“Annabelle,” he began, grateful that she faced away from him. “About last—”
“LadyAnnabelle,” she corrected.
He drew in an annoyed breath. “My apologies.LadyAnnabelle. About last night.”
He wouldn’t have believed it possible, but she actually stiffened.
Conversation halted as Zeus started up an incline. Despite her obvious efforts, she leaned backward as their angle shifted.
On instinct, his arm tightened around her waist, cinching her to him.
Blood of the saints. The feel of her against his chest, her thigh, and the curve of her bottom half atop his groin had his cock going hard before he had a chance to blink. Her ensuing shimmy to restore distance between them was not helping the situation.
“A moment, if you please,” he gritted out, trying with little success to steer his mind off the sweet juncture where their bodies met.
Thankfully, she stilled. One shift further, and she might very well graze the base of his erection.
Several seconds later, seconds that stretched into eternity, she grasped Zeus’s mane again and, with surprising strength, tugged herself forward.
“Are you quite all right?” she asked.
“Yes.”No.“Why do you ask?” Perhaps shehadnoted his unfortunate state.
“Because you seem…just now you seemed warm, and your breathing is a bit ragged.”
“I’m fine.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.”
“Well, then. What was it you wished to discuss about last night? The…er…rooftop experiment?”
“I beg your pardon?”
She cleared her throat. “The experiment whereby I kissed you?”
He smiled, charmed despite himself. She was trying so hard to be flippant about what had happened. But her voice, pitching higher with each word, gave her away.
“Isthatwhat happened?” he asked, not bothering to keep the smile from his voice.
For some reason, the brief, narrow-eyed glare she shot over her shoulder at him gave him a flicker of pleasure.
“I told you. I’d never been kissed, and I was curious. I believe you’ve remarked on the streak?”
“Mm,” he murmured.
“As we found ourselves alone and fully unwatched, I found it a unique opportunity. I did not want to find myself married without ever having kissed a man.”
“Married?” He demanded, his voice raising an octave. He cleared his throat. “Are you…” He couldn’t bring himself to say the wordbetrothed. For some reason, he was having a hard time breathing.
“Engaged? No.” Her shoulders lifted and fell in a heavy sigh. “However, I fear, barring a miracle, I shall find myself betrothed before the coming Season is out.”
“I see.” He replayed her words in his head. “A miracle, you say. I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
Several seconds passed without her uttering a word.
When he opened his mouth to demand an explanation, she spoke in a voice absent all inflection.
