Thea swallowed hard. Up close, he was even more handsome than she remembered. His blond hair slicked back, one roguish lock left to hang over an eye. And heaven help a saint, those eyes. Blue, hooded, full of sin. She’d forgotten how compelling his eyes were.
Instinctively, she took a step back. She was supposed to be avoiding him. This wasn’t good, and theycertainlyshouldn’t bealonetogether.
“We must leave this room immediately,” she said, her voice growing high and thin.
Ewan nodded. “I must talk to you first. Briefly. Alone.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Thea insisted.
He reached out toward her. “Please, Thea. Just for a moment.”
It was the use of her name that affected her the most. And the look in his eye, and the memory of the time they’d spent together, laughing and talking over dinner. And the scent of his spicy cologne. Oh, everything about him affected her. She couldn’t help it.
All of it combined in an instant to make Thea glance behind him at the door and say, “Very well, but please make it quick. If we’re seen together alone, there will be no coming back from the gossip.”
He nodded once and stepped toward her. She stepped back again.
He wrinkled his brow. “Are you frightened of me?”
“Of course not,” she said, but she was trembling. How could she tell him she was frightened of herself? Of her reaction to him? Of his nearness. She couldn’t trust herself. The memory of their kiss in the stables at Clayton Manor came flooding back, heating her cheeks. The alcohol she’d consumed wasn’t helping either.The man is engaged. The man is engaged. The man is engaged and always has been. If she could just keep that thought foremost in her mind, she might just escape this room with her heart intact. She shook her head and met his gaze. “What do you want to say to me?”
EWAN GAZED ATTHEA.It was so good to see her again. She was a vision come to life tonight. Her dark hair piled high atop her head. The gorgeous white gown flowing down her lithe body, her pink cheeks and red lips and flashing gray eyes. He’d missed her, he realized. Her company. The way she made everything more interesting simply by being present. What did he want to say to her? So many things he didn’t know where to begin. But he knew he must speak quickly. He was putting her reputation in danger being in here with her alone. He’d come here tonight for a reason.
“I must ask you one question, Thea. An important one.”
She nodded and averted her gaze, turning her head to the side. “Very well.”
Her profile was every bit as striking as her face. The outline of her long, graceful neck was visible in the candlelight. Her pulse hammered at the base of her throat. She was nervous. So was he.
Ewan took a deep breath. This wouldn’t be an easy question to ask. But hehadto know the answer. “Why did you refuse to marry me?”
Her throat worked as she swallowed, and she turned her gaze back to meet his. “Why would you ask me that? I thought it would be quite obvious.”
He clenched his jaw. “It wasn’t. Not to me.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle and turned toward the mantel, her back toward him. “I refuse to allow idle gossip to dictate my life.”
Ewan stalked toward her and spun her around to face him. He stared down into her eyes. Was it his imagination or was there a sheen of tears there? “I don’t believe you. You’re not telling the truth. At least not all of it.” He wanted to see her face when she lied to him.
Thea’s nostrils flared. She raised her chin to meet his gaze. “Very well. Let me be more blunt. I did not want to marry a man I do not love.”
Ewan dropped her arm and stepped back quickly as if she’d just struck him. He swallowed the large lump that had been forming in his throat since he’d begun speaking. He gritted his teeth. He would not allow her to see how her words had hurt him. Of course, she didn’t love him. She’d been forced to stay at his house to heal from a broken bone. They’d spent some time together, he’d kissed her once, that hardly meant they’d fallen in love. He’d been a fool to think she might have more intimate feelings toward him than she did.
“Of course,” he breathed. “I understand. I shall not bother you again.”
Thea reached a hand toward him. Her voice softened. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate all that you’ve done—”
Ewan shook his head slightly. “You needn’t say more.” He turned toward the door, about to walk away from her. He could live the rest of his life—hewouldlive the rest of his life—without seeing Lady Theodora Ballard ever again.
But her hand on his wrist stopped him. “Ewan, wait—”
Without thinking, he whirled around and pulled her into his arms. His lips crushed down on hers and he kissed her with all the passion he felt for her. He may never speak to her again, but he would have this one last kiss to remember her by.
To his utter surprise, she kissed him back. It was more than he’d ever hoped for, but she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and lifted up on tiptoes, kissing him back with every bit as much ardor as he’d demonstrated.
His hands moved to her hair. Then they cupped her face and keep her mouth glued to his. He stroked her cheek enjoying ever little sob, every little groan she made in the back of her throat as his tongue plunged into her mouth again and again. He turned her sharply and pushed her back against the nearby wall, needing to get closer to her, to touch her. He broke the contact of their mouths only momentarily to reach down and pull up her skirts. His hand on her thigh gave him an instant cockstand. The soft, warm skin bared to his hand made him tremble.
Thea gasped at his touch, but she did not stop him. Instead, when his mouth found hers again, her tongue met his with equal force. His mouth moved to her cheek, her temple, her ear as his hands skimmed up her legs, above her stockings. His palm cupped first her cool bare hip and then moved around to her buttocks, pulling her tight against him. Thea gasped against his mouth, her head tipping back and her eyes closing. Ewan was rock-hard.
