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“Because of Emmeline.” Grief darkened her pretty face. “Ever since the accident, she’s been terrified of carriages. She refuses to ride. She throws terrible fits if I try to force her into one. I don’t want to upset her if…”
She broke off, yet the words sounded as surely as if she’d spoken them. If she’s speaking again.
Mason studied the little girl for a moment as she fussed with Brutus’s ears. The dog responded with a long, wet lick to her face that sent her into a fit of happy giggles. That much trust…
“Don’t worry,” he told Nora. “I’ll take care of that.”
A frown pulled at her brow, and her lips parted. The question he couldn’t yet answer poised on the tip of her tongue. How?
So he leaned down to bring his mouth close to her ear, as if doing nothing more than lowering his head to share a whisper. But he couldn’t resist stealing a kiss from her, and his mouth brushed the sensitive skin behind her ear in a tender and reassuring caress.
“Emmeline will speak again,” he murmured, delighting in her shiver beneath his warm breath. “I promise you.”
When he straightened, his lips grazed along her cheek to just barely tickle at hers before he moved away. And before Emmeline could see what he was up to with her mother.
Nora’s eyes grew wide as her hand lifted to her cheek where he’d kissed her, as if she couldn’t believe he’d just done that. Or if she couldn’t bear the loss of his mouth on her. Sweet Lucifer, he wanted it to be the latter! Just as he wanted nothing more at that moment than to kiss her again. But he couldn’t.
Not today anyway.
“Miss Emmeline!” he called out as he moved away from Nora before he surrendered to his desires and swept her into his arms. He stopped in front of the girl and snapped his boot heels together as he gave her an excessively formal bow. “Brutus and I must be going.” When disappointment darkened the girl’s face, Mason added, “I’m afraid that Brutus has an appointment with his tailor. He’s having a silk waistcoat made and mustn’t be late.”
He signaled with his hand near his thigh, and the dog barked, as if completely understanding what he’d said and agreeing.
He gave a second bow to Nora, along with the quirk of a grin that made her mouth fall open, then called the dog to him as he walked toward the door.
“I will see you both tomorrow afternoon, then,” he told Nora with a firmness that said he’d brook no argument. He strode out the door with Brutus plodding along at his heels. “We’re going for a carriage ride.”
