He didn’t answer, offering a shrug.
“Maybe because someone believes it’s true,” she murmured.“That you have royal blood.”
Michael didn’t acknowledge her guess, though he agreed with her prediction.There was no other reason for anyone to kill him.
“Fairytales aren’t true, Hannah.A common soldier doesn’t simply become a prince.”
He could smell the faint scent of jasmine, and when she’d finished washing his throat, she kept her hands upon his shoulders.“Unless he already was a prince.And didn’t know it.”
Catching her wrists, Michael drew her hands away.“Don’t do this, Hannah.”
Confusion clouded her gaze.Then abruptly, she seemed to grasp his meaning.Her face colored, first with embarrassment, then anger.
“Were you trying to make a fool of me?”she demanded.“Bidding a thousand pounds for a handkerchief?”
He kept his mouth shut with no intention of explaining himself.
“You made them believe that we were lovers,” she continued.“That I’d given myself to you.”
“Is that what you’re doing?”He stood up so suddenly that her hands fell away.He needed her to realize that she was tempting the devil, whether or not she intended to do so.Possibly frighten her a little, so she wouldn’t risk coming too close.
“You had no right to blemish my reputation before all of those people,” she whispered.“I left London to start over again.And now they are talking about us.”She stepped backwards, her hands clenched at her sides.
He stared hard at her, willing her to see the truth.“You don’t want your freedom as much as you think you do.You like the rules you pretend to despise.”
She held still like a wild animal about to flee.“You don’t understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”He closed the distance, resting his hands on the wall behind her.“You want it both ways, don’t you?You want them to believe you’re a lady when you secretly desire something else.”
“No.That’s not it.”She shielded herself with her arms, hugging them to her chest.
He let his hands slide down to her small waist, feeling the tightness of her corset beneath the gown.“Why did you bid on the pocket watch?”
She looked guilty.“Because I didn’t want the women treating you that way.Like a piece of meat fought over by dogs.”
“I don’t care about what other people think of me.”
“Perhaps you should.”Her breath hitched when his hands slid up her spine once more.“You’re not at all the man you pretend to be.”
“I’m the kind of man you shouldn’t be alone with.”Lowering his mouth to her chin, he let his mouth nip the edge of her flesh.He tasted the light sweetness of sherry upon her mouth and waited for her to strike out at him.The kiss made her tremble, but again, she didn’t order him to leave.
Instead, her eyes filled with indecision, almost as if she were considering letting him ruin her.
“You’d better find that candlestick,” he warned.“Or I won’t be responsible for what happens.I’m going to take that forfeit now.”
“You would never harm me,” she whispered.To emphasize her prediction, she rested her palms upon his heart.The slight touch made the muscle contract faster within his chest.
He wasn’t quite so confident.Just being near her, touching her in this way, was making it difficult to concentrate.
Her scent was shredding his restraint, and he realized she was waiting for him to act.Her mouth was softened, slightly open in anticipation.But he didn’t take her offering.Not yet.
He pressed his mouth to her throat, kissing a path down to her exposed collarbone.She shuddered in his arms, not offering a single protest.
The taste of her skin, the way her palms moved up to cup his neck...he wasn’t certain he would be able to stop if she let things go much further.
Michael removed his gloves, letting them fall to the floor.His hands moved to the back of her gown, unbuttoning the first few buttons.“This isn’t part of the forfeit any more.”He grazed her shoulder with his teeth, kissing the soft place and evoking a sigh from her throat.“Order me to leave.”
One word, and he would go.She could lie in her nightdress tonight and remain untouched.
