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Her fingers clenched around the piece of parchment in her hand as her disappointment grew. The note hadn’t come from Trenton. Not if the way he was looking at the woman leaning against his chest was anything to go by. She studied them for a moment and then turned her attention to the people lingering in the hallway. Trenton and the woman’s scandalous behaviour had drawn only a few interested glances, but no outrage or condemnation. It was as though people were used to seeing them together.
Again, another flurry of hurt swept through her and she resolved, right there and then, never to think about Trenton as anything other than a mere acquaintance ever again. Now that she came to think about it, it was ridiculous to consider, even for one moment, that Trenton had been the one to send her the flowers. What she had said to Adelaide the other day was right. He had lived on her doorstep all of her life and had never given her a second glance. It made no sense that he should do so now, especially now he was engaged, and apparently had a mistress too. Ursula eyed the delectable beauty whispering so beguilingly at him, and felt another pang of jealousy sweep through her as she quite pointedly turned away, and resolved not to look at them again.
“I will be with you in a moment,” Ursula declared suddenly as they approached the ladies’ powder room. She ducked inside before her aunt could reply, and took a moment to tuck a few strands of hair back into place while she waited for Adelaide to find her way to the retiring room.
Minutes later, assured that enough time had passed for her aunt to be out of the way, she hurried out of the room. Once out in the corridor, rather than make her way to the
ladies’ retiring room too, Ursula headed toward the back of the house where the conservatory was located.
Trenton tried to prise Serena’s questing hands off his chest and shook his head in disgust. The smell of alcohol on her breath warned him she was already in her cups even though the evening was still young. He glanced up in search of his friend Hugo. He needed to get Hugo to take his sister home.
A dark scowl settled on his face when he spied Ursula disappearing into a darkened side corridor that led to the back of the house. The furtive way she glanced around the hall before she headed away from the guests brought forth a blistering curse that made the woman in his arms snigger.
“I say, Trenton, should you be using language like that here?” Serena slurred.
Trenton caught the hostess’ eye, and heaved a sigh of relief when she immediately beckoned to a footman. Once Serena had been taken away to sleep off her stupor, Trenton turned his attention to finding the most important woman in attendance: Ursula.
His anger grew as he followed her toward the private quarters at the rear of the house. Unless his imagination as running away with him, she appeared to be going to meet someone. Determined to thwart whatever was plans she had, he marched forward and slipped into the darkness of the conservatory behind her before the door closed.
“What do you think you are doing?” he growled as he closed the door behind him and leaned against it, effectively blocking her exit.
Ursula squealed and spun around so quickly that she became unbalanced. Trenton hauled her against his chest before she could fall, and pinned her there with a vice-like grip that warned her she was going nowhere until he had some answers. Their eyes met and held. Before she could push him away, his head began to lower toward hers. Her breath hitched when he paused for a moment. His eyes searched hers as though he was looking for something. There was nothing she could do except wait to see what he was going to do. Her heart hammered in her throat as, after that brief moment of hesitation, his head began to lower again.
To Ursula nothing else existed but the man now wrapped around her. The hot sweep of his breath against her cheek made her shiver, but she couldn’t pull away. She remained where she was, hypnotised by the haze of sensation that shimmered between them. This was Trenton, the man who had owned her dreams for as long as she could remember. She couldn’t deny him.
A soft whimper escaped her when his lips brushed hers. Once, twice, they dipped and searched softly for several moments before settling more fully against hers. Capturing her sigh, she felt the tight band of his arms sweep around her waist, drawing her closer. That simple action seemed to answer the call of something deep inside him because the pressure of his mouth increased and in doing so forced her mouth to open to him; to surrender everything to his mastery.
Her head swam with the enormity of what was happening. She felt as though someone had waved a magic wand and given her everything she had ever wished for. She found herself hoping that he was her secret admirer. The thought of stirring someone like Trenton to such behaviour was thrilling and filled her heart to overflowing with heady excitement.
Was this why he had sent her the note? A shiver of delight coursed through her and she leaned infinitesimally closer to him, determined to enjoy the precious gift she had been given. In spite of the potential consequences should they get caught, she began to copy the gentle movements of his mouth. It felt wonderful as though she was lost in a sensual dream she never wanted to end.
This was Trenton, and he was kissing her, Ursula Proctor from Yorkshire. It was wonderful. It was stupendous. It was the most wondrous moment of her life.
When voices from outside of the door began to filter through the silence, Trenton reluctantly eased back. He was more than a little shaken to find that his body thrummed with desire so strong that he struggled to remember where they were.
At first, his intention had been to kiss her hard and scare her back to the ball. If she was worried she would be less inclined to agree to any more secret assignations, and he knew now that was what had been planned. While his decision had seemed a good idea at the time, now he had tasted her he was hooked on the honeyed nectar of her mouth. He was ensnared; captivated, and couldn’t pull away. She tasted like honey and sunshine. It was as addictive as the lure of her feminine curves now pressed tightly against him. To his surprise, his body roared to life as her curves settled against his solid length with such perfection it felt as though she had been created just for him.
With a low moan, he couldn’t ignore the desire that hammered his senses and tugged her closer. He slid one hand into her hair to hold her steady while his lips returned to hers. This time the kiss was different; hungrier; more a possession rather than tender exploration. His head tipped to one side as he set about plundering her senses the way he really wanted to.
When his tongue swept over the gentle curve of her lips, she gasped. Her senses reeled as he took advantage of her momentary hesitation to explore deeper into the warm recess of her mouth. She felt branded, possessed and knew that from this moment on, whatever the future had in store for either of them, she would remain forever his.
“Ursula,” he growled many minutes later when he finally gathered enough strength to wrench his lips away from hers.
The sudden rustle of foliage at the back of the room, together with the soft scuff of a footstep, made him look up warily. He tensed and studied their surroundings with a frown. Although he couldn’t see anyone he suspected they were not alone.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” he murmured as he reluctantly eased away from her.
He had to consider the consequences to her reputation if they were caught in a compromising embrace. It was enough to make him grit his teeth, ignore the temptation of her delectable curves, and put some distance between them.
She stared at him in mortification at the matter-of-fact tone of his voice. There was no hint of the same desire that had sent her senses reeling and rendered her knees weak. Instead, there was a wariness about him that left her cheeks aflame with embarrassment. It was evident that he hadn’t been as affected by what they had just shared, and might even regret it.
“I need to go,” Ursula murmured, trying to push his hands away from her waist. It was the hardest thing she had ever had to do but pride forced her to step away from the warmth of his embrace.
“Ursula, listen to me,” he demanded, refusing to allow her to leave until he had spoken with her. He bit back a low groan at the feel of her squirming against him and tightened his arms. “Stop, for Heaven’s sake. I am not going to hurt you. I apologise for taking liberties. I just wanted to speak with you.”
“Yes, I noticed,” she snapped, pushing once more against the solid muscles of his arms. “You can unhand me now.”
“Not until you have listened to me, Ursula. What are you doing in here?”
