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Marcus found his eyes drifting down to the legs that were now covered by the skirt of the dress, thinking of how they had been tangled up together when they played cricket. He could feel his body stirring at the mere thought of it.
“What do you mean ‘what for’?” she said in amazement. “For having to make you witness that.” She gestured back to the house, her short hair whipping around her face. The short curls made him long to reach out and touch them. Realising there was now no boundary to doing just that, he did it. He outstretched a hand toward her and tangled it in her curls, urging her to lift her face up toward him. “I…have quite forgotten what I was going to say.”
“A little distracted?” he teased, stepping nearer toward her and tilting her face up to his.
“Perhaps a little,” she said as he leaned down toward her. He had been longing for another one of those kisses, thinking of what it could be like, and he was about to take it, hovering his lips above hers. “After what you just saw…” she whispered, making him hesitate. “I perfectly understand if you wish to withdraw your proposal.”
“Withdraw it?” he said in wonder. “Nothing could be further from the truth of what I wish for.”
“Then…you do love me?” she said in surprise, leaning back a little. “Even though I deceived you?”
“Well, we’ll have to talk about that,” he teased her. “You truly pulled the wool down over my eyes.”
“I didn’t mean to! It all just sort of happened.”
“So I hear. And you fell in love with me whilst pretending to be a man?” he said, still tracing his fingers through her hair. She seemed to shiver at the touch but in a delighted way that made his other hand reach up toward her.
“I did. You can be rather charming, you know,” she said with a giggle. He was about to kiss her when her hand came up to the centre of his chest, stopping him.
“Are you going to keep stopping me from kissing you?”
“Only for another moment,” she said, teasing him and bringing a small laugh from him. “What happened to Lady Helen? I thought that you and she…well, you know what I thought.”
“I have no wish to marry a lady like that. I’d infinitely rather marry my best friend, Violette,” he said, leaning down toward her. “So, what do you say? Marry me?”
“You’d have to put up with a lot, I hope you realise that. I like my sports, and I have no wish to stop playing cricket now that I have started, and— mmff!”
He cut her off from speaking, lowering his lips to hers and kissing her. The move was instant, and what began as a gentle press of lips did not stay gentle for long. Marcus was aware of his heart thudding loudly in his chest. It made both of his hands lift to her, clasping her around her waist and pulling her body against his.
She gasped into the kiss and parted her lips for him, allowing him to explore her mouth with his. When his tongue brushed hers, the heat of the kiss grew greater until his hands were pulling her strongly against his chest, and her hands were pulling on the lapels of his jacket.
When they parted from each other, they were both panting, trying to catch their breath.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, earning a soft laugh from her.
