Page 56 of A Match Made On Duchess Square

“Then shall I say it for you?”

She glanced up at him, her eyes wide. “How can you possibly know what is running through my mind?”

He traced his thumb along the slender line of her jaw. “You are terrible at hiding your feelings.”

“Then tell me, if you are so clever. Why am I crying?”

It wasn’t much of a challenge because he knew exactly what had brought on her tears. “You are feeling torn about me. About us. You are scared to fit me into your life because it means having to betray Andrew Clement. All these years, you’ve chosen him. But now you are thinking about what your life would be like if you chose me instead.”

She exhaled. “Am I that obvious?”

“You’ve left clues along the way.”

She groaned. “Such as?”

“That night you had too much to drink…”

“Oh, I knew I had opened my big mouth and said something unpardonable.”

He gave her cheek a light caress. “It wasn’t unpardonable. In fact, it was something I was longing to hear.”

“What did I say?”

“That you wanted to kiss me.”

“Oh dear.” She tried to move away, no doubt run upstairs and hide in her bedchamber, but he gently held her back so she would not leave his side.

“You like it here, Gwen. You like me and my sons.”

“I’ve made no secret of it.” She tipped her chin up, as though in defiance. But that only placed her lips temptingly close to his.

He tucked a finger under her chin. “You are also realizing that you could make a good life here with us, and it scares and confuses you. You know it is time to make changes. Do you dare move forward? Your friends have moved on and made happy, loving matches for themselves. I believe you are ready to do the same. I’ll make it easy for you.”

“How?” she asked.

He felt a shiver run through her that had nothing to do with the cool air, because she was wrapped in his jacket and leaning into the warmth of his body.

“This,” he said, and brought his mouth down on hers to kiss her with a crushing depth of yearning that surprised even himself.

He had never thought to feel this way again.

He put all of his heart into this kiss, not bothering to keep it gentle because Gwendolyn needed the very passion in her life that had been denied her by her absent betrothed. That wretch still had her heart entangled, and James meant to cut every last one of those entangling threads with this kiss.

Gwendolyn was ready to shed that oaf from her life, he knew. He felt it in her avid response to him, in the warmth of her lips on his.

Her hands rested on his chest. She leaned her entire body into him.

Oh, that soft, sweet body of hers that had him in agony every time he looked at her.

Their lips seemed to melt into each other, seemed made for each other.

The kiss went on endlessly, neither of them ready to end the entanglement of their mouths and tongues until he felt her shudder and knew her feelings of guilt over breaking away from her betrothed were creeping up on her again like a noxious fog.

He drew his lips off hers, but continued to hold her close. Gwendolyn’s eyes remained shut, but her expression appeared dreamy, as though she had liked their kiss and wanted to savor it.

As for him, he wanted to carry her onto the grass and…blessed saints, the things he wished to do to her.

Seduce her. Mate with her in the wild. He knew when a woman was receptive, and Gwendolyn’s body was receptive.