Clutching her throat, Meghan tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly appeared.
He turned abruptly and strode away with purpose.
“Wait!” Panicked desperation lent her voice a lower husky quality. “Please.”
When he turned back, his hard smile and even harder eyes mocked her.
He’d forced Meghan to reveal her hand.
“Do better, sweet.” His tone was a warning.
Meghan let her arms fall quickly.
He expected more from her than a slight plea.
A man of his pride and power would.
Fuming at his exertion of control over her, Meghan curled her fingers into fists.
His cold eyes mocked her.
Words sending him to the Devil sat on the tip of her tongue. She opened her mouth to tell him precisely what he could do with his vaingloriousness, but different words intruded. Those from a book her dear Hampshire neighbor Miss Cassandra Austen’s sister had anonymously published.
“…vanity, not love, has been my folly…. Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other…” But unlike Miss Elizabeth Bennet who hadn’t known herself, Meghan very much knew her heart and its desires.
August quirked an eyebrow, saying more with that arch than words ever could.Venture with caution.It is your turn. What will you do?
Her notorious Scottish pride fell fast, a distant second to the man before her.
She let her fingers unfurl.
Meghan dampened her lips. His burning stare locked on that distracted gesture. She stopped, unwilling to show him any uncertainty.
“I wanted it to be you,” she said softly.
“I know.” His stoic demeanor caved to pure male satisfaction. “Why would you want a dullard like Hartwell when you can have me?”
For a night’s diversion? A secret courtship?More…?
He was a man who knew his worth. And why shouldn’t he? Dashing, roguish, charming, witty, clever—and too handsome for her own good.
Her lips twitched in a reluctant smile. “Have you always been this arrogant, my lord?”
“Confident,” he corrected smoothly. “I am confident in my abilities.” The hot gaze he dragged over Meghan branded each place it touched. “IneverythingI do.” He paused. “Now it is time for you to discover why, sweet.”
He stalked toward her.
Her heart stopped as he drew closer.
How pathetic she was—wanting him so desperately, loving him so much, when he had once bowed for her sister.
But he had desired her this night. She had felt his length pressed against her back, her name tangled with the warmth of his harshly drawn breaths.
And she felt it again, as he pulled her hard against him; her breasts crushed against the broad muscled wall of his chest.
August curved an arm possessively around her waist, drawing her closer. His shaft pulsed against her belly.
Meghan’s breath caught.
