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CHAPTERTWO
Never in her life had Elizabeth thought herself capable of asking a man to kiss her, and never had she dreamed of her request being granted, but here she was in the arms of a masked stranger with his lips upon hers and one of his hands moving down to cover her bottom.
He pressed her body against his, and she gasped at how hard he felt. Sweet heat simmered between her legs, drawing something wanton out of her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth. Groaning, he deepened the kiss, and his tongue danced with hers.
She could say the mystery of the night made her wanton, but she had never been kissed, and she might never get another chance after tonight. Spinsterhood awaited her at the end of the season, but she could walk toward it with the satisfaction of knowing what it was like to desire and be desired.
“Tell me what you want,” he said, his mouth moving to the line of her jaw where his teeth grazed her skin while his other hand covered her breast, his thumb moving over her aching nipple.
She only moaned in answer because she only wished for the fire in her body to be quenched. He turned her so her back was against the bookshelf and kissed her neck. When he reached the swell of her breasts just above her neckline, he nipped her skin with his teeth. Elizabeth pushed her chest forward, offering herself to him.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and she stiffened. The gentleman paused and looked up at her as if asking her what she wanted to do at that moment. She had received what she wanted, but it was regrettably time for her to leave. She wanted him to continue kissing her, and frustration made her teeth clench, but she could not be seen with him. Gently, she pushed his shoulders, and he straightened.
“I have to go,” she whispered.
“Must you?” He stroked her cheek, igniting her desire all over again. “Our fun was just beginning.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I must not be found here.” She started to move out from between his body and the bookshelf, but he stopped her, pressing his lips to her cheek.
“I could lock the door and give you everything you want.” His words curled around her body like seductive smoke, enticing her to agree, but as much as she wanted him at that instant, she knew her time with him was up.
Shaking her head again, she pushed him away. “I cannot.” And without looking back at him, she hurried out of the room. Thankfully, the hallway was empty when she emerged, and she quickly found her way back to the ballroom before someone saw her.
“Where were you?” her mother asked when Elizabeth found her among a different group of ladies.
“I—” She could still feel his hands on her body. “I was in the ladies’ retiring room.”
Clarice’s eyes narrowed. “Did you run? You seem out of breath.”
Now she decides to take notice? Unbelievable!Elizabeth did not know the reason for the change in her mother, and she was not sure she was pleased with it. She had grown accustomed to being ignored and left alone. She did not know what this could yield, and such changes made her anxious.
“No, Mother…it is quite hot in here. I can barely breathe.” Her mother’s eyes remained narrowed, and they moved down her body. Elizabeth’s heart beat faster.
“Where is your reticule?” Clarice asked. Elizabeth glanced down and found her hands empty. She must have left it in the library, but what surprised her right then was that she could not recall dropping it.
“I must have left it in the retiring room,” she said quickly. “I should return for it.” Seeming to believe her, Clarice nodded and turned to continue talking to the ladies. Elizabeth had just taken a step when the gentleman she had kissed walked into the ballroom. She smiled, recalling the book he had given to her to read which she had also left in the library.
He was unlike any other gentleman she had ever met in the effect he had both on her body and mind. He had not criticized her choice of dress, he had encouraged her to read, and he had made her body sing. She was curious to know who the man behind the mask was.
Her brows slightly drew over her eyes in confusion when she saw her father speaking to him. Then she stopped breathing when the gentleman walked straight to Irene. After her father said something to her, Irene left the gentleman she had been about to dance with and placed her hand on the gentleman’s arm. At that moment, Elizabeth noticed that his long dark hair was tied at his nape with a leather strap. Only one man in her acquaintance wore his hair in that fashion.
No.The palm of her hand went to her stomach, and she tugged at her mother’s arm with her other hand, her eyes on Irene and the gentleman. How had she not noticed his hair in the library?
“What is it, Elizabeth?” asked Clarice.
“Who is that man Irene is walking to the dance floor with?”
“I believe that is the Marquess of Guildford,” her mother replied, “but I could be mistaken, and—” The sound of Elizabeth’s racing heart drowned the rest of her mother’s words, and her stomach clenched.
She had kissed Guildford, the very man she had sworn to keep her sister from marrying, and had almost agreed to remain in the library with him. As though he could feel her stare, he turned, and their eyes met. Rage and confusion had never threatened to take control of her as they did at that moment.
* * *
Rhys Wallace could not believe his luck tonight. After arriving late to the masquerade, and in a rotten mood, he had enclosed himself in the library with his mistress, and as soon as she had left, a goddess came to him. She was one of the loveliest creatures he had ever laid eyes on, and he finally came to the ballroom he had initially been reluctant to enter to find her.
He detested balls, and the only reason he was here was to begin a proper courtship with the woman he had chosen to be his wife, Lady Irene Livingston. His encounter with the lady in the library, Athena, had changed his plans because he wished only to see her again. Unfortunately, he did not have any time to find her before Lord Winston found him.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lord Winston said, “There is my dear Irene.”
