AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stepped closer and lowered his head. He went slowly in case she changed her mind, but thankfully she did not. When his lips met hers, a dark pulse of desire swelled through him. He worked to keep a rein on himself. It would be so easy to get lost in her kiss.
Her hands came back against his chest, but more firmly this time. Her lips pressed into his, evidencing her participation. But then hadn’t she asked him to?
Yes, and he was going to make it good for her.
He tilted his head and lifted his lips briefly before kissing her again. He danced his mouth against hers, keeping himself in check while she acclimated herself to his touch. When her hands crept up to his shoulders, he took it as a sign to go further.
He put his arms around her and pulled her more snugly against him and parted his mouth against hers. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, and he worried she would push him away.
Please, not yet.
This kiss was too honest, too beautiful, and he wasn’t ready for it to end. Not until he’d shown her a proper kiss.
He licked along the crease of her mouth, and she opened, perhaps in surprise. When he plunged his tongue inside, her grip became even tighter. Still, she didn’t pull back or shove at him. Instead, she tipped her head to the side, and it was all the invitation he needed.
He brought her flush against him, heedless of any sense of propriety. He stroked along her spine as he plundered her mouth. Her tongue met his, softly at first, but then more purposefully. He wasn’t sure at what precise moment this had progressed from a demonstration to a thoroughly impulsive act, but it had crossed that line, and Titus was in real danger of losing control.
With supreme effort, he pulled his mouth from hers and stepped back. “My deepest apologies, Miss Lockhart.”
Forget Haywood; Titus was the one who deserved a thorough thrashing. And yet, he couldn’t regret kissing her, nor could he stop himself from wanting to do it again.
But he wouldn’t.
She lifted her other hand to her mouth. Her eyes were wary, but something else flickered there—a spark of heat in the tawny depths. “Thank you. That was…quite different from last time.”
He laughed—he couldn’t help himself. “I am glad to have obliged you. But we can’t do that again.”
She dropped her hand to her side. “No, I suppose we can’t.” The look she gave him next brought his cock to full arousal. Her scalding gaze dipped down his frame and then back up to his eyes. “Pity.”
“Miss Lockhart, if you don’t go back inside right now, my self-restraint will be in shreds.”
Her eyes widened briefly just before she spun on her heel and hastened through the garden on her way back to the house. She didn’t spare him a backward glance before disappearing inside.
He exhaled, realizing he’d been holding his breath while she fled. Damn, he was a lecherous beast.
Hadn’t he threatened Haywood for doing precisely what he’d just done? Perhaps notprecisely, but the end result would be the same—the ruination of a lady who deserved far better. And she was so close to the life she ought to have had.
A phantom voice in his head said he could give her that life ifhemarried her.No, he didn’t want a wife. A wife was a nuisance, something he should probably have but didn’t particularly want or need, and even if he did, it wouldn’t be her. Once she learned the truth about his past, the role he’d played in her downfall, she would—rightfully—despise him. What sort of marriage would that be?
No, she deserved someone honorable, someone like Dawson, who clearly wanted a wife. He would treat her well, provide her with a comfortable life, and her past would be forgotten.
A small part of Titus hoped she wouldn’t forget their kiss. He knew he wouldn’t.
The following evening, Nora and Lady Satterfield were on their way to one of the largest balls of the Season. Hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Colne, it was bound to be a crush from everything Nora had heard. And she’d heard plenty that afternoon at the park.
Lady Satterfield looked through the window and craned her neck to try to see down the street. “My goodness, we’re backed up already. This is going to be quite a throng.” She looked at Nora with an animated expression. “I do hope Satterfield can find us.”
Lord Satterfield would be joining them later after starting the evening at his club.
With a sparkle in her eye, the countess turned her attention to Nora. “Tell me, who do you most hope to dance with tonight?”
Kendal.
But Nora didn’t say that. He wouldn’t be here in any case. “I expect I’ll dance with Mr. Dawson, and perhaps Lord Markham or Mr. Gilchrist.”
“Mr. Dawson seems taken with you. Do you feel the same?”
He was charming and witty and reasonably attractive. But he was no Kendal, whom she couldn’t stop thinking of since last night’s kiss. “He’s quite pleasant.”
