Deliciously Wicked by Robyn DeHart Page B

seven.”
    He shook his head. “I can’t do this,” he said. “Not with you.” Then he turned and walked out the door.
    Not with her? What did that mean? What was the matter with her? She knew she was no great beauty, but neither was she plain or unattractive. So why not her?
    More importantly, why did she need him to want her? He was not a suitor, and they were not going to marry, so why did it matter? The easy answer was because it felt good. His kisses and his touches sparked her body.
    She’d never before been kissed or embraced in such a fashion, and she loved it. Loved the desire coursing thick through her blood. It wasn’t merely the sensations, though; she knew it wouldn’t be the same with just anyone.
    It terrified her to examine the situation more closely to discover the truth. She was playing a dangerous game, and ultimately she knew she would lose.
    Â 
    Gareth closed his eyes and let the wind slap at his face. A storm was brewing, and the wind had picked up considerably. He’d gone too far tonight. Why did he find it so difficult to be in the same room with Meg and not touch her? There was nothing that unique about her body. She was a woman. He’d been with women before.
    Why were her lips so much more tempting? Her laughter so much more appealing? Her presence so much more inviting? She was an innocent, and he shouldn’t toy with her emotions and virtue with such disregard. He could blame her for being a temptress, but he was the true one to blame. He and his selfish nature for taking what he wanted without giving thought to the repercussions. Just as his father had done, and his father before him.
    This was not what he needed right now. Yes, he wanted a higher position in the factory, but he certainly didn’t want to achieve it by nuzzling the owner’s daughter. If anything, that might lose him his current position. This whole fiasco with Munden had really broken his focus on his work. He need only find that focus again and resist the temptations that being near Meg brought.
    But she was so different from any other woman he’d ever encountered. The differences seemed more elaborate when he considered her wealth and privilege. Unlike most women of her station who sat around and gossiped and drank tea all day, Meg had plans. Even the silly society she and her friends had formed. It was not something that women of their birth should be doing.
    She was unmarried by choice, he assumed. Becauseit seemed unlikely that Meg had not had her fair share of eligible suitors. Yet she wanted to forsake the life of a woman and being a wife and mother to take her father’s factory. Perhaps he’d been wrong when he’d assumed no one would understand his need to prove himself. It was a noble sacrifice born out of a sense of responsibility, and Gareth couldn’t ignore that.
    Unfortunately, it was a trait that only made her more appealing to him.

Chapter 7
    M eg walked into her family dining room not quite certain what to expect. She had received a summons to dine there for the evening rather than in her father’s chambers where she had been eating since his accident. And lo and behold, the answer to her question sat at the far end of the table.
    â€œPapa!” She hurried to his side. “But how did you get down the stairs?”
    â€œPah,” he said gruffly. “The doctor finally listened and brought me some crutches. So I walked. Or rather I hobbled, with some assistance.”
    â€œBut you could have fallen,” she protested.
    â€œAh, but I didn’t. Sit, child, let us dine together as civilized people would.”
    She gave him a small curtsy, then took her seat at the opposite end of the table. A spot reserved for a wife, but he had never even considered remarrying after hermother died. He’d ached too much. They both had. Which was precisely why it was becoming abundantly clear she had to cease dallying with