Prim scowled. His fury was fueling her own anger. Her chest took deep breaths, and she pressed her lips together.
“While I was expecting every bit of this brutish manner,” she countered.
“I am happy I didn’t disappoint,” Leo hissed. “What were you thinking, Prim?”
“I accepted an invitation to a ball.”
“You willingly walked into the beast’s lair and smiled about it. I have ridden like a madman through London and searched this place, fearing I would find you in the worst possible state imaginable.”
Prim’s fury took a massive hit at his admission. Her lips fell open, and she leaned back, as if to look at his face, to make sure he was sincere. He must have seen his worry, because she looked away. Leo grabbed her chin with punishing force.
“Do you know how I felt hearing about this from Edwin?” He accused.
He leaned even closer, inched from her face. His body was vibrating, his jaw locked. He wanted to hit the mirror behind her.
“It was my choice to accept the invitation,” Prim said coldly. “Nobody told you to come.”
She pushed him and made a move to walk out the door. A low, guttural sound escaped him. Before she could take a second step, his hand reached out to her arm. He spun her back toward him with a force that landed her against his chest, and in two strides, he had her against the wall.
“You walked into a battle zone, Prim. This is a war that sees you as a weapon, a victim, or, at the very least, collateral damage.”
“I did what I had to do.”
Leo hit the wall beside her head with his fist. Prim didn’t even flinch. Their eyes locked in a battle of wills, her fire against his cold.
“You defied me and came to the ball,” he barked.
“I chose what is best for my sisters!” She snapped. “They are all that matters in this ridiculous game. If I have to walk through fire, through a ballroom, through hell itself to secure a future for them, I will do it without a second thought.”
“Damn you,” he hissed.
Before Prim could even realize what was going on, his mouth crashed down on hers. His fingers dug into her waist as he claimed her lips in a searing, harsh kiss, meant to completely destroy her.
He felt Prim tense for one second before her body gave up into his, her anger melting. She kissed him back with ferocity, her hands into his hair. She let her lips fall open in a gasp that he swallowed whole, and his tongue met hers in a furious, desperate clash.
His hands went behind her knees, and he pulled her up against the wall. She wrapped her legs around his hips instinctively. A low, guttural moan escaped him as he pressed his body against hers. This new angle deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding over hers with a hunger that bordered on violence.
For a moment, he forgot where they were, how dangerous it was, how risky, how mad. All that mattered was her body arching with need against his, the fact that she was safe and warm andhis.
Then he heard it.
“You can freshen up through here, Lady Trowbridge.”
Leo barely registered the words when the door flung open. At the doorstep was his mother. A moment of eternity passed between them. His mother’s shock quickly dissolved into action.
“I am afraid,” Bridget tried to block the view from the door, “That this powder room is occupied. I can lead you-”
Leo felt Prim tense in his arms, hiding her face against his chest.
“What is going on in here?” Lady Trowbridge demanded.
It could have been anyone but her. Anyone but this meddlesome gossip. One look over Bridget’s shoulder, who was struggling to close the door, and all was lost.
“This is most inappropriate!” She shrilled, her eyes wide with scandalized glee.
She took in the scene. There was no mistaking what was going on. Prim was still perched up against his thighs, her hair ruined, his clothes disheveled, and their lips swollen.
“Your Grace! And… and Miss Jenkins! In a state of… Such a scandal!”
