Page 15

“You have no idea.” Finally, she pulled slightly back and met his gaze.

Tears made her eyes luminous, and in that moment, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

“I thought if I could cross the alley and gain the pavement on the other side, I could reach the hack stand, but he caught my arm, tore my sleeve even through the spencer. Demanded that I talk to him because he wasn’t going to accept the break of our engagement after all. ”

“You needn’t continue if you don’t want.”

“I must, though.” A tear fell to her cheek.

“He is much larger than me, so he dragged me into the alley. The sun’s rays didn’t fall between the buildings, and it was a bit too dark for my liking.

His hands were on my shoulders, and he shook me, made me look him in the face.

” She shook her head. “There has never been a more stubborn Scotsman, Alex. He demanded that I give him another chance, even though I’ve told him time out of hand we didn’t suit. ”

“I think I can puzzle out what happened next.”

“Then you would be quite wrong.” At least she gave small chuckle.

“Though he pounced, had the audacity to try and kiss me, I grabbed his arm, went into a defensive posture, dropped my hips, and then threw him over my back.” When Alexander’s eyebrows rose, she nodded.

“I know the basics of jujitsu, you see.”

But clearly, he did not. “That is a story for another day.”

“Oh, yes.” She nodded. “Barely had Colin gained his feet when I delivered a side kick, planted the flat of my foot into his midsection, and that put him back on the ground, allowing me to run away, and I didn’t stop until I arrived home…

except there is no one here. But I made certain the doors were locked, not that such a thing would stop a man like Colin.

I’d forgotten my father had plans tonight, and as for Ian, I’ve no idea where he is, but he deserves leisure time without having to look after his sister.

” When her voice caught, his chest tightened.

“Did he threaten to come back?”

“No, but I wouldn’t put it past him.” As she spoke, Lydia’s gaze dropped to his cravat, and she fussed with the folds of that garment with her fingers. Her breathing was calmer than it had been when he’d arrived. “When his letter campaign didn’t work, he came to London.”

“I’m sorry.” Though the emotions she’d shown him were a bit out of character for her, or at least the strong facade she’d given him before, he liked that she shared more about her history as well as let herself be vulnerable in front of him.

“If you’d be interested, I’m available to find Colin and clean his clock. ”

She once more met his gaze. “That isn’t necessary, but I am frightened, and I don’t like that feeling.”

“It’s completely natural, though.”

“I am well aware of that. Once again, a man thinks he can coerce a woman into bending to his will, and that makes me angry.”

“Brings out the Scottish in you?” he couldn’t help but tease.

Her lips twitched, then she gave into a small laugh. “It does. My father always warns me that my temper will be my greatest downfall.”

“It might, and honestly? I look forward to seeing you unleash the full force of it on someone… as long as it’s not me.

” Alexander rested his hands on the curve of her hips.

“For what it’s worth, I empathize with you.

The world isn’t fair. Not all men are like Colin, just as all women are not gold diggers or title seekers.

I am sorry, just the same, that you are in this mess. You don’t deserve that.”

“I’m sorry too.”

He nodded. “You needn’t go through this alone; I am here with you, and I won’t let that man, or any other, hurt you further.” Every word of that promise he meant.

“You are a good man. I appreciate that.” She continued to hold his gaze. “Thank you.”

“It is my honor.” Suddenly, he wanted to be the only man to have the right to protect her, to defend her against whatever ill she might face, and even though the idea was ridiculous given that they had only just met and that neither of them wished to cultivate a permanent relationship, he couldn’t help but persist in thinking it. “Just know you aren’t alone.”

There was no way to tell who moved first, but seconds later, their lips came together and she was more firmly in his arms, and they were kissing intensely as if the world would end tomorrow.

“Alexander?” She peered up at him, and with her green eyes framed with moisture-spiked lashes, every scrap of willpower he had eroded at the edges.

“Hmm?” Interest shivered through his shaft and hardened it. Purely madness to feel such desire for a woman he hardly knew, but there were stranger things.

Perhaps.

Lydia pushed at his chest. “Go lock the door.” She manipulated the ribbon box at her throat. Seconds later, her bonnet tumbled to the floor. Then she removed her gloves.

Surprise filled his chest. “Why? Your butler said you’d already told him you didn’t wish to be disturbed.”

“I know that, but now I really don’t want to be disturbed.

” Her eyes widened, and he’d be an idiot not to understand her unspoken meaning or the need shadowing those green depths.

“It might be a reaction from what happened earlier, or merely a continuation of the kiss you and I shared from yesterday that was interrupted, but I would like to do more with you than kissing… if you’re of a mind? ”

“Oh… I…” To hell with trying to figure out what it all meant. If she consented, so did he, and her desire fed his own. “God, yes I am.”

With a grin, he rushed across the room to do her bidding, and damn if his hand didn’t shake as he turned the key in the door.

Afterward, he took his own gloves off and tossed them to the floor, not caring where they landed.

On his way back to her, Lydia met him in the middle of the room, curled her fingers into his lapels, and reeled him in for another kiss.

This one had a different tone, perhaps born of desperation brought on by the recent trauma, yet there was also a hunger, a need that matched his own, building upon that flash of connection that had been between them from the first meeting.

“Are you quite certain about this?” he asked when he wasn’t claiming her lips.

“Absolutely, I am not, but having this attraction bubble and burn between us is beginning to affect other parts of my life.” She tugged at his cravat, and inch by inch, she unraveled the knot and then removed that offending piece of silk along with the collar.

He frowned. “Are you only doing this because you feel vulnerable after what happened to you earlier today?” Then his thoughts scattered as she yanked the buttons from their holes on his jacket. She was so bold and daring, and that stoked his desire and fired his lust.

“I can honestly say I am not.” As she spoke, she held his gaze.

“I am not an innocent, Alexander, and neither am I a starry-eyed deb. I’m a grown woman who knows her own mind.

” Then she wrenched his jacket down his shoulders where it snagged at his elbows.

“And in this moment, I know that I want you. Not for a lifetime, not for anything other than two bodies coming together in mutual need and a want for release.”

How could he argue with that? It aligned perfectly with what he wished for as well. With a growl, he crushed her into his arms and kissed her soundly while his aroused length pulsed with approval.