“No. But what if I simply have no interest in you while you have laid your heart bare?”
“Do you?”
“Do I what?” he asked.
“Do you have no interest?”
After a brief hesitation, he said, “No.”
“Oh.”Brilliance felt a wave of disappointment, then thought perhaps she was misunderstanding him. “No, as in you donothave ‘no interest’ in me, or no, you have no interest in me?”
He stared at her, frowning. “Even if I have an interest in you, I am precluded by decency and good manners from telling you on the second day of our knowing one another. It is simply prudent to hold oneself and one’s feelings private.”
“Prudent?”she echoed. “I detest prudence. It is like stuffing a lacy handkerchief in one’s mouth.”
Lord Hewitt rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“You are a singular female to be sure.”
Then he wrapped his fingers around each of her shoulders, held her firmly in place so she couldn’t step closer, and lowered his mouth to hers.
“Mm,”she sighed, feeling like a cat in the sunshine. She’d been wondering if the kiss was exactly as she’d recalled — delightful and exciting.It was!Lord Hewitt smelled manly, although Brilliance wasn’t certain what the fragrance was. And his lips were perfectly firm against her own, making her feel ... desirous of something more.
Squirming under his restraint, she wanted to press her body against his, but he was stopping her every attempt. Nevertheless, she would enjoy herself. Parting her lips, she relaxed and tilted her head as he had done in his bedroom.
As she’d hoped, he slanted his head in the other direction, and their kiss deepened.
In the next instant, his hands moved from her shoulders to her back. Lord Hewitt drew her close and pressed her curves to his hard planes. In a twinkling, she had her fingers entwined in his hair at the back of his neck.
When his tongue touched hers, she could not hold back the moan of pleasure. Apparently, the sound brought his attention back to where they were. Releasing her swiftly, he stepped back, although she would have liked to explore the scintillating sensations a while longer.
When she opened her eyes, not realizing she’d closed them, Brilliance saw his glasses were crooked and his hair mussed.Had she done that?What’s more, he now had a little paint over his right eyebrow where her bonnet had rubbed.
“Never mind,” Brilliance said, reaching up to smooth his hair for him. And then she spat on the thumb of her glove and used it to scrub at his forehead.
Through it all, he remained motionless, although his gray-green eyes tracked her every move.
Satisfied there was no trace, she asked, “Doyoulike roasted chicken?”
For an instant, he continued to stare at her as if he thought her a mad woman. Then he straightened his glasses and offered her his arm once more.
“I do,” he said as they began to walk the path again. “And peas and potatoes.”
A warmth spread through her. How perfectly they were matched until he added, “But I also enjoy mushrooms sauteed in butter with salt and pepper over a piece of toast. A most satisfying meal.”
She shuddered. “I can overlook that.”
“I am not certain I understand —”
The trees parted, and there was the fishing group.
“Look, there is Colonel Twitchard and the others.” At once, it was obvious she was the only female who had ventured to the stream.
The male guests fluttered around her eagerly, especially Lord Patterson, who drew her away from Lord Hewitt to help her prepare her rod.
“The fish are biting,” he said with enthusiasm.
She went with him to the stream’s edge, glancing back to see Lord Hewitt already in conversation with their host, Colonel Twitchard.
