“Was I angry?”
“Oh, my, yes.” She smiled. “I can’t imagine why.Iam the one who should have been angry. And I’m nineteen, if you must know, though you shouldn’t have asked.”
He began to relax again. She was wonderful. He couldn’t bear much more. He wanted to hug her, yet he was loath to remind her of the impropriety of their situation.
“Is this your first season, Regina?”
She liked the way he said her name. “You are conceding that I am who I say I am?”
“I suppose I must.”
“You don’t have to sound so disappointed about it,” she retorted.
“I’m devastated, if you must know.” His voice became husky and he allowed himself to run a finger along her cheek, gently, so as not to frighten her. “I don’t want you to be an innocent. I want you to know exactly what I mean when I tell you I want to make love to you, Regina.”
Her heart began to beat faster. “Do you?” she whispered. She shook herself. She must not lose control. “Yes, of course you do,” she teased him. “I thought I saw that look in your eyes.”
His hand dropped to his side and his eyes narrowed. “How would you know that look?”
“Oh, my, you’re angry again,” she said innocently.
“Bloody hell!” he snapped. “Can’t you be serious?”
“If I become serious, Lord Montieth, then we’ll both be in trouble.”
Her dark eyes were inscrutable. Good Lord, there was another girl entirely beneath that effervescent surface.
She stepped past him and moved to the center of the room, and when she turned back to look at him, the gamin smile and teasing sparkle were back in place.
“This is my second season, and I have met many men just as improper as you,” she assured him.
“I don’t believe that.”
“That there are men as improper as you?”
“That this is your second season. Are you married?”
“You imply that I should be, because I was brought out last year? Alas, as far as my family is concerned, there is no one good enough for me. A most annoying circumstance, I assure you.”
Nicholas laughed. “It is too bad I sailed to the West Indies last year to inspect some property I have there. I would have met you sooner if I’d stayed here.”
“Would you have tried for my hand?”
“I would have tried for—some part of you.”
For the first time, Reggie blushed. “That was too bold.”
“But not as bold as I would like to be.”
Oh, he truly was dangerous, Reggie thought. Handsome, charming, wicked. Then why wasn’t she frightened of being alone with Nicholas Eden? Common sense told her she should be.
She watched breathlessly as he came toward her, closing the space between them again. She didn’t move away, and he smiled. A tiny pulse was beating at the base of her throat and he had an overwhelming desire to run his tongue over it, feel the pulse beating there.
“I wonder, are you as innocent as you claim to be, Regina Ashton?”
She couldn’t give in to him, no matter how strongly he worked his magic on her. “Knowing who my family is, you really can’t doubt me, Lord Montieth.”
“You haven’t been scandalized by my bringing you here,” he blurted. “Why is that?” He studied her face closely.
