“We have decided to live our own lives, yes? That is fair. However, we should both be mindful of our reputations. For Adam’s sake.”
“Darling, I believe you knowmyreputation.”
“I mean that we must not embarrass each other,” Madeline responded, frowning. “We do not want Adam to grow up with a cloud over his head. We don’t want everybody to know that his guardians loathe each other. I want him to have a happy, carefree life.”
“As do we both. Your suggestion to achieve this?”
She breathed out, forcing herself to meet his eyes. That shiver rolled down her spine when she did so, but she made herself continue.
“We’ll have an appearance of faithfulness,” she managed at last. “You may do as you like, of course, but be discreet about it. We must be seen to like each other. We must… must share outings.”
“Outings? Heavens,” Tristan laughed. He leaned closer, grinning. “What else should we share?”
Color flooded Madeline’s cheeks, and she pulled away abruptly.
“You are reckless!” she snapped. It was the worst insult she could think of at that moment, and it did not seem to hit its mark. Tristan gave a hoot of laughter.
“Reckless? Why, what a horrid word. Am I really?”
“You are teasing me again.”
“I am afraid so. It is a terminal condition, one I cannot help. Are you surprised that I am a reckless teaser?”
Madeline bit her lip, glancing away. She felt the urge to laugh, but knew that it would only encourage him.
“No,” she mumbled.
“Well, if it helps,” Tristan remarked idly, taking a step closer, “you are not at all how I imagined you to be.”
She lifted her chin. “Oh, so you have imagined me, have you? Tell me, howdidyou imagine me to be?”
He chuckled. “As somebody who would pull away when I dothis.”
Before she could respond to his strange remark, he took a stride toward her, cupped her chin in his long fingers, and turned her face up to his.
Then he kissed her.
Madeline had not, of course, been kissed before. Ladies weren’t. They shared their first kiss on their wedding day, watched by half of society.
This kiss was something else. His lips were warm and tasted faintly of champagne. His fingers on her skin seemed to burn, but somehow in agoodway. Ripples of heat shot through her chest, pooling in her gut and plunging downwards. In fact, the sensation seemed to pulsebetweenher legs, which was a shocking state of affairs and surely could be nothing that aladywould ever feel.
Not a proper one, at least.
Her hand had found his chest, firm muscle shifting underneath, and Madeline had a sudden, powerful urge to slide her hand upwards, curving around his shoulders. She could touch the tantalizing stretch of skin above his collar, even push her fingers into his hair…
No, no, no!
This was not how it was meant to be.
With a strangled gasp, Madeline pushed him away, staggering backward. He made no attempt to hold her in place. She stared up at him, hand lifting reflexively toward her lips, which felt more tender and sensitive than she had ever known them before. Tristan watched her almost curiously. There was no color inhischeeks, andhisbreath came coolly and evenly.
Oh, heavens,Madeline thought faintly.What am I doing?
CHAPTER 11
She stared up at him, wide-eyed, full of affronted virtue and plain surprise.
Tristan forced himself to stand still, arms at his side, and waited for her to act. His instincts, of course, told him to snatch her up and pull her close to him. He could kiss her again and run his tongue along the seam of her lips. He could wind his fingers in that glorious hair of hers and place his hand on the curve of her ribcage.
