“I can assure you that I do not.”
“I think you do.”
Tilting her chin up defiantly, Elinor responded, “You would be mistaken.”
He leaned closer, their faces just inches apart. “Is the thought of kissing me so repulsive to you?” he asked softly.
“No, that is not it.”
“Then what is it?” he asked, his voice a low murmur as he edged even closer.
Elinor’s breath hitched, and her eyes dropped to his lips. “Must you stand so close?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
“Typically, people are close to one another when they kiss,” he replied in a hoarse voice. He wanted to kiss her, feel her lips on his, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
With great effort, he kissed her cheek and stepped back.
Elinor remained rooted in her spot, a blush spreading across her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said. Perhaps his simple kiss on her cheek had more of an effect on her than he thought it would.
“For what?” he asked.
She brought her hand up to her cheek, where his lips had just been. “For respecting me enough to listen to what I want,” she said.
“I will always listen to you,” he assured her. “But I do think there will come a time when you want to kiss me. Badly.”
“I do not think so.”
“No, it is true,” Alden said. “And when that happens, I will gladly oblige you.”
Elinor dropped her hand to her side. “You are being rather cocky, sir.”
“Am I?” he asked. “I merely speak the truth.”
“I will never kiss you.”
“Never say never,” Alden said with a smirk.
Elinor rolled her eyes. “You are impossible,” she said, her voice light, teasing.
Alden’s smirk grew. “Yet, you still haven’t moved from your spot under the mistletoe, making me wonder why that is.”
“I am just merely waiting for my aunt to join us for dinner,” Elinor said. “You could always move.”
“Why would I?” he asked. “I want to kiss you.”
Elinor stared back at him with disbelief. “Do you?”
“How can you even ask that question?” he inquired. “Why wouldn’t I want to kiss a beautiful young woman?”
She bit her lower lip. “I’m afraid I have only been kissed once and it did not go well. The duke’s breath smelled like garlic and his lips were hard.”
Alden’s smirk disappeared, replaced by a look of genuine concern. “I can see why you didn’t find that pleasant. However, kissing can be quite enjoyable.”
“I don’t see how,” she admitted.
Taking a step closer to Elinor, Alden gently ran his hand along her cheek. “Kissing is a way of expressing what you are truly feeling without using words.”
Elinor held his gaze, her blue eyes filled with vulnerability. “My mother did say that kissing my father was one of her favorite things to do.”
