Her cheeks went red.“We do not need to discuss how I know.”
She would not meet his eyes.This could only be a corker of a story.“You cannot say that andnottell me, El.”
“I can.”
“El, you cannot leave me in suspense.Youmusttell me.”
“I— They…” She ducked her head.“I…saw them.”
He frowned.“You saw them?What were they doing?”
“They… Benedict.Do not make me say it.”
Her cheeks were now a flaming red.Christ.This must be good.“Were they kissing?”
“Of a kind.”
Of a kind?What did she mean by th— Oh.His lips twitched.“Was it similar to the kissing we did in the carriage?”
She would not look at him.“Yes.It was exactly like that.”
He struggled not to smile.Good for them.And, Christ, good for El and her little voyeuristic heart.“You watched them?”
“It is your fault!”she burst out.“You made it feel so good, and I could see the viscountess was enjoying it, and the earl was clearly as good at it as you are, and then I—” She scowled.“You are horrid.”
He started to laugh.“Oh, Christ, El.Your face.”
Scowl darkening, she punched him in the arm.
Rubbing the spot she punched, he sobered.“I am sorry, El.”
“Sorry?Why?”
He forced the words out.“Because the man you chose as your lover wants someone else.”
She was silent a moment.“Thank you for saying that,” she said softly.
He nodded sharply.
“But Benedict…” She sighed.“I do not think I ever truly wished him to be my lover.”
Something inside him leapt.“Oh?”
She shook her head.“No, I think…” She took a breath and then raised her gaze to his.“I want you.”
Everything in him froze.“Pardon?”
“Benedict,” she said, a small smile playing about her luscious mouth.“I want it to be you.”
He could not speak.He was without speech.She had managed to steal his very breath from his lungs and render him unable to conjure a single word.
Her smile dimmed, her expression turning uncertain.“Unless, of course, you do not wish to be.I would never expect you—”
He started toward her only to stop, frustrated.They were in full view of all of society.He could not take her in his arms and kiss her as he wanted, with gratitude and passion and longing and need.Christ, so much need.Cursing under his breath, he curled his hands into fists so he would not reach for her.“El,” he rasped.“I want that, too.”
The corner of her mouth tipped up.“You do?”
The vulnerability in those two words was staggering.“So much.”
