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“Excellent.”
Dracott glanced over his shoulder to note the distance between them and their chaperones. The Worthingtons had stopped walking and were now engaged, talking to another couple. However, Worthington kept his gaze narrowed on them. With a nod, he made a demand he expected Dracott to follow. Dracott returned the nod, placing his hand on Maggie’s arm to halt her walking. When Worthington scowled and took a step forward, Dracott realized his mistake. He never should have touched Maggie. He yanked his hand away, but not before her warmth wrapped around him. Thankfully, Lady Worthington laid her hand on her husband’s arm and whispered her own demand.
Maggie stopped when Dracott touched her. Her body trembled with need, hoping for more than a brief touch. However, he denied her when he drew his hand away so swiftly. She raised her gaze to his, struck by the desire simmering between them. When he glanced back at her brother, she understood the reason he pulled away. She didn’t need to look behind her to feel her brother’s scowl upon them. Reese may be able to intimidate Crispin, but his inferiority had never held much luck with her.
But in his defense, he never had to act in that manner with her. Reese always indulged her as a child with her carefree curiosity. He never placed restrictions on her as her parents did. Now he acted like the overprotected parent, and Maggie only held humor with the situation. To push the limit of her brother’s patience, she placed her hand on Crispin’s arm and tugged him to follow her to a bench nearby.
Maggie’s hand burned through his suit coat. By touching him, she defied her brother and planted him in the path of Worthington’s fury. Worth had warned him of Maggie’s impish delight in defying Lord Worthington. Now he understood the full implication of the warning. After they sat down, she still refused to remove her hand and slid as close to him as possible. When he tried to slide over, she only moved with him.
“Finally, we have some time alone,” Maggie said, sliding her hand down his arm. Her gloved fingers grazed against his.
Dracott glanced again at Worthington to notice the earl grit his teeth in annoyance. “Perhaps we should not anger your brother so early in our courtship.”
Maggie laughed. “’Tis only Reese’s personality. He likes to intimidate suitors, to make his position clear as our guardian. He acted the same when Ravencroft began his courtship with Noel. Now he never even pays the gentleman a second glance when he comes around. Obviously, my brother is not one to understand the character of a true gentleman such as yourself.”
Dracott stiffened at Maggie’s opinion of him. She couldn’t be further from the truth. He had learned early in life how to change his behavior to mask the situation he found himself in. Yet, with Maggie, he only wished to be his true self and the gentleman she perceived him to be. Also, he didn’t want to give Worthington any cause to withdraw his support for their courtship. It was only with the help of Worth’s appraisal of his character that Worthington had relented.
He tried once again to separate himself from Maggie, even though he wanted to remain close. This time she didn’t follow but frowned her disapproval at him. A small space sat between them now. He turned on the charming smile he used when he wanted to distract a lady from the present. When Maggie blushed a soft shade of pink, he wanted to kick himself for using his technique on someone he cared for. However, it achieved his result of distracting her. He would analyze his emotions later when he had a clear head. Which he didn’t think he would ever possess again because Maggie distracted him more than he cared to admit.
“I understand how you wish to defy your brother for your amusement. However, Worthington was none too eager to allow our courtship. It was only with Worth’s promise to vouch for my character that your brother allowed for me to call on you.”
Maggie nodded, appearing contrite, a trait he didn’t care for. He enjoyed the wild, carefree Maggie, not the meek one.
“I wish nothing more than to draw you in my arms and ravish your lips to show you how much of a temptation you are to my state of mind. However, your brother and the other visitors in the park might object.”
Maggie’s blush turned to a fiery red. “Oh.”
Dracott leaned back on the bench, satisfied with her reaction. “Do you understand the position I am in, my wild minx?”
Maggie gulped. “I do now.”
Maggie slid across the bench, placing a wider distance between them, so as to leave her brother in no doubt of Dracott’s honor. Her act, however, only seemed to amuse her companion. He chuckled at her expense. She fixed her gaze on him and saw that, while he might find amusement with her actions, something darker stirred beneath the surface. From their outing alone, she learned he adapted to any change in their conversation or the surrounding environment. While she saw the desire he held for her, the sense of mystery clinging to him made Maggie only more curious to discover the secrets he held.
Maggie loved mysteries. They were complex and kept her spellbound, not clouding her mind like the romances Noel read. They were as predictable as the titles associated with them. Was the air of mystery surrounding Crispin what drew her to him? Either way, he intrigued her and made her feel special whenever they were together. Her curiosity tugged at her to question why the viscount wanted to pay court to an uncontrollable debutante as her.
Maggie blurted out her thoughts. “Why did you ask to court me?”
Dracott chuckled at her bold question. “I have many reasons.”
Maggie’s lips puckered as she thought about how to voice her next question. “Do you perhaps enjoy my ability to hold a conversation?”
Dracott inwardly groaned as he stared at her lips. They begged for him to place a kiss upon them. “You are a very intelligent lady.”
Maggie shifted on the bench, turning toward him slightly. “Is it because I can dance without stepping on your toes?”
Dracott mimicked her movement on the bench, closing the gap between them. “That is a valid reason. But my reason lies more toward how I enjoy when your hand trembles in mine and how I can, for a brief moment of time, feel your warmth invading my soul when we touch.”
When he told Maggie he had many reasons for asking to court her, he had lied. The word many was too tame to describe every reason he wished to spend with her. Even now, she sat before him, too adorable to describe. Yet underneath her adorable persona lay a vixen he wished to draw into his world. A vixen who would keep him sane with her curiosity and give him the security he longed for.
“I shall offer you one more reason about my request before your brother is upon us.”
Maggie shifted her gaze to the path to see Reese and Evelyn almost upon them. “And that is?”
“You still have not answered my question and I wish to hear the answer.”
“And which question might that be, Crispin?” Maggie’s voice dropped to a husky whisper.
The intensity of Crispin’s stare did things to Maggie she didn’t understand. Her curiosity prompted their conversation, but he dominated it with his bold stare and seductive voice. He turned her into a quivering mess waiting for his next words.
