Impossible Desires (novella) by Tamsin Baker Page A

you need? Perhaps I can suggest someone for you?”
    He offered his arm to the lady and drew her closer. She had the most remarkable green eyes and Gareth felt his body harden once again.
    Her gloved hand rested lightly on his arm as she allowed him to draw her back to the entrance of the ballroom.
    She waved at the assembly of the ton’s elite.
    “I want a gentleman who doesn’t need money.”
    He nodded. It was not an unusual request for a lady – especially if she was without money herself.
    “You have no dowry or inheritance?” He pitched his voice low out of respect for her feelings.
    Lady Rossette laughed, the husky sound causing the hairs on Gareth’s arms to prickle.
    My God .
    What was it about this woman that affected him so strongly?
    “Quite the contrary I assure you, my lord. However, I have no wish to become prey to a fortune hunter.”
    He smiled – a rare sight. This woman was unusual indeed and that alone attracted him. He nodded towards the overcrowded ballroom. He needed a distraction.
    “The gentleman standing by the punch bowl has twenty thousand a year and is ready to marry.”
    Gareth heard himself suggesting young Lord Werthing while at the same time, his hand folded over hers. He was trying to be a sophisticated ton gentleman, but if he was honest, he wanted her for himself. He did not want to hand her off to some other lord. She was a rare beauty, with a spirit to match. Everything inside Gareth was screaming MINE , but he stilled the beast within.
    “Does he ride?”
    Her question made his mouth kick up at the corner. Not unless riding meant in a carriage.
    “Not well.”
    “Does he box?”
    Gareth wanted to laugh aloud at this one, his head growing a little giddy. He had never been so entertained by a woman before – how peculiar to find the quality in one this beautiful.
    “Sadly, no.”
    “Do you know another gentleman, my lord, who perhaps has those attributes?”
    A grin began to stretch across Gareth’s face as he pretended to scan the room. There was no other man in London who would suit her…other than him.
    It was time to make his intentions known.
    “Perhaps you would come home with me this evening?”
    Again, she laughed her throaty laugh and Gareth experienced a fresh wave of lust. What an amazing sound.
    “Perhaps I won’t, my lord. I play for keeps.”
    Gareth felt his heart give a strange kick at her declaration. He chose to ignore it.
    “And I play for fun.”
    Lady Rossette squeezed his arm and sighed. “Hmm, I know.”
    She disengaged her hand and sashayed away.
    Gareth moved back into the ballroom to follow her. He had never been so intrigued by a woman before. He had always believed he would have to marry a virgin. Perhaps he didn’t.
    A well-bred widow had the same advantages of a well-bred virgin without any of the setbacks. However, he needed an heir and he knew the Baron had died without one. That was worrying.
    “Lord Osborne.” An older gentleman bowed in front of him and Gareth struggled to remember the man’s name. He was usually excellent at remembering people’s details, but the woman had rattled his brain somehow.
    “My lord, how are you this evening?”
    “I am well, thank you. Have you heard anything more about the India Trading Company that we were discussing last sennight?”
    Gareth smiled and began to rattle off what he had recently learnt about his new investment. He knew this world inside out – the world of the London ton , with their proper behavior and thousands of rules. He followed every one, which was why he had remained unmarried for so long.
    For he desperately craved another world – a darker one. He wanted to experience a grand passion and he needed a woman that would inspire such desire. The woman he had met tonight had a dominance that he found arousing. It was also an exceptionally uncommon thing to find in a woman.
    Why did he feel as though the key to the new life he craved was Lady Rossette?

Chapter 2
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