“For whom?” she asked quietly.
Victor said nothing.
Charlotte stepped closer. “She is still a person,” she said gently. “Not merely someone to be hidden away whenever her memory falters.”
“You think I do not know that?”
“I think you are afraid,” she replied.
His eyes flashed dangerously. “Careful.”
“No,” Charlotte said. “You cannot keep her locked inside forever simply because you fear gossip for her.”
Victor scoffed softly. “Easy for you to say.”
“Yes,” she snapped. “Because unlike you, I actually listen to what she wants.”
The room fell silent.
Victor stared at her with an intensity that made her pulse stumble slightly. He moved from around his desk toward her. “You are becoming remarkably bold,” he murmured.
“And you are becoming remarkably impossible.”
He took another step closer. “You enjoy arguing with me far too much.”
Charlotte lifted her chin. “Perhaps because you deserve it.”
His gaze dropped briefly to her mouth. Charlotte’s breath caught. Neither of them moved for one suspended moment. His eyes moved back to hers, locked in.
“Charlotte…” he whispered.
“Do not do it,” she replied quietly, though she was unsure if the words left her mouth at all.
He stepped even closer. She noticed that he licked his lips and found that she could not pull her eyes from staring at him.
“Do what?” he asked, his voice thick with desire.
Her breathing made her bosom heave up and down, and she suddenly felt very aware of that fact, especially when his eyes moved down to her neckline.
Then suddenly he placed his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
“Your Grace…” she whispered so softly the words were barely heard.
Then he kissed her.
It happened so quickly, Charlotte scarcely had time to think before his mouth was against hers. The kiss was heated and startling and entirely consuming in a way she had never imagined possible. Her anger vanished beneath pure sensation as she kissed him back without meaning to, fingers tightening instinctively against his coat.
For one horrifying moment, she lost herself completely. Her knees went weak, and she felt almost faint, causing her body to crash against him. This only encouraged him more, and his kiss deepened. Both hands moved on her back, holding her against him.
The warmth, his scent, his strength.
Then reality crashed back all at once.
No, I cannot let him. He does this to all women. He is a rake!
Charlotte pulled away sharply, breathing unevenly as shock flooded through her. “You…” she began furiously.
Victor looked maddeningly calm. “You were talking too much.”
