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Excerpt:
"How old are you?" she asked, unable to stop thinking about the matter of his age.
"Six and twenty, but I fail to see why it matters."
He had been only twenty-three when she had first caught his interest in Constantinople . Triumph flooded through her like the warmth of a fine wine. What a coup for a woman her age to have captured the carnal interest of a young, virile man. What woman of her years did not wonder about her attractiveness? What woman of her circumstance did not question if she still had the power to entice a man that was not her husband to her bed? How many other unsatisfied wives in London wished they could trade places with her in the bed of this man?
"The first time I saw you I knew I had to have you." Julian set his champagne flute atop the table and considered her across the length of the table. "There was nothing that could have stopped the wheels of fate from turning. Destiny is a mysterious thing. One must not fight it, but embrace it without question. Don't fight our destiny, Isabella. Accept it."
Isabella watched as Julian's long fingers reached for the brass bell that sat atop the table. With a flick of his wrist, the little bell rang against the brass and an army of liveried servants opened the door of the dining room and marched in, clearing away the dishes and the white table cloth. When the door closed behind them, Julian rose from his chair, and with a stride that reminded her of a panther, he prowled around the table and made his way to her.
With each one of his measured steps, her skin began to feel stretched, and butterflies began to flutter and circle madly in her belly. "Why me?" she whispered.
"Because you are a woman who knows what she desires. There are no coy games between us. You desire what I desire. You need what I need. You aren't ashamed of those needs. You don't pretend that you don't have them. I have never met another woman who was so honest. I certainly have not met with a woman my own age who could arouse or satisfy me like you do. Age means nothing. The only thing that matters is this, the passion and the friendship that I know we're building between us. I don't want a milk water miss that I must step carefully around. I want a woman whom I can ask to do anything. A woman who will do it because she wants to and because she enjoys it, not because it is her duty to suffer me, or endure the marriage bed. I want a woman who will ask me to pleasure her as she desires."
He reached for her and pulled her up to stand before her. "I want a companion," he murmured, his eyes holding her gaze steady. "I want someone who shares my interests and who can discuss any topic with intelligence and thoughtfulness. I want a friend who I can laugh with and spend time with. I want a woman who will accept me for the man I am, not the trappings of my circumstance, or my birth-but just me. I want a lover who will come to my bed and share with me all the pleasures to be found between a man and a woman. I want the elegant lady and the insatiable concubine who finds the forbidden exciting. I want you, Isabella."
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