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“Nonsense. I am sure I would have heard tales of your clumsiness on the dance floor if that was the case.”

“Perhaps the gentlemen in question have dignity and would not be caught disparaging a lady,” she muttered.

“How many such men could be found among the ton? Pray tell.”

“There are many more than you might think,” she retorted.

“I am assuming that your dear Peter is among them,” he spat back.

“I would not know, since I have not danced with him,” she said defensively.

“You could have fooled me with how unrestrained you were with him, giggling so hard you could have been heard from Mayfair,” he retorted hotly.

Selina’s head jerked up so that she was staring into his eyes. Her expression underwent a dramatic change from shock to suspicion, then amusement.

“Do not tell me, Your Grace,” she said, giggling, “that you are jealous? That look certainly does not suit you.”

“Jealous? Ha!” he scoffed. “I couldn’t possibly be jealous. I just want the truth that you have been denying.” He stopped so that he could stare into her eyes.

“What truth?” she asked, averting her gaze. “I have always been honest with you from the start.”

“Truly?” he asked. “Then why do you feel nervous around me but not aroundPeter, your favorite suitor? Tell me, Selina. Perhaps you have allowed him liberties, and that is why you are so unrestrained with him.”

“And what business of yours is it if I have? You are not my husband or my fiancé. You are just a friend. You have taken pains to remind me of this fact every single moment, so what right do you have to ask me such questions?” Her eyes flashed with anger.

She was magnificent in her rage, her beauty even more blinding. Her passion was intoxicating, and he wanted to taste it so bad that his body shook with the need to touch her.

Why should he not, when she had been tempting him all evening, poking at his ego and restraint more times than he could bear?

He could just have one taste. One taste, and he would let her go. But, even as he made that vow, he knew it to be a lie. He was too far gone to care.

He prowled closer to her. He noticed the moment she sensed his intentions and became wary. She took a step back, and he followed. She took another step back and another until her back was flush against the door. He placed his hands on the wooden surface so that he caged her in, staring into the eyes that threatened to drown him, inhaling the heady scent that made him delirious with desire.

“You asked if I was jealous. Perhaps I am, and you are about to discover just how dangerous jealous men can be.”

CHAPTER 18

Richard had spent the better part of the day battling the inferno of desire that flared even hotter in Selina’s presence. He had tried. Oh, he had tried to keep his hands off her, but his body was keen on betraying him.

His body craved hers, the feel of her smooth, heated skin beneath his fingers, the sweet taste of her mouth, the breathy sounds that escaped her lips when he pleasured her, the weight of her perfect breasts in his hands. He wanted them so much that he felt like he was dying, and her body was the only thing that could save him.

His self-control faltered even further when he became aware that Selina was aroused as well. Her pupils were dilated as she stared helplessly into his eyes and licked her lips.

That motion alone was what pushed him, making the heat that burned within him unbearable. In the next moment, she was in his arms, her lips under his as he devoured her.

At first, she was tense—perhaps because of how suddenly he kissed her—but soon she relaxed, her body becoming pliant and supple in his arms. She let out a moan and then started kissing him back.

Her fingers slid up his chest, making their way up his form until they were tangled in his hair. Grabbing a fistful, she dragged him closer, eliciting a grunt from deep in his throat.

He feasted on her lips, nibbling on them and soothing the sting with his tongue. He pressed his lips even tighter to hers until she gasped, and he took advantage, slipping his tongue into the delicious cavern of her mouth. The kiss turned wild, their tongues struggling for dominance, licking, nibbling, and sucking in between moans and groans of pleasure until he was lost in her.

His fingers slid down of their own accord until they curved over her bodice and dipped beneath her neckline. He stroked the heated skin of her breasts. His fingers found her nipples, twisting and toying with them until she was gasping into his mouth.

Breaking the kiss, his lips trailed down her neck as he inhaled her sweet scent.

“Tell me, Selina,” he said between kisses, “why you seem nervous.” He licked her earlobe, eliciting a shudder that shook her entire frame. “Do not tell me you allowed him to touch you like this?”

“No…” she gasped.