Now that she’d looked him in the eye, it wasn’t so easy to look away. Whatever was compelling about him seemed to concentrate in his eyes, rendered almost black in the moonlight.
“No,” he whispered, voice dangerously low. “No, you aren’t easily scared, are you? Nothing frightens you.”
“I wouldn’t say so. But being afraid and persevering despite it are two different things, aren’t they?” she retorted.
He leaned closer still, and she could have sworn that he still carried the scent of the lake water around him.
“You see a great deal, Amelia,” he murmured, gaze dropping to her mouth just for an instant. “I should congratulate you on your sharp observation skills.”
“Practice makes perfect.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “It does. You should not be out here at this hour. It’s late, and the woods get cold at night.”
“You are the one who was swimming.”
He tilted his head. Before she knew what was happening, his palm curved around her cheek, thrillingly warm against her chilled skin.
“Yes, I was swimming. And you were watching me.”
Color bloomed in her cheeks. “I said I wasn’t… I didn’t…”
He gave a low, throaty chuckle. “You are going to cause trouble for me, aren’t you? I should have known it the second I saw you standing in that storeroom.”
“I don’t intend to cause any…” she trailed off when the pad of his thumb brushed the corner of her mouth.
At first, it seemed like an accident. Then, quite slowly and purposefully, he slid his thumb across her lower lip.
Her heart stopped, then started up again at twice its usual pace. The warmth of his hand and the gentle touch on her lip were all she could think of. Her pulse hammered in her throat. Could he see it? Did it matter?
“Yes, trouble,” he whispered. “That is exactly what you are.”
At that point, there was barely a hair’s breadth between his lips and hers, or at least it seemed so. Cool, smooth lips pressed against hers, stealing her breath. She gave a stifled gasp, which he seemed to draw into his lungs. His hands were on her waist, warm and firm, the rough bark at her back, and his damp shirt pressed against her front, the cool water almost sizzling as it touched her overheated skin.
When had she put her hand on his shoulder?
His muscles flexed under her touch. Shivering, Amelia dug her nails in until hehad tofeel it, but he never flinched away. The tip of his tongue stroked across her lower lip, threatening to plunge into the wet heat of her mouth. And shewantedit, wanted him to touch her, kiss her, wanted his hand on her ribcage to slide up to the swell of her breasts, even though a proper lady would never?—
He broke the kiss.
Amelia flinched, woken from her breathless desire as if someone had upended a bucket of water over her head. Lake water.
Stephen took a step back, drawing in a shuddering breath. His eyes had gone black, or perhaps that was her imagination.
“I cannot let you escape, Amelia. You ought to know that,” he stated, and there was an almost imperceptible quiver in his voice.
Amelia swallowed, pressing her shoulders back against the tree to ground herself.
“I like your grandmother, and would be pleased to be her companion,” she managed, after rolling the words around in her head. The kiss seemed to have jumbled up her thoughts. “But I cannot leave my sisters for so long. Surely you must understand that.”
He rolled his shoulders, and abruptly she found herself thinking of those crisscrossed scars. How on earth did a gentleman—aduke,no less—earn such marks?
“I understand that you will try to escape again,” he answered. “But you had better stop. I will send word to your sisters in the morning, telling them where you are. I shall also send a carriage to pick them up, and a maid to chaperone them and guaranteetheir safety. I’m sure they’ll be here shortly. In the meantime, I’ll have to insist you go back inside.”
Amelia swallowed, letting her gaze briefly drag up and down the length of him. Coiled muscle and barely suppressed energy. It wasn’t worth eventryingto outrun him. She wouldn’t even make it two steps.
Play along.For now, at least.
“If you say so,” she said.
