Page 10 of In the Prince's Bed

“Twenty-two, and never been kissed. I stand ready to oblige you. As you said I would.”

A thrill coursed through her, and she stamped it out. The last thing she needed was a man like him pursuing her. Especially when his only purpose was seduction. Perhaps Sydney was right about her gown—perhaps it had given his lordship erroneous ideas about her chastity. She’d lose both Sydney and her virtue if she weren’t careful.

“Thank you for the offer, my lord, but I’m not yet sunk so low that I must beg a stranger for kisses.”

“I’m not exactly a stranger.” He stalked toward her with a tiger’s lazy grace. “In the last ten minutes, I’ve learned quite a lot about you.”

“Like what?” Edging back, she came up squarely against the marble rail.

He stopped only inches away. “You’re straightforward and practical and—”

“Wanton? Isn’t that why you’re here—because I asked for Sir Sydney’s kiss within your hearing?”

His eyes riveted her. “I’d call it brave. And honest. You go after what you want without apology. I admire that trait in anyone, but especially in a woman.”

“Oh? Why ‘especially in a woman’?”

A shadow eclipsed his rakish smile. “Because women are too often taught to do as they’re told without question. That’s never wise for anyone.”

“Strange advice, coming from a man accosting a young woman alone.”

The rakish smile reappeared. “I’m not accosting you. I’m only confirming what you already claimed—that I’d kiss you if you asked me to.” His gaze trailed leisurely down her throat to her breasts, then her belly, then lower. Bold and seductive, it seared her wherever it touched. “Believe me, if I’d been in Lovelace’s place, you wouldn’t have had to ask.”

Despite the thundering of her heart in her ears, she tried to sound light and sophisticated. “I’ve no doubt of that, judging from what I’ve heard about you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Oh?”

“I’m sure you know the tale. Irresponsible young lord behaves badly, is sent off to foreign shores to keep him out of trouble, where he cavorts across the Continent until his father dies and the older—but probably not any wiser—lord comes home to see what havoc he can wreak there.”

Amusement glinted in his eyes. “How clever of you to reduce my life to a cliché.”

“How careless of you to turn it into one.”

His amusement vanished. “So you believe what’s said of me?”

“Your present behavior certainly confirms it.”

He advanced on her until she was staring right up at the boldly carved cheeks and two slashes of eyebrows that gave him a roguish appearance. “And here I’d thought you might give a man the benefit of a doubt. You certainly gave Lovelace quite a lot of it.”

She blushed. “I know that for all his faults, Sydney cares deeply for me.”

“Just not enough to kiss you when you ask.”

“You don’t understand—”

“Ah, but I do. He’s too much a coward to stand up to his mother, so he blames you and your family for his shortcomings.” He bent close to add in a whisper, “But I’m no coward, and I, too, go after what I want, Katherine.”

Exactly like the great Alexander himself, who’d conquered not only Asia, but several women, too. And why did his lordship’s husky voice make her own perfectly ordinary name sound as exotic as Cleopatra? “How do you know my name?”

“Aside from the fact that Lovelace used it, I asked Lady Jenner about you.”

Excitement shot through her. No man had ever asked about her before. Of course, she’d hardly been in society at all, but it was still flattering.

Which was probably why he’d said it. Her eyes narrowed. “You shouldn’t call me Katherine. It’s not proper.”

“Would you prefer Kit? I don’t think that suits you nearly as well.”

Oh, he was very good at this—he’d probably memorizedThe Rake’s Rhetorickby the age of twelve. His compliments muddled her thoughts when rational thinking was crucial.