grumbling, “I am not going to marry soon, and I am certainly not going to marry Penelope Featherington!”

Lol 😂

“You are the reason I exist,” she said softly, “the very reason I was born.”

He loved her. Suddenly the world was a very simple place. He loved her, and that was all that mattered.