“Because I was wearing the mask,” she retorted. “You didn’t see who I truly am.”
“If you’d stayed, you might have discovered what it would have been like with nothing—not even your mask—between us.”
“Right.” She meant to scoff, but she only sounded breathless.
“Do you think I’m that shallow of a man? That I can’t see beyond a mere blemish?”
My scar is so much more than a blemish!she wanted to shout.It is how the world judges the entirety of my worth.
She looked into his handsome, intent face…and saw Croydon. The relief that he hadn’t been able to hide when she’d released him from their engagement. When he realized that he wouldn’t have to marry Lady Beastly.
“I think you’re a man.” She forced herself to shrug, feeling the rough scrape of the fence through her riding habit. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Then why did you pick me at the masquerade?”
Make it impersonal. Get rid of him. This has gone too far.
“Because you were the best looking of the lot that night,” she replied emotionlessly. “And because you seemed like the kind of man who knew how to please a woman and to do so with discretion.”
“Right,” Murray muttered.
She wouldn’t let herself contemplate why he looked oddly disappointed.
“Now that matters are settled, please move aside,” she said in cutting tones.
“Matters between us are far from settled.”
She glared at him. “Pardon?”
“We’ve settled nothing,” he said. “There’s still the matter of my honor to deal with. Not to mention the negotiations for the railway.”
The railway.Thatmust be why he was pretending to have a personal interest in her.
The recognition hurt, but it also came as a relief. Now that she understood what his true motivations were, she could guard herself against him. She was no longer the same trusting twit who’d once been so easily deceived by others.
“If you think to secure my property through matrimonial means, think again,” she advised him.
He stared at her. “Are you implying that I’dmarryyou for your land?”
“I’m not implying it.”
“Damnation, woman.”
He planted his hands on the fence next to her shoulders. The leashed power radiating from his strapping frame ought to have intimidated her...but all she felt was a deep, tingling awareness. Surrounded by his heat, his addictive scent, she pulsed with yearning.
“First, you accuse me of blackmail, then of being no better than a fortune hunter. One might think,”—he dipped his head closer, his breath heating her ear—“that you’re deliberately trying to get rid of me, lass.”
Heavens, was that the faint lilt of a Scottish accent? She felt woozy, every fiber of her being responding to this charismatic man. A man who wanted to marry her…
Because he feels duty-bound. Because he wants your land. Don’t be a ninny—don’t lose control and let yourself be hurt again.
“Only an arrogant cad would think otherwise.” To emphasize her point, she placed her palms on his chest and pushed.
He didn’t budge, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Is that the best you’ve got, angel?”
“You don’t want to try me,” she warned.
“But I have tried you, my dear. And from what I recall, you were…”—the new husky timbre of his voice quivered through her insides—“very, very sweet.”
