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“Because I caught you looking at my breasts.”
“I don’t think that’s correct.”
Her eyes narrowed. “As I was saying, I came here tonight to…to ask you a rather personal question. It’s…actually, it’s a bit embarrassing.”
Dear God, she wanted him to kiss her again. He could see it written all over her pretty face. The way she was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. How her gaze flitted to his and then darted away. She wanted a repeat performance of the play they’d performed in the carriage. And as a gentleman (when it suited him), he’d be terribly rude not to accommodate her request. Just awful, really.
He cleared his throat. “Lady Annabel, on thisonerare occasion, I would be willing to–”
“I don’t want you to go to the dinner party tomorrow,” she said at the same time.
A beat of silence and then…
“What would you be willing to do?”
“What do you mean, you don’t want me to go?”
The color in her cheeks deepened to ripe apple. “I…you…it wouldn’t be suitable. Given our…given what has transpired between us.”
He scratched his jaw in confusion. “Does this mean youdon’twant me to kiss you?”
She shot to her feet so quickly that she nearly lost her balance, and might have tumbled right into the fire had he not reached out to steady her, his hands sliding beneath the cloak to encircle her ribcage.
“Steady,” he murmured. “You were freezing when you got here. Your blood is still warming up.”
His, on the other hand, was close to boiling.
Especially where a certain part of his anatomy was concerned.
“Release me!” she commanded, andthatdidn’t help matters, because when she spun unexpectedly to the side, he lost his grip and his palm slid upwards…inadvertently cupping her breast, his thumb hovering directly over her nipple.
They both froze stiff.
Ezra wasverystiff.
“That was an accident,” he said quickly, removing his hand.
“Aren’t you going to apologize?”
“No.”
Her lips parted on a gasp of feminine outrage. “Why ever not?”
“Because I’m not sorry that it happened.”
“This ispreciselywhy you cannot come to Christmas Eve dinner,” she said, scowling.
“Because I may accidentally touch your breast? Or,” he said, his voice no more than a husky rumble vibrating against her cheek as he lowered his mouth to her ear, “because you may actually like it when I do?”
None of thiswas happening like it was supposed to.
None of it.
Although truth be told, Annabel wasn’t sure if that made it worse…or better.
“You’re a scoundrel,” she accused, glaring at him.
“Perhaps,” he acknowledged. “But you’re the lady who came knocking on a scoundrel’s door. What are youreallydoing here, Annabel?”
