Aurora nodded. She’d assumed as much. Counted on it. She turned her face up to his, the perfect position for a kiss. They were far enough from the other couples lingering about that no one would witness if she pressed her lips to Healey’s. Aurora had learned the sort of pleasure that could be derived from only a kiss. Or a touch.
And she wasn’t going to wed Healey or fall in love with him if they didn’t find pleasure together. That had been the entire reason she’d approached Worth.
Not entirely.
A disgusted sound came from her.
“Lady Aurora? Are you unwell? Should I take you back inside.”
“You should kiss me, Mr. Healey.” She paused. “Thomas.You should kiss me, Thomas.”
He cleared his throat at the use of his Christian name. “Lady Aurora—”
“Just Aurora, Thomas. We are quite alone. No one will overhear.” She took hold of the lapels of his coat and pulled him in her direction. “Put your mouth on mine and kiss me. I insist.”
Good lord.She hadn’t thought it would prove so difficult.
Healey sucked in a breath, taken aback by her words, but Aurora saw a gleam of desire flickering in his dark eyes. She’dbeen right. He was hiding a passionate nature behind all that starch. This was better than she’d hoped.
“If you wish, my lady.”
“I do. Definitely.” Aurora stood on tiptoe.
Healey turned her just so, his lips warm. So were his fingers as he lightly touched her chin. Breath soft and minty, and—
Absolutely nothing.
No humming of her skin. No flutter between her breasts. Her nipples didn’t harden to peaks. Disappointing, but there was amildstirring in her mid-section. But—no rush of wetness between her thighs. Or anything at all in that area.
But this was only the first time she’d kissed Healey. Perhaps if she tried harder. This kiss was far too polite.
Aurora boldly pressed her palms flat against Healy’s chest, stretching out her fingers. He was warm and solid. Lord Gilroy had stolen a kiss at the end of her last Season and Aurora could feel the ridge of some contraption he wore to rein in his less than manly form. Healey, she was relieved to find, seemed muscular and fit beneath his coat.
“I’m not made of glass, Thomas.” Her voice sounded throaty. Seductive. Aurora slid her hands up to his shoulders. “I won’t break.”
Worth hadn’t never considered her fragile. Grabbing her by the throat and kissing her against the bookshelf at Tate’s. How Aurora would arch and writhe on his lap while his fingers dug into the flesh of her hips.
“Lady Aurora.” Healey attempted to pull away from her.
Aurora grabbed the edges of his coat and held tight, pressing her mouth to his once more.
That languid sensation was certain to fill her bones if he kissed her longer. At any moment, Aurora would be intoxicated, her skin prickling deliciously.
The only thing she felt was a moth landing in her hair.
Aurora opened her mouth beneath his, brazenly trailing the tip of her tongue along Healey’s bottom lip. She nipped at his mouth, begging to feel something.
Healey’s entire body trembled. A gasp came from him at her boldness. He did not grind his hips against hers.
Drat.
“Well,” an annoyed hiss came from behind Aurora. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Enough of thisnonsense.
Watching Aurora dance with Healey while that tedious idiot pretended not to stare at her bosom had been one thing, but witnessing her attempts to seduce Kenebruke’s nephew was quite another. Charles wasn’t sure whether to laugh at the play being enacted before him or toss Healey into the nearest shrub.
