“Lady Amberley, what are you doing out here alone?”
Adeline whirled around. A man stepped out of the shadows where he had been leaning against the wall. He puffed on a cheroot, and she saw Lord Kingsbury’s chiseled jaw in the soft flare of light. Her racing heart slowed somewhat.
“You startled me,” she said. “Again.”
He stepped closer. “Sorry.” A sheepish smile played across his lips as he threw down the cheroot and ground it under his heel. “Youstartled me. What are you doing out here alone?” he repeated.
Adeline opened her mouth to tell him everything. Lord, she needed to tell someone. But her good sense kicked in, and she snapped it shut. Instead, she shook her head and turned back to look out at the empty garden. It must be too cold tonight for shadowed trysts. Even the men laughing at the other end of the veranda had gone back inside. All was quiet except for a slight ruffling of dead leaves as a breeze blew across the lawn. Adeline rubbed at the goose bumps on her bare arms.
“I needed some air. Why are you outside in the cold, Lord Kingsbury?”
She felt him move closer. His presence overpowered her senses. The mix of smoke and something spicy and masculine underneath made her stomach flutter with…anticipation? Whenever she was near him, she felt this warm, fluttery feeling. It felt like possibilities. She hugged herself closer as she choked back tears. Except there were no more possibilities. She was trapped.
“I also needed some air.” His hands clasped her arms and rubbed gently up and down. “You shouldn’t be out here. You will freeze.”
She turned to face him. His hands continued to rub her arms, transferring some of his warmth to her. “Why did you need to get air?” she asked again.
“Truth?”
She gazed up at him and nodded.
“I saw you dancing with Lord Bellamy. I didn’t like it.”
“I didn’t like it either. My father has agreed to Bellamy’s offer of marriage. Lord Bellamy was kind enough to inform me while we were dancing.”
Kingsbury swore softly under his breath, but they stood so close that she didn’t miss the colorful curse. His anger on her behalf ignited her own anger at her father. Certainly, Lord Bellamy must have offered him money to clinch the agreement. Why must she be the pawn in his negotiations?
She stared at the green and gold paisley pattern of Kingsbury’s waistcoat, then laid her hand against his heart. His broad chest felt as warm and solid as she’d imagined, and she wished to burrow against it until she could breathe again around this tightness in her chest.
His breath hitched at her touch. Raising her gaze to look into his eyes, she tried to ascertain his feelings. Did he also feel this strange pull between them? His eyes were swathed in shadows, but his lips curved into almost a smile. Then he brushed his thumb along her jaw.
“Kiss me,” she blurted out.
“Pardon?” His hand dropped to his side as though she had burned him with her words.
“Kiss me. I have never been kissed. I do not want Lord Bellamy to have my first.”
Lord Kingsbury stared down at her with apparent regret. “I don’t know…” He shook his head.
Perhaps he was being a gentleman, or perhaps he had no desire to kiss her, but what she said was true; she did not want Lord Bellamy to be her first kiss. So she laid her pride bare. “Please.”
*
Adeline took anotherstep forward, erasing the space between them and sending his pulse jumping. As always, she smelled so good. And the hand she’d laid on his chest seemed to brand him with its soft touch. His conscience ceded control to his overwhelming need to taste her lips, and he slid an arm around her waist. “Are you sure you want me to be your first kiss?”
The moonlight glinted off her spectacles and made the amber color of her eyes luminous. She nodded.
He cupped her delicate jaw and brushed his thumb over her full bottom lip. Just as he thought, so soft. Then he leaned down to press his lips to hers, thinking to keep it simple and quick. But Christ, she tasted even better than she smelled, and he brushed his lips against hers again for another taste. A small sigh escaped her lips, and the sound ignited the flame of his desire for her that he had kept tamped down until now.
He tilted her head to capture her mouth in a long, sensuous slide of lips. Adeline rose onto her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her fingers played with the hair at the nape, and he let out a low groan of satisfaction at the press of her soft curves against him.
She was a perfect fit for him. The truth of it washed through him with a certainty he had never felt with another woman. Now that he had tasted her, he could never let her belong to that villainous old goat. He raised his head and waited for her eyes to flutter open. When they did, she looked as dazed as he felt.
Her beautiful eyes blinked owlishly. “Thank you for being my first kiss.” A small furrow appeared between her brows. “But I fear it was a mistake.”
“Why? Was it not enjoyable?” He bent to nuzzle her neck, placing a kiss behind one ear.
“No, the opposite. Much more enjoyable than I anticipated. You have probably ruined me for all other kisses.”
