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“What’s his name?” He splayed his hand out on the small of her back, wanting her to feel safe.
She licked her top lip. Clearly a nervous gesture but it sent a pulse of desire coursing through him. “William Taberman.”
“And what happened with William Taberman?”
“I…” She shifted under his hand and as he brought her body against his chest. “I kept passing by him, trying to catch his eye. It always works for Adrianna.” She paused, drawing in a deep breath. The comparison with her youngest sister didn’t escape him. He’d spent a great deal of his childhood wishing for a sibling. Someone to confide in, look to. Now, he was mostly glad no one else had to experience what he’d endured. And while Adrianna seemed lovely, she didn’t make his heart race in his chest the way Bianca so effortlessly managed.
“What happened next?” Her stomach came to rest against his hips and he ignored the rush of desire that pulsed through him.
She trembled against him. “On my third pass, I tripped on my own skirt and fell. In front of everyone.” She rested her free hand on his biceps. “If that wasn’t humiliating enough, I started explaining…” He heard her swallow. “No one said a word and then—” She dropped the umbrella down in the sand. “William and the four men he stood with began laughing. There I was, a pile of jumbled skirts on the floor, and they just laughed at me, didn’t even bother to help me stand. They’ve been bullying me ever since. Bumbling Bianca. Babbling Bianca.”
He wrapped his other arm about her waist. Rather than help her, they’d made fun of her. And they continued to do so. “Bianca,” he started, wanting to comfort her.
She shook her head violently. “I know I deserved it. I chatter incessantly. I get myself stuck in trees and I had no business trying to strut in front of a group of men as though they might want me.”
He paused, staring down at her. “Bianca,” he said again, reaching one hand under her chin to tilt it up. “Plenty of men will want you.”
She looked up at him, her lips slightly parted. “Why would anyone want me?”
He couldn’t help himself. Bianca pressed against his front, both hands now resting on his arms. Her lips were achingly full and begging to be kissed. But before he stole a taste of her, he leaned down and whispered. “You’re beautiful and kind, to start.” And then he pressed his mouth to hers.
She drew in a sharp breath underneath his lips but she didn’t pull away and so he remained still, allowing her to adjust. When her mouth closed and her lips pressed into his as she kissed back, he lifted, repeating the process three more times until her lips were eagerly meeting his.
His h
ead was swimming as he drank in her sweet taste. Reluctantly, he lifted his head.
She blinked up at him. “Why did you kiss me like that?”
* * *
The world had just shifted and Bianca wondered if it would ever return to the way it had been.
Lord Craven…Chris…had kissed her. And the touch had melted her bones. Granted she was still standing, but she was certain she’d been reformed into an entirely new person.
“I kissed you because I need you to see yourself differently. You are not Bumbling Bianca or whatever nonsense they say. They only tease you for a bit of fun or to make themselves feel better about their own insecurities.”
Somehow, those words sounded right. “How do you know?”
He grimaced. “I’ve got a bit of experience when it comes to teasing youth.”
She cocked her head. Had he been a bully as a child? He was awfully large, strong and intimidating. “So what do I do?”
“You prove to them that they are completely wrong about you.” He gave her another squeeze.
She danced her fingers over the deep ridges of his biceps. “How do I do that?”
He frowned. “Let me think on it.” He tapped the small of her back. “But first, I want to meet this William.”
“I don’t think so.” The very idea made her stomach drop to her toes. This man, the one holding her, made her feel attractive. The last thing she wished was for Chris to see her through William’s eyes. Chris was building her up and that could only help her find her future. Find a husband. William had done nothing but make her doubt herself.
She squeezed his arms again. Perhaps she’d found her future already. Here was this strong man holding her in his arms. Did he want to be in her life? Hope fluttered in her chest.
He leaned down again, but rather than kiss her mouth, he kissed the sensitive spot just behind her ear. “Bianca. I’m no one’s hero. And I can’t be your everything.”
What did that mean? “My everything?”
He shook his head. “I’m no woman’s prince. But I can do this for you. I can make those men stop harassing you so that you can move on with your life. Won’t you let me help you?”
