Page 30 of An Unforeseen Kiss (Captivating Kisses #4)

S he was dancing with a duke.

Eden watched Val dancing across from her. For a large man, his movements were graceful. Then again, she would have expected nothing less from a handsome duke. She did not want to enjoy the dance, but she couldn’t help herself.

And knowing this would be the only time they would dance together, she threw herself into it with abandon.

For the next twenty minutes of the set, Eden lived in a fantasy, one much better than anything she had ever conjured in her mind. When she and Val came together, their movements were as one. She felt attractive. Powerful. Desirable. And she was having the time of her life.

But all good things finally come to an end, and so must this dance.

As he escorted her from the floor, she noticed the musicians setting down their instruments, and one said they were taking a respite for half an hour, directing those in attendance to the next room, where punch and light refreshments were being served.

While Eden had been light on her feet the entire time she danced, her knees now grew weak.

She stiffened them—and her spine—and immediately began playing mother hen, rounding up and ushering the young ladies in her care to the adjacent room.

The duke did not follow. Someone had called his name and drawn him aside, for which she was grateful.

“I am having ever so much fun,” Lady Tia declared to them.

“I am, too,” her twin said softly, a smile on her face. “I am grateful Mama let us come tonight.”

“I think these musicians are wonderful,” Verina said. “Dancing to music is better than you humming along, Miss Snow.”

“I am glad to have danced every dance,” Justina said. “It makes me eager for my own come-out.”

She looked at these four young women, and for a moment, a bit of envy filled her.

They were on the cusp of a new chapter in their lives, while her story would play out the same, over and over, as she went from household to household over the next several decades.

She would have to hope that some family would think enough of her, or take pity on her, to give her a small cottage where she could retire, because she would never earn enough money on her own to be able to do so.

“I am in need of the retiring room,” she told them. “Go and get yourselves something to eat. I will join you in a few minutes.”

What Eden needed was fresh air. So many people had entered the refreshment room, and she was beginning to feel suffocated. She slipped out the front door and went to the side of the building, where she had spied a courtyard when they had arrived.

Being outside with a bit of a breeze helped, and she strolled the length of the courtyard twice, admiring the fountain in its center. She trusted by now that the duke had joined the girls because she still needed a few minutes to herself before she returned inside.

Then the air about her changed, feeling charged, and she caught the scent of citrus. Turning, she saw Val standing in front of her.

“Why did you follow me?” she asked harshly. “Can I not have a moment to myself?”

She turned away and began walking quickly, sensing that he followed her. When she reached the end of the courtyard, she wheeled again and said, “Go away, Your Grace.”

“What happened to speaking to me in an amiable fashion?” he asked, his emerald eyes boring into her.

“Rudeness should be treated with rudeness,” she said crisply in her best governess voice. “You were extremely rude to Lord Arden. I told you he was leaving me and planned to dance with another.”

He took a step closer to her, their bodies almost touching. Her back was to the wall of the building, giving her no avenue of escape.

“Are you upset that I danced with Lord Arden?” she asked, her tone acrid.

“It is not as if anyone else had asked me to dance with them. To be truthful, I believe he felt sorry for me standing there all alone.” She wet her lips.

“I thought it extremely kind of him to ask me to partner with him. He’s a widower, you know. ”

“I do know,” he said huskily. “And Arden is not known for dancing much at assemblies. He needs an heir, Eden.”

His words hung in the air, heat radiating from him.

She swallowed nervously. “That has nothing to do with me.” The words had sounded right in her head but came out weak and ineffectual.

Suddenly, Val placed his palms against the building, caging her. “You will not become Lady Arden,” he commanded, as if he owned her.

Her heart was beating wildly. “I have no desire... to become Lady Arden.”

“Good,” he said softly, his head dipping.

Then his lips were pressing against hers. Firm lips—and yet so soft in their touch.

Eden had not expected this kiss. It was an unforeseen kiss and took her totally by surprise.

The duke continued brushing his lips softly against hers, bringing about a huge yearning within her.

Her scalp tingled. Her heart slammed against her ribs.

Her fingers itched, wanting to run through his thick, burnished locks.

Then he nibbled on her bottom lip, causing her to gasp.

The kiss became firmer. Demanding more of her.

Without meaning to, her fingers went to the lapels of his coat, tightening on them, pulling him closer to her.

Their bodies now pressed together as their lips did, and a low growl came from him. The sound caused her nipples to pucker, feeling so sensitive.

His hand clasped her nape, holding her in place as the kiss heated up. It was a series of kisses, their lips parting and then coming back together, causing her belly to flutter and the place between her legs to ache in a way it never had before.

When he broke the kiss, she tried to tell him they must stop, but his tongue began running slowly back and forth across her bottom lip, sending fevered chills through her. Then the tip of his tongue ran along the seam of her mouth, and she gasped, opening her mouth to protest his actions.

It was all the invitation he needed, and his tongue swept inside her mouth.

Tasting her. Teasing her. She had known a kiss was an intimate gesture, but this intimacy went even further than she could have imagined.

Hesitantly, she allowed her own tongue to brush against his, and a growl sounded from him.

Soon, their tongues were at war, attacking and retreating, then lazily exploring one another.

She could have done this all night, but a sudden clarity filled her, clearing the haze of desire which had lulled her. Eden realized they were kissing in a public place. Someone could come along at any moment.

And her reputation would be in tatters.

Not so the duke’s. Oh, it would be known that he had dallied with some governess, her name quickly forgotten by the gossips as he moved on to another conquest. For her, though, she would be dismissed, yet again, without references.

This time, there would be no Lady Kessley to assist her in finding a new post. She doubted she would be able to find any opening for a governess.

Anger filled her, and she pushed against his chest, hard, breaking the kiss.

He didn’t budge and merely looked down at her, smiling, which further infuriated her.

“Move, Your Grace. Now,” she commanded.

“You certainly enjoy ordering me about, Eden.”

Tears swam in her eyes. He would see them as a sign of weakness, but she knew they were ones of rage.

“I do not want to kiss you,” she said firmly, pushing against him again, which did absolutely no good.

“You weren’t protesting before,” he said, a devil-may-care look in his eyes.

“I thought you were a good man. A gentleman. But you are like all other men. You use a woman and then discard her.”

He frowned deeply. “No, Eden. Your words offend me. I—”

“If you have any decency within you and feel anything for the friendship we once had, please, Val, let me go,” she begged.

Tears spilled down her cheeks, and his hands fell away. He stepped back two paces.

“I apologize, Eden. I did not mean to—”

“It does not matter what you meant,” she said bitterly.

“Your actions spoke loudly enough. Do not attempt to ever do something like this again, Your Grace. Else I will be gone the next morning—and you will have to explain to Lady Traywick why her governess was so frightened that she had to flee Millvale.”

Eden fled the courtyard, thankful no one else had thought to come out for air.

She rushed to the retiring room and hid behind one of the curtains, willing herself not to shed any more tears.

Finally calm, she went and washed her hands and face, a servant handing her a cloth to dry herself.

She had no mirror in which to inspect herself and only hoped she could return to the assembly room without questions being asked of her.

She rejoined the girls, who stood with cups of punch, a few other young ladies talking with them.

Lady Lia looked at her with concern. “Are you all right, Miss Snow?”

The lie quickly came to her. “I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air. The wind blew something into my eye. I have been trying to get it out—and shed a few tears before it was removed. I must look a sight.”

“I hope you will be all right,” Verina said. “Do you need us to leave, Miss Snow?”

“Why, of course not,” she said cheerfully. “After all, we are all enjoying the dancing, and my eye is fine now.”

“We are!” Justina assured her.

The duke joined them, his face unreadable. “How has this evening gone for you all?”

The four bombarded him, telling him about how much fun they had had and how they could not wait to attend another assembly next month.

“I am so grateful that Mama allowed us to come,” Lady Tia said. “I thought she would hold us to mourning for the entire year.”

“Mama understands that you do not have much to mourn about,” Millbrooke explained. “While it would have been unseemly of you to make your come-outs, she knows things are more relaxed in the country. Mama believes it fine that you go a few places and enjoy yourselves.”

People began moving back to the large room where the dancing had been held earlier, and Eden downed a cup of punch for fortification.

Once more, she approved of partners who wished to dance with the young ladies she chaperoned.

She did this alone because the duke had abandoned the five of them.

He moved to the far end of the room and never rejoined them the remainder of the evening.

She did not lack for partners, however. She danced a set with a shopkeeper from the village.

Another with the local doctor. A different set with a blacksmith, who was lighter on his feet than any of her previous partners.

When she told him so, he laughed loudly and said, “You have been my favorite partner of the night, Miss Snow. It was a pleasure dancing with you.”

When the night ended, she and the girls returned to the ducal carriage. Millbrooke joined them, and Eden made certain that she was not sitting next to him, getting into the carriage first. Verina and Justina followed her and sat on the cushion next to her.

Unfortunately, that meant she sat opposite the duke. She could not meet his gaze and turned hers out the window the entire journey back to Millvale.

When they arrived, she was the last to exit the carriage. The duke himself handed her down, holding her hand a moment longer than he should have, forcing her to meet his gaze.

“I am sorry, Eden,” he said quietly. “I meant no harm. I only wished to—”

She turned away, pulling her hand from his and hurrying into the house, not wanting to hear excuses from him.

She climbed the stairs behind the four girls, holding in her tears until she reached her own bedchamber.

Then it was if a flood began, and she wept silently, more than she had when Lord Kessley had dismissed her into an uncertain future.

This time was more painful than that particular incident. Because she actually loved Val. She had given in, enjoying his kisses when she could have easily stopped him. Eden was as much to blame—if not more so—and that made her cry all the harder.

She climbed into bed, sobbing into her pillow, not knowing if she could make it another day at Millvale, having to see him.