That was all Justin needed to hear. He pulled her into his arms. A slight gasp issued from her alluring lips, and she looked up at him, her eyes sparkling pools of blue. Even as warning bells sounded in the back of his mind, he decided to take his time, show her precisely how erotic a kiss could be.
First, he rubbed his forefinger along her chin, then he moved his hands along both of her soft cheeks, pushing his fingers into the sides of her fragrant hair. He gently tipped her head to the perfect angle. Then he slowly, oh so slowly, lowered his mouth to hers.
At first, the brush of his lips was light, but as soon as she wrapped her arms around his neck Justin allowed his tongue to delve inside her sweet mouth.
And that’s when the kiss turned ravenous. He slanted his mouth over hers and pulled her tight against his body, relishing the feel of her soft curves and the way she melted into him.
The kiss lasted minutes. Long, endless, drugging minutes. He couldn’t get enough of her. He used one hand to mold her to the length of him. The other cradled her head while he owned her mouth, until she was gasping and grasping at him. Exactly what he’d wanted.
With the last shreds of restraint he possessed, he finally pulled his mouth away and stepped back. Despite his body being on fire, he managed to say, “You kissed me the first time. Now we’re even.”
Chapter Seventeen
Maddie was still reeling from Lord Whitmore’s kiss while she waited for Lady Elizabeth to return from her dinner party that evening. His offer to kiss her again had been completely unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. And that’s what worried her.
If Lord Whitmore was going to wander around his house at night looking handsome and giving out such kisses, she’d be lost. The man was beyond tempting. She’d told herself all day that staying here would be perfectly fine because she would rarely see him. But not only had she seen him twice today, she’d kissed him again. Well, this time he’d kissed her, to be precise, but did it matter? By the end, they’d certainly been kissing each other.
And what a kiss it had been. He had been completely right when he’d said that their first attempt had been inadequate. What Lord Whitmore had made her feel tonight was beyond description.
He’d said goodnight and rushed from the room immediately after the kiss. Which left her even more confused. Because when he’d said, “Now we’re even,” she’d been about to melt like a puddle on the carpet. She’d had to reach out and brace a hand on the wardrobe to keep herself from sliding to the floor. The kiss had been…well, it had been completely unlike the first chaste kiss she’d given him at the Hazeltons’ house. That kiss and the one he’d given her tonight were barely in the same family of touches.
She was still dreaming about how his hands had smoothed into her hair and how his hot tongue had played with her own when Lady Elizabeth walked into the room.
“How was your evening, milady?” Maddie asked, doing her best to banish thoughts of Lord Whitmore from her mind. She needed to concentrate on what she was here for…to be an excellent lady’s maid. One who didn’t get sacked. One who would receive a solid reference from her mistress someday.
“Oh, it was as boring as I expected,” Lady Elizabeth announced as Maddie hurried to help her unbutton her lovely green lace gown. She’d already kicked off her matching slippers.
“Boring? How so?” Maddie asked.
“All Mama and Jessa and Lady Bainbridge wanted to talk about was the Season.” Lady Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “Who’ll be at the events of the Season? Who’ll be hosting the events of the Season? Who’ll become engaged by the Season’s end? If there’s anything less interesting, I don’t know what it is.”
Maddie was half-tempted to ask what they’d said on all of those subjects. But that would be entirely inappropriate. Not more inappropriate than kissing her employer earlier, but inappropriate just the same.
But first, there was something weighing on her. Something she had to ensure Lady Elizabeth knew. “My…my lady,” she began, feeling as if she might cast up her accounts. She smoothed a hand against her stomach.
“Oh, Madeline, you know I’ve asked you to call me Eliza.”
“No. No. I couldn’t do that,” she said with a shake of her head.
“I find it ridiculous that two young women so close in age must pretend to be so different, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. How old are you?”
“I’m two and twenty, my lady.”
“See. Not so far apart, we two. I’m sorry to have interrupted you. What did you want to tell me?” Lady Elizabeth asked.
“I…I wanted you to know that…I…well, I was sacked from my last position with Lady Henrietta. She sent me away without a reference that same morning you came looking for me in the afternoon.”
“I know,” Lady Elizabeth replied quite calmly, pulling off her gloves and handing them to Maddie. “Why do you think I came looking for you?”
Maddie’s mouth fell open. “You knew?”
“Of course I knew. And as I said, I know how dreadful Henrietta is. She told me she refused to give you a reference. I had to come save you. Especially since I was aware that my brother had a fondness for you.”
Maddie’s cheeks flamed.
“Oh, I am sorry,” Lady Elizabeth continued. “I see that mentioning it has embarrassed you. Please don’t fret over it. I promised Justin. His Christian name is Justin, you know? I promised him that I would not send you on any more errands to his study. I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”
“No, I, er, well, he seems like a very nice man.” To kiss, she added silently in her head.
