“So, my dear Artemis, what’s it to be? Will you become my fiancée, even if it’s just for a little while?” Dominic’s voice was a gentle nudge, but surprisingly, it also contained an appealing, hesitant note, as though he was suddenly nervous about what her answer would be.
As though she mattered.
Artemis raised her gaze to his. “Very well, Dominic. I will agree to an engagement of convenience. I will help you with your daughter, and at the end of our arrangement—”
“You shall have your college.” Dominic was smiling at her, and Artemis felt her mouth lift into a smile as well.
“Yes,” she said softly.
“And we might even have a little fun along the way?”
“Oh, I hope so,” she replied with a laugh. “But not right now. I’ve caught a glimpse of myself in that mirror over the mantel, and it’s going to take me a few minutes to repair my hair before I venture out of this room.”
“You look lovely.” Dominic drew behind her as she began to smooth her curls and repin various sections. His hands settled at her waist.
“I look like a ravished hussy who just tumbled out of bed.”
“Mmm. As I said, lovely.” He bent his head and kissed her neck, making her shiver.
“That is not helpful, Dominic,” she chided gently.
Looking up, he caught her gaze in the mirror and flashed her a devilish grin. “Isn’t a man allowed to kiss his fiancée?”
“Not when she’s trying to make herself look respectable so she can go and face her aunt and everyone else outside. I can’t even begin to think what Aunt Roberta is going to say to me.”
Another teasing kiss, this one in the hollow behind her ear. “Your aunt didn’t seem all that bothered when I was proposing to you. In fact, I think she was rather in favor of it.”
“Yes.” Artemis grimaced as she slid the last pin back into place. Her hair still looked a little ruffled in places, but it would have to do. “I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me though. She’s always been a mercenary creature.”
“And so am I. I say, sod your aunt. She and everyone else can wait for our return. This man wants to kiss his fiancée properly.”
He turned her about so she faced him. And then he crooked a finger under her chin and kissed her. It was a soft, sweet, sensual kiss, nothing like the many they’d shared before. It was beguiling and gentle and made Artemis’s heart ache in the most peculiar way. She’d never been kissed like this before. With such tender reverence. As though she was precious.
She imagined it was the sort of kiss you bestowed on someone you loved.
But no, this was not, nor would it ever be a love match, Artemis sternly told herself as they quit the music room to, ironically, face the music. It was a relationship based on obligation-free lust and fun, and a degree of mutual respect and liking. And now there was a transactional nature to it as well. Everything about it was “convenient.” That was all.
She’d best remember that in the coming days.
Falling in love with the Duke of Dartmoor was not an option.