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Without warning, his hands went around her waist and he lifted her from the saddle to deposit her in front of him on his own. Alice squealed, then clapped her hands over her mouth, cheeks flushing bright scarlet. Harold firmly moved her hands down from her face and kissed her. Alice’s head whirled. She became lost in a world of pure sensation. At some point during the union of their lips, her hands had become tangled in his dark hair, clutching him to her. The taste of him, the smell of his body mixed with the earthy fragrance of the wood and the musty aroma of the horses was hypnotizing.
Harold was firm and soft. Lips pressed hard against hers, then relented, becoming soft, plucking kisses from her, tenderly. His hands gripped her waist, fingers trying to feel her through the dress. Then, he was caressing her back and her thigh, so softly, it was as though he feared he would break her. Alice allowed herself to sink into him, resting against his broad chest. One hand slipped down to his waist, unbuttoning his coat, and then touching him beneath.
She felt giddy with the daring of touching him beneath his coat, even though his skin was still barred from her by a waistcoat and shirt. It was still an intimacy and therefore thrilling. Her toes curled in her light shoes as waves of pleasure rode over her body. When his hand strayed up her side, caressing her ribs and coming to a halt a hairsbreadth from her breast, Alice gasped into the enveloping warmth of his mouth. She squeezed her legs tight together against the sudden flare of pleasure that emanated from her loins.
Then she broke away from him, pulling back her head and looking into his eyes.
“You are trying to seduce me,” she said, half-serious.
“As are you,” he replied.
Alice smiled, darting forward to nip at his lower lip. “Yes, the very thought makes me feel like a wild, wanton woman.”
Harold pulled her head to his and bit at her lip, holding it firmly before pulling back, sucking on her lower lip until it slipped free. Alice’s hands stroked down either side of his face as he did, her breathing intensifying.
“Are you attending the ball tonight, the…Duke of…somewhere,” Alice said.
“Yes, I have an invitation from the Duke of Somewhere,” Harold replied with a laugh. “My friend Max is convinced I am…that there is a woman I am pursuing. He has never known me to accept two invitations in succession.”
Alice snuggled against his chest, enjoying the firmness of the muscle and the warmth of his body. He enfolded her into his arms, resting his cheek on the top of her head. It was as safe as Alice had ever felt. The sun peeked through gaps in the canopy of trees. Each questing beam felt hot on her face. The air in the wood was warm and still.
“Simon believes he has found a match for me. The son of Viscount Stanley.”
“I don’t know him. But, I know very few of the Ton. How do you feel about the match?”
“How do I feel? I would like to know how you feel?” Alice said, raising her hand.
“Jealous,” Harold said immediately.
Alice could not hold back a smile.
“Really? You are jealous at the thought of another man trying for my hand.”
“Of course. I would fight any man who laid a claim on you.”
“Why? We have only just met, after all,” Alice said.
“Because I wish to seduce and conquer you. That is my reputation in your family, after all,” Harold replied.
CHAPTER17
The comment had been made in humor. But Alice looked at him seriously. Then, without warning, she pushed herself up using the pommel of the saddle and swung one leg over the neck of the horse so that she was straddling it, but facing Harold. The posture caused her skirts to rise up her legs, exposing her thighs and the tops of her stockings. Looking Harold directly in the eye, she kissed him, pressing her body against his, cupping his head with her hands.
Harold found himself taken aback. His body responded to her in the only way it could. Arousal seared him from the inside out. Loins hardened against her and Alice pushed her own now exposed body against that hardness. When she pulled away from his lips there was a challenge in her eyes and a wildness such as he had never seen before.
“As you said. I am also trying to seduce you. I told you I wanted adventure in my life before I settle down. Before I have to accept someone as mundane as Rafe of the House Stanley. Maybe I want to be conquered.”
Her frankness, coming from such a sweet and innocent face, was enough to make Harold want to bear her to the ground and take her there and then. His hands tightened on her slim waist, wanting to tear the fabric of the dress and feel the softness of her bare flesh. He controlled himself with an effort.
“Am I your adventure, then? A wild fling before your brother forces you into the tedium of marriage?”
“Yes. Am I not the same to you?”
“Yes.”
I thought about corrupting this woman as an act of revenge against her brother. Now, I think of corrupting this woman as an act of lust to satisfy my own desire.
Voices reached them through the trees and Alice sighed.
