Page 19 of How to Best a Marquess

“But now you are temptation itself.”

Temptation? She would not succumb to such blatant masculine nonsense. He might be used to women fawning over him, but she was not one of them. Liar. Then why did his words make her heart beat fast? She must never let him know.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “Your charm will not work on me.”

He arched a dark eyebrow. “I’m wounded.”

“It’s true.”

“Then you won’t worry if I try.”

Her heart slammed against her chest. “Try what?”

“This.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers.

She froze, afraid to breathe. He touched her with nothing but his lips, but it was as if iron bands held her in place. He brushed against her mouth once…twice. Featherweight kisses that surprised her with their gentleness, but no less seductive.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you properly since our ringside kiss.” His lips continued to brush against hers as he spoke.

He had?

He kissed the corners of her mouth, then his tongue licked the seam of her lips. The velvet warmth of his kiss was mesmerizing, and her lips parted of their own volition. She took a step forward, and her tongue met his, tentative at first, then more eagerly. A low growl came from his chest as he pulled her to him and deepened the kiss.

Oh my.It was everything she’d ever remembered and so much more.

He was all hard muscle and sinew, so different from her soft form. His kiss was like tasting a bit of the sky and the scorching sun. Heat engulfed her, traveling down her spine and warming her limbs. She heard a mewling noise. Shocked, she realized it had come from her.

More.

Her brain seemed to freeze, and her body, her treacherous body, pulsed in awareness of the man. Danger, her mind warned. Delicious, her body answered. It was an infuriatingly arousing combination. This was Hugh. The boy who had captured her heart and crushed it in one moment in a stranger’s gardens. The man who came crashing back into her life and challenged her for all she’d ever wanted.

She wanted his kiss to last and to end. It was torturous.

Even more maddening, he was the one to break the kiss.

“Ellie,” he said simply as he gazed down at her.

The mention of her name brought her to her senses. “That was a mistake.”

“It didn’t feel like a mistake to me.” His breath was warm and sweet against her lips. “I was wrong to treat you as I did years ago. Can you forget the past?”

It was as if he dumped a bucket of ice water on her head. “Forget the past? I caught you kissing Isabella West in the gardens of a ball. The same gardens where we were to meet.”

A flash of remorse crossed his features. “That was years ago.”

“Nothing has changed,” she snapped.

“What if I told you it has for me?”

She felt an overwhelming need to either kiss him or slap him. Fortunately, the latter impulse won out. Her slap echoed in the storage room.

She froze in surprise at what she’d done. She’d never exhibited violence before, never struck a person.

“I’ll allow that once.”

His tone sent a chill down her spine. It had been years since she’d known him. He’d gone off to fight in the military. He was, in essence, a stranger. And she’d slapped him. She didn’t fear physical harm, but the warning in his eyes resonated all the same.

“Do not think I am the same foolish girl,” she said.

He clenched his jaw and touched his cheek. She’d left a red mark. “I never thought you foolish.”

“Then you must think me an idiot now to fall for your weak attempts at seduction.”

“Weak? You kissed me back quite enthusiastically.”

His response angered her, and she grasped at the emotion, let it consume her and replace the weakness she’d experienced at his kiss. “You want the club. I now realize that you will use any means to get it.”

His brows drew downward. “Our kiss had nothing to do with the club.”

She wasn’t sure. He was a handsome man who could easily charm and seduce. She’d known women foolish enough to ruin their reputations and fall prey to scoundrels. She never thought she was weak enough to be one of them. But now she understood the powerful allure of a skilled seducer.

She was saved from having to come up with an answer when Alice appeared in the doorway and cleared her throat. “Your carriage is waiting outside, my lord.”

Relief swept through Ellie. She didn’t want to address his response regarding their kiss. She couldn’t make it to the carriage fast enough. To her further dismay, Hugh captured her arm and was right by her side.