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“Itwasnice,” she said matter-of-factly.
“It was, but it was more than that. It was...like the striking of a match.”
Her chin rose and she stared at him. “Those are very pretty words.”
“They are what I felt.”
“And how many other women have you said them to?”
He frowned. Now he was the one taken off guard. “None,” he said honestly.
“I don’t believe you.”
“I understand why, and so I will make you a promise.”
“Another?”
“Yes. In addition to always catching you if you fall, I will never lie to you.”
“Anyone can say that.”
“Yes, but when I give my word, as I do now, I mean it. And since we are being so truthful, sweet Honoria, I have one other confession to make.”
Her eyes narrowed again, as well they should. “What is it?”
“I want to kiss you again.”
“No,” she said immediately.
“I will refrain only if you promise to tell me the truth.”
She stared at him, taking a moment to consider his words. “Fine. I will be truthful with you as well.”
“Good. Then answer me this. Do you want me to kiss you?”
“I do not have to answer that.” She turned her head away.
“No, you do not. One more question.”
“Enough!”
“Last question.” He used a finger to bring her face back to his. “Will you stop me if I kiss you?”
“I do not have to answer that either.”
“Then we shall just have to see what happens.”
With one finger resting lightly on her chin he bent and brushed his lips gently over hers. Her lips were impossibly soft, and he longed to take them and possess them. That was the surest way to end the kiss quickly, and though he had admirable patience and determination, he had never had to tread carefully so as not to scare a woman away. Women might make catching them a challenge for him, but they always wanted to be caught.
Until now.
Honoria Blake did not want to be caught or kissed. He believed her when she’d said she had not meant to kiss him. It would have been better—for him, at least—if she hadn’t. Because he meant what he’d said about striking the match. He’d been simmering with desire for her since he’d first seen her. Now he was boiling over with craving.
And if there was one thing Laurent knew about himself it was that he was a man who got what he wanted.
He wanted Honoria.
Keeping his kiss gentle and light so as not to scare her away, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his warmth. He could feel her waist beneath the coat and shirt, a strange sensation when he was so used to only feeling the corset material under women’s dresses. Strange too that when he pulled her close he did not feel the swell of her breasts against his chest. He remembered she had bound them, and then wished he had not recalled that because it brought to mind her heart-shaped derrière in the trousers she had donned.
