She needed no second invitation, but slurped the beverage with gusto.
“Don’t tell me,” he said. “Not only didn’t you eat anything, you haven’t drunk anything either all day.”
She merely shrugged before draining the glass. He was starting to feel annoyed by her. It appeared she couldn’t look after even her most basic needs.Did the woman need a nanny?But her next question disarmed him.
“Do you think they’ve started the picnic yet?”
He couldn’t help but grin at her. He’d been crouching beside the sofa, but he rose to his feet and offered her his hand.
“I believe some food will do you better than resting here.”
“I do hope there are sausage rolls,” she said. As Miss Talbot stood, her hat fell behind her onto the sofa, and James hurried to pick it up.
“Allow me,” he said.
With her facing him, he placed it atop her shiny brown hair, which was plaited and pinned up. An irrational wish to unpin and unplait and run his finger through the thick skeins made him feel a little clammy as well.
“Make it straight,” she ordered, referring to her bonnet.
Dutifully, he adjusted it while her soft brown gaze regarded him the entire time.
“Don’t forget the bow,” she said. “Without a mirror, I can hardly do it myself.”
There were plenty of mirrors in the room, but he had no desire to relinquish her care to any one of them.
Drawing the silky cream-colored ribbon through his fingers, he set to tying the most perfect bow under her equally perfect chin, all the while staring into her eyes. When he finished and his fingers trailed along her chin, he couldn’t help brushing a thumb across her lush lower lip.
She gasped, and he fell farther under her spell, utterly compelled to kiss her.
Chapter Eight
Helplessly, James leanedin and claimed Miss Talbot’s perfect mouth, tasting the tart and sweet lemonade when he did.
With his hands going to her slender waist, he drew her close, feeling her breasts press against him. Her hands circled up behind his neck and rested there.
The familiarity of their kiss astonished him, considering how infrequently it had happened before. The jasmine and orange blossom scent clinging to her skin and her clothing filled his head, and he crushed her closer as he’d wanted to do since first seeing her in the hotel’s café.
