Page 23 of Sin and Serendipity

For days, he’d longed to hear his name on her lips, certain it would mean she was coming to care for him, maybe even love him. He saw now how foolish the notion had been. Saying his name meant nothing. She probably didn’t even realize she’d done it.

She cleared her throat into the silence, her arms folding across her chest. “It is a beautiful evening, is it not?”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Absolutely magnificent,” he said softly, recalling their conversation on the terrace at Lady Severton’s garden party. It was hard to believe that was only four days ago.

“Robert...” Ellie turned to face him, leaning her shoulder against the wall with a soft sigh. “Robert, I…” She trailed off, her tone uncertain, as if the words had become lodged in her throat.

It was just as well. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear whatever she’d come out here to say to him.

His gaze fell to the ground, and he tormented a pebble with the toe of his boot. “Did you enjoy your waltz with Freddy?” he asked, keeping his tone light, even as his heart kicked up, thudding painfully in anticipation of her answer.

She shifted on her feet, sand scraping beneath her slippers. “I—your brother is an excellent dancer.”

“He is.”

She cleared her throat again. “Did you…tell him to ask me to dance?”

Robert looked at her, flicking his gaze over her beautiful face, her enigmatic eyes. “I might have suggested it.” He raised a brow. “Didn’t you want to dance with him?”

“Well…yes, but I—” Her gaze dropped to his cravat, and she gave a little shake of her head.

In silence, he waited for the rest of that sentence, but it never came. He pushed off the wall. “Well, there are you, then,” he said softly. “Everybody’s happy.”

He turned to leave, intending to head out into the gardens, but Ellie’s hand shot out and she gripped his arm, freezing him in his tracks.

“Robert, wait. Please. I—”

“Go inside, Ellie,” he cut in, the words gruff. Even through layers of clothing, his skin prickled beneath her touch. “Return to your mother. Before she comes looking for you.”

He thrust his fists into his pockets and her hand fell away, though his flesh still tingled where she’d touched him.

“I don’t want to go inside,” she said, her mouth forming a stubborn line. “I want to stay right here. I want…” She pressed her lips together, another sentence left unfinished.

Temper flaring, Robert turned on her, shoulders taut, frustration thick in his throat. “What, Ellie? What do you want?”

Her eyes shot to his, dark and beseeching. “I want to kiss you again.”

With a muttered oath, he raked a hand through his hair, his pulse kicking up a frantic beat. God, this woman. She was tying him up in knots.

“Please, Robert,” she whispered. “One kiss. That’s all I ask.”

It was more than a kiss, though. It was his sanity, his pride, his willpower. He shouldn’t give in. Kissing her again would be the height of idiocy—lunacy, even—and he damned well knew it.

He didn’t care. He went to her, anyway; powerless to resist, utterly in her thrall.

Backing her up against the wall, he pressed her gently into the smooth stone, cupping her soft cheek in the palm of his hand. Her head tipped back, and she met his gaze, her remarkable eyes dark with want, her lips parted in anticipation of his kiss.

“Ellie…” He stroked his thumb over cheek, marveling at the silken warmth of her skin. Marveling at this chance to be near her again, when he never thought he’d have another.

He leaned down slowly, stretching the moment, tormenting her a little, before finally, tenderly brushing his lips over hers, eliciting the most satisfying little groan from her throat. Exquisite.

Her hands came up, her fingers curling into the lapels of his jacket, and she tugged, pulling him closer, inhaling deeply as she fitted her mouth to his, taking what she wanted.

And what she wanted was him. He could taste it in her kiss, feel it in her hands, the want, the desire, and a thrill shot through him.

Ellie was his. For now, at least—in this moment—she was all his, and he intended to make the most of it.

He deepened the kiss, stroking his tongue into her mouth as his hands started to roam, circling her waist, gripping her hips, caressing every delicious curve within reach until she was panting with need.