Page 26

Once again, this action had made her heart leap, which in turn made her upset.

Hadn’t she talked to him about this already?

Perhaps she needed to be a little more stern and forceful.

She did not want him charming her. It might be different if she knew his feelings were sincere, but they were not.

Rogues only had one purpose, and that was to win a girl’s heart.

Once they had accomplished this—and of course, having their wicked way with them—they’d move on to the next innocent soul.

Tabitha sat on one of her aunt’s cushioned chairs by the window, and watched as the rain soaked the land.

Aunt Clara and Mrs. Stiles were taking their customary Sunday afternoon naps, and Tabitha was bored out of her mind.

Sally kept herself busy in her room with writing letters to her family, and Tabitha didn’t want to bother her.

Reading a book was impossible, only because after a few paragraphs, visions of Nic popped into her head.

She didn’t want to enjoy the way he’d gazed at her with such longing, and the way he’d winked that made her heart skip a beat.

She especially didn’t want to delight in the way his touch had warmed her body and made her want more of his sweet attention.

Grumbling, she punched her fist into the armrest. There was no way around it. She must visit him today and let him know to cease this insanity at once! Especially since some of her aunt’s friends in church had also noticed and were encouraging Tabitha to flirt with the clergyman.

The rain had eased up slightly in the past few minutes, so now was a good time to take her walk to his house.

She quickly slipped on her light gray pelisse before throwing her raincoat over her shoulders.

Lastly, she placed on her bonnet and tied the ribbons tightly beneath her chin.

Before she left the house, she took one of Mrs. Stiles’ umbrellas.

As she hurried down the street, she was vastly relieved to see that people had kept to their homes this afternoon. Just like before, she didn’t need anyone getting suspicious of why she was visiting the clergyman.

She finally arrived at his house, and quickly knocked on the door. When Nic opened it, his eyes widened in disbelief. Within seconds, he scanned the street in front of the house before, gesturing with his hand for her to enter. Once inside, he closed the door behind her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he took the umbrella from her and hung it next to the fireplace.

“I needed to talk to you about something important.” She handed her raincoat to him and he hung it next to his. She glanced around the room, listening for any more voices. “Is your cousin here?”

“Yes, but he’s upstairs in his room resting.”

His gaze moved to her bonnet, and he touched the brim of the hat. “Why don’t you remove this and I’ll sit it on the hearth. It looks a little damp.”

“Yes, it is.” She loosened the ribbons and lifted it off her head. “The rain fell at an angle today and I almost couldn’t keep it off my face even with the umbrella’s help.”

He took the hat from her and placed it where he had promised. When he faced her again, his attention moved over her pelisse and lavender dress. The color of his eyes softened quite a bit and a relaxed smile touched his face. As always when he did this, her heart reacted, fluttering in her chest.

Scowling, she pointed her finger at him. “This is the reason I need to talk to you.”

His forehead creased in confusion. “Because of your finger?”

“No, because of the way you look at me.”

The lines smoothed out in his expression. “Pardon me? You want to talk to me because of the way I look at you?”

“Yes.” She nodded once. “People are noticing, my lord. They see that you’re looking at me differently than you do other women.”

Chuckling, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the hearth.

Curse him for looking so handsome…and desirable.

Obviously, this was something he had practiced often, knowing it would make women take notice.

Just for once, she wished he’d be clumsy so he didn’t appear so perfect in her eyes.

Inwardly, she grumbled and reminded herself that he was not perfect.

“Tabitha, how am I looking at you differently?”

Oh, she wanted to slap him. He really wanted her to say it? Of course he did. Men like him needed their ego stroked quite often. “Lord Hawthorne, you know exactly how you’re looking at me.”

“Humor me.”

“My aunt and her church friends can see it as well. They say your eyes twinkle, and…um, you grin more.”

His smile stretched, just as she knew it would.

“That’s what they say, do they? But tell me, Tabitha, what do you think?”

He moved away from the fireplace, slowly coming toward her. The beat of her heart quickened and her throat turned dry. Blast it all, he’s doing it again!

“My lord, this is the very reason I’m so upset.” Yet, her voice certainly hadn’t sounded upset just then. In fact, the volume had deepened quite a bit. “I don’t need the whole town wondering why you look at me in such a tender way. You’re a clergyman, for heaven’s sake.”

“And clergymen can’t be attracted to single women?

” He stopped in front of her. Slowly, his gaze moved over her face, coming to rest on her mouth.

“It’s hard not to look at you differently, you know.

” He stroked her cheek with gentleness. “Because I’ve been attracted to you since the first time we met. ”

His words, coupled with the strange feelings rushing through her, confused her greatly, and made it hard to stay mad at him.

But she must. She grasped his hand, trying to move it away from her face, but either she wasn’t trying hard enough or he was just too strong.

Yet, his fingers were lightly touching her face.

Now she knew what her problem was. She lacked willpower.

“Nic, please,” she said softly.

“I love it when you say my name.” His other hand joined the first, cupping her face. “There is a reason I look at you differently, Tabitha. I’m not at all embarrassed by the way I feel whenever you are near. In fact, I delight in the feelings pulsating through me.”

“Nic, I don’t want…this.”

“Oh, but I think differently.” His voice deepened. “I see a certain spark of light in your eyes whenever you look at me. My hands feel the soft quiver of your body whenever I touch you. I hear the catch in your breath whenever I’m too close.”

Gently, his thumb stroked her lips. She wanted to sigh, close her eyes, and enjoy the sensations flowing through her—the ones that make her body come alive with awareness. No other man could do this to her. At least she hadn’t met one, yet.

“Regardless, this isn’t going to happen between us, Nic.” She swallowed hard. “You are wasting your breath on me—you’re wasting your charm.”

“Oh, my lovely. Why do you not believe me?” He lowered his lips to hers and softly brushed them against her mouth. “I assure you, my feelings for you are real. I have never felt this way about any other woman.”

She wanted to believe him, but it was so hard. Were those not the very words rogues used to get what they wanted from a woman? “No…that cannot be.”

“Then let me show you.”

His mouth covered hers just as his hands moved down her neck and around her shoulders as he pulled her into his embrace.

A part of her wanted to fight him all the way, but that part of her seemed to have disappeared, because it surely wasn’t standing in his hold right now.

Against her will, she wrapped her arms around his waist as she moved her mouth seductively with his.

His lips were so very gentle, as were the stroke of his palms on her back.

The warmth from his kiss shot heat flowing through her, making her heart hammer faster and her breaths quicken.

The softness of his beard rubbed against her face, igniting more awareness inside of her body.

Her legs threatened to crumble beneath her, so she clutched the back of his jacket.

He must have suspected, because his arms tightened around her.

A sigh of delight rattled through her throat unexpectedly. He responded by releasing a groan and deepening the kiss. He kissed like a man starved for affection, and heaven help her, she answered back just as urgently.

She didn’t know where the voices in her head had disappeared to, but no longer were they telling her to run away from him as fast as her legs would carry her.

Instead, the voices inside of her mind were reminding her how lonely she’d been, and how she had longed to be kissed in such a passionate way that made her feel… complete.

His mouth left hers, but only to travel down her neck, leaving kisses along the way.

His whiskers brushed softly against her skin.

A different kind of excitement flowed through her now—one that she never wanted to end.

She enjoyed the way he kissed her so passionately, she couldn’t breathe, and she loved the way the palms of his hands slid over her back as if trying to enfold her tighter against his hard frame.

“Oh, Tabitha,” he mumbled in between kisses, “I can’t believe this is finally real.” He lifted his head long enough to meet her gaze. “You don’t know how long I have wanted to kiss you…hold you. You are flawless, my lovely.” He placed his mouth back over hers.

Her heart soared with happiness. She wanted so badly to believe he was telling the truth.

It must be because she was weak right now, but she desperately wanted his acceptance and his love.

She wanted him to be the man of her dreams who would sweep her away to a world where she couldn’t remember her past and where it would never harm her again.

The wild kiss sent her to that place, even if she didn’t think it would be for very long.

But suddenly, her limbs were weightless as if she floated on a cloud.

It was then that she realized he had picked her up and carried her to the sofa.

When he sat, she was still in his arms and on his lap, but their mouths had not broken apart at all.

Ahh, heaven. Could he indeed take her to a place she’d never want to leave? If Nic could erase all the pain from her past, she would do anything to keep him in her arms forever.