Harlan froze, his entire conscience telling him to remain where he was.
He slid his chair back and found himself approaching her. He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder that caused her to turn toward him. “Such a travesty shouldn’t go unheeded.”
The look of shock on her face was expected. The flicker of desire in her amber eyes was not. “You can’t surely be suggesting—?"
“It is a kiss, nothing more. And then your current dilemma will be solved.”
She blinked. "But… I don’t know who you are.”
“Sometimes the mystery is half of the enticement,” he whispered. Reaching out, he traced her lower lip with his thumb and was rewarded with her shiver.
“This is madness,” she breathed, and yet, Harlan noticed that she didn’t pull away.
Watching her for signs that he should stop, he slowly closed the distance between them, until his lips pressed against hers.
It was the worst mistake he’d ever made.
Chapter 3
Leah was frozen, coherent thought lost to this moment. He said it was nothing more than a simple kiss, but then, why did she want to pull him to her and deepen the embrace? She wouldn’t deny that there had been a certain awareness buzzing around them, but now her entire body sizzled with it, burning with the passion of a blazing inferno.
She could feel a hand at the small of her back, and with the slightest pressure, he brought her flush against his chest. She sighed when her breasts came into contact with his hard chest. Flames shot through her veins, her blood rushing hot with a need that had always hovered beneath the surface many times before, but now rose with a sweet desire.
She lifted her hands and placed them on his broad shoulders, and then slid them around to his neck. Scraping her nails gently along his nape, she was rewarded with a deep growl. He rolled his hips forward and through all the layers of her skirts, she could feel a distinct hardness sliding along her midsection. She gasped, her hands delving further into his hair.
She stopped when she encountered the ties of his mask.
Dear God, what was shedoing? She was a captive, a prisoner of this man’s mercy, and yet, she was kissing him as if they were about to become lovers!
Reality rushed back as she pushed away from him. "Stop this!” Her hands were shaking as she turned back to the stew. Closing her eyes, she told herself that she was in control once more, although her pounding heart might suggest otherwise.
“Leah—”
She curled her hand into a fist. “No.”
She held her breath, waiting to see what he might say next. She heard the slide of the chair legs as he sat back down. She hoped that meant it was the last of it. She would rather just forget that the most devastating moment she would ever share was with a complete stranger. No matter how much her body might want to continue what they’d started, she would do well to remember she was nothing to him.
The minutes ticked by with slow precision as she continued to stand by the pot and stir. She could have returned to the table and resumed their conversation, but she wasn’t certain she could keep her jumbled thoughts to herself.
By the time the stew was finished, she’d worked herself into a flurry of frustration, and not just over that kiss, but her entire future. Leah grabbed a nearby linen and folded it as she removed the pot from the stove. She carried it over the middle of the table and plopped it down directly into the center. She didn’t care if the hot metal scarred the wood. She was once again in control of her wayward emotions. “Dinner is served,master.”
She tossed the linen down and prepared to leave. In a flash, he’d stood and caught her by the wrist. “Where do you think you’re going?”
She lifted her chin. “I’m not hungry.”
Those mesmerizing hazel eyes nearly glowed beneath that mask she was coming to despise, and she was relieved to see that the ruthless villain had returned as well. It was much easier to spar with someone she disliked, rather than someone who practiced deception, but made her pulse race.
“I thought I made it clear that you will eat with me.”
“Of course. How could I forget that I’m still a prisoner?” She ripped her arm neatly out of his grasp and walked over and sat down on the opposite side of the table, where she proceeded to glare at him.
Visibly clenching his jaw, he slowly got up and went over to the cupboard where he withdrew two bowls and spoons and returned to the table. He set them down in front of her while he grabbed a ladle and began to scoop some out for himself. As the bowl was steaming, he sat back down and glanced at her. “I refuse to continue in this vein. I regret that I approached you as I did. A first kiss should have been with someone you trusted, not a lowly highwayman.”
Leah didn’t want to release her anger. That would make it too easy to start respecting him, and that would be a foolish error on her part. But since she had never been one to remain upset for long, she decided it would be best to accept the olive branch he was extending.
She got up and scooped some of the stew for herself. She blew on a spoonful to cool it, but before she lifted it to her lips, she added reluctantly, “Very well.” She slid the spoon into her mouth and licked her lips.
Harlan hadto force himself to look away from the mouth that tempted him at every turn. He couldn’t believe that some other man hadn’t snapped her up when he’d had the chance. Fortunately for him, their loss was his gain. But unfortunately, a kiss is all they would ever share. It was part of the reason he’d acted so hastily when he knew he’d been wrong.
