A smile tugged at her lips. “I made scones.”
His mouth started to water. “I love scones.” Leaning slightly toward her, he breathed her in. The scent of her coaxed his senses until they were brought to an almost painful alertness. And then, as if she felt the touch of his gaze upon her, her eyes found his, and her effort to clean him slowed until it halted completely. She stood now, as still as he, her hand holding the handkerchief to his cheek.
Her throat worked as her awareness aligned with his. Lips parting ever so slightly, she blinked as if either surprised or completely undone in some way. The handkerchief shifted and Griffin realized that she was about to retreat as she always did when these moments arose between them. So he raised his own hand, pressing it to hers and holding it captive against his cheek.
“Don’t move,” he murmured. “Not yet.”
“But…” A tremor teased at the word even as her eyes widened.
Her breaths quickened and the blood running through Griffin’s veins thickened in response. “Close your eyes. Shut out the fear.”
“I don’t think I can.”
So therewasfear then, just as he’d thought. “Close your eyes,” he repeated.
“Why?”
“Because you are letting distractions interfere with what you really want.” He raised his left hand to her cheek, gently scraping his thumb across the silky softness.
“And what would that be?”
“Close your eyes. Just for a moment. And perhaps you’ll find out.”
She did not look convinced, but her ever-present curiosity won the battle in her mind and she did as he asked, her eyelids sliding shut so her long black lashes lay prettily against her skin. Griffin took a moment to admire not only how lovely she was but the trust she’d just placed in his hands. It filled his heart with warmth, expanding it in size until it squeezed against his ribs.
Slowly, he ran the pad of his thumb along the edge of her jaw while studying her response. Her lips parted slightly and a soft, almost inaudible sigh, escaped her. “Do you like how this feels?”
She was silent a moment, so long he repeated the motion as a reminder.
“Yes,” she whispered, just as honest as she had promised to be from the start.
He moved in closer, not enough to touch her with his body, but enough for them both to feel the temperature rise in the air pressed between them. “And this?” he asked as he trailed his index finger down the side of her neck.
A shiver stole through her, but she kept her eyes closed. “It tickles a little.”
“In a good way, I hope.”
Her breaths grew shallower as he trailed his finger across her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
He moved closer still, allowing his body to press against hers. “Showing you what you desire but are too afraid to face.” He allowed the words to blow over her skin. “You wanted to know what kissing is like because you are curious. And yet, you have run from every chance you’ve had since I kissed you to learn more.”
“Because there can never be more. Not with you.”
His hand stilled, right at the edge of her décolletage. The temptation to dip one finger inside and explore her more fully was almost too much to bear. “Why?” he asked her instead.
Her breaths quickened and she suddenly drew away, opening her eyes and pinning him with accusation. “Because it would never work.”
It wasn’t the response he’d expected, but it did make him laugh, not with pleasure but with astonishment. “You’re wrong about that, Miss Howard.” He would not pretend disinterest in her now. Nor would he act as though she did not affect him more than any other woman ever had. Not when he wanted her more with each passing second and certainly not when his ability to stir her baser desires had just been confirmed. “It would work splendidly.”
“And then what? You would marry me? I would move to Vienna?” He opened his mouth to speak but she interjected. “You don’t want that and neither do I, come to think of it. So then where would that leave us? With an affair that would make future get-togethers unbearably awkward?”
Griffin blinked. She didn’t want marriage.
“You’re Caleb’s brother, after all, so avoiding each other indefinitely would be impossible,” she continued. “Which is why I refuse to become more involved with you, however difficult not doing so may be. But it isn’t fear that’s strengthening my restraint, it’s common sense and the keen awareness that I would likely regret a deeper attachment to you.”
“Would this be the wrong time to remind you that you asked me to give you another demonstration in kissing?” He was grasping at straws now, desperate to stop the chance he had with her from slipping between his fingers.
“Of course not, but that was before…” She caught herself on a gasp and took another step back, even further away from him.
