Pricing The Heart

Chapter 22

David pulled back slightly. "I do not wish to cause offense," he whispered, caressing her face, "but you shall fail in your attempt."

"Then I shall try again." Eloise jutted her chin in determination, causing him to chuckle softly. Her slightly protruded lips lured him to steal yet another kiss.

"I like having you here with me," he admitted, leaning his forehead on hers as he tightened his hold around her waist.

She pressed her palms to his chest, a small smile creasing her face. "I like being here with you, my lord."

"But I cannot love you, Mrs Taylor." He shook his head. "It is simply not within my ability, and I cannot, in good conscience, deceive you into thinking otherwise." He searched her eyes as he spoke, seeing in them the hurt she appeared desperate to conceal. "If you persist on this path with me, it shall lead you to nowhere else but certain heartbreak."

Eloise let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes. Silence thickened the night air as David watched her, his chest aching from the cruel words he had just uttered. Yet, he knew he couldn't lie to her because she deserved to know the true state of his heart; to know his heart had been torn to pieces—to know he was too damaged to love.

"You stand... offering me nothing," she whispered softly.

"I offer you friendship; it is not the best, but it is all I can give."

"Friendship?" She glanced at him.

Nodding, he swallowed. "Indeed. You're not obligated to accept it. Say the word, Mrs Taylor, and I shall end all of this right now."

She stood silently for several seconds, her gaze searching his.

"And if I don't?"

He sucked in a breath, physically pained by the thought of her rejection. It was one thing to know he could never love her, but it was an entirely different thing to know she would choose to walk away from him forever. The two months he had spent away from her had been beyond torturous. He could only imagine the torment he would endure in her perpetual absence. But it didn't matter, for he needed to put her above his own needs, and walking away from him was likely what was best for her.

"If you don't?" He forced the words out of his lips.

She nodded, causing a stray tendril of hair to fall on her forehead. Without stopping to consider his actions, he reached out and pushed it back, smoothing her hair as he did. He liked the feel of her hair, he silently admitted—and the feel of her small frame pressed to his large form. It had been many years since he enjoyed the company of a woman; too many years since he craved anyone like he craved Eloise, and he didn't wish for a time when he'd have to endure her absence.

Resisting the urge to beg her to stay with him, he released her and took a small step back to regain his composure.

"Perhaps I shall accept your offer of friendship, my lord. What would our friendship entail?"

"You would consider it?"

"Perhaps."

David thought his heart did a little flip at her words.

"If we are to be friends, then I shall insist you call me by my Christian name."

"I cannot possibly refer to you with such informality, my lord."

"I beg to differ, Mrs Taylor," he said, stepping forward once more. "You have kissed me quite informally." His gaze fell to her lips, his mind ravaged by the thought of taking them captive once more.

Her cheeks turned crimson, but Eloise had the unusual, yet maddeningly sensual, habit of standing and holding his gaze amid such open flirtations. A typical woman of the ton would swoon or feign exaggerated modesty.