“Forgive me for intruding,” he said, unmoving. “I did not expect to find anyone here at this hour.”
“I came to relax with one of my favorite books, only to realize I can’t. As it turns out, you’ve ruined it for me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
With a sigh, she pushed her irritation aside and forced herself to hold his gaze, to be the fearless woman she’d always prided herself for being. “Why did you kiss me?”
He held himself completely still for the longest, most unbearable moment ever endured. After which he moved toward her, his gaze fixed upon her with unrelenting focus. Lilli’s pulse raced and her stomach spun with dizzying speed. She clutched the armrest and prayed the chair would not collapse as easily as she would have done, had she been standing.
He halted at her side. His dark eyes snared her with the ease of a trained marksman, sending a series of hot shivers straight down her spine. Her toes curled in response even as her heart beat in eager anticipation of what he might say or do next.
“Because I had to.”
The statement, so simple and honest, was beyond thrilling. She stared at him, unsure of how to respond. All she could think of was how much she longed to be held by him once more, to feel his lips against hers, his hands sliding over her skin. Even though they’d agreed it could never happen again.
She almost laughed. Who on earth were they trying to fool?
As if completely in tune with her feelings, he reached out and slid his fingers across her cheek with aching slowness. Sparks ignited in their path, pursuing them as he stroked down the side of her neck.
“Just as I have no choice but to touch you now,” he whispered, his voice toying with every nerve ending in her body until she felt drugged. “I know this is wrong and I shouldn’t want you, but the thing of it is—I do. More desperately than I want my next breath.”
Lilli eased her hold on the armrest and leaned into his caress. “Would it make things easier if I told you I feel the same way?”
His fingers stilled. She heard him take a deep breath and expel it. “No. I daresay the only thing that would solve this problem is if you were to reprimand me for my forwardness or suggest to your brother he sack me.”
She shook her head. “You ask the impossible.”
“My lady, I–”
“Lilli,” she insisted. “If you please.”
He hesitated briefly, then he withdrew his hand, leaving a cool spot in its place. He retreated to the armchair adjacent to hers and shot her a wary glance before he eventually nodded. “Very well, Lilli. But only if you agree to call me Tristan when we’re in private.”
A surge of warmth filled her heart. “Of course.”
The sheepish grin he gave her melted her insides until she felt like a gooey mess.
He jutted his chin at her lap. “What are you reading?”
A question that could lead to more appropriate conversation. This was good. But she still blinked and dropped her gaze to the book, having momentarily forgotten its title. She shook her head at her daftness and also because the effect Tristan had on her never ceased to astound her.
“Sense and Sensibility,” she said. “It’s rather good.”
“I know,” he said, surprising her.
“You do?”
His eyes twinkled with amusement while the edge of his mouth curved to form a crooked smile that made him look even more dashing. “It’s a favorite of Iris’s. She made such a fuss over it I eventually had to give it a go myself. And I’ll admit, the plot and wit had me riveted from the first page.”
Intrigued and quite frankly pleased beyond compare by his confession, Lilli leaned forward. “What did you think of Marianne’s response to Colonel Brandon’s attentions?”
“Honestly, I don’t believe she deserved him until she’d grown as a person through her misadventure with Willoughby.”
His answer satisfied her to no end. “Exactly so, though I do wish she’d appreciated him more from the start.”
“Had that been the case, the plot would have been a bit thin, don’t you think?”
“I do. It unfolds as it ought.” She tilted her head. “What’s your favorite book, if I may ask?”
