Page 90 of Rogue of My Heart

“Unruly hardly begins to describe it,” Marie said, lowering her voice.

It suddenly occurred to Christian that sand did not mix well with a raging erection. He feigned utter composure, though, determined to ignore the irritation that wasn’t helping his body settle. “If this is how you comport yourself with men you’ve only just met, I’m astounded that your brother hasn’t locked all of you away in a convent.”

“We’re not Catholic,” Marie said, her voice more and more of a purr as she inched closer to him. She might not have had his cock to stare at anymore, but that didn’t stop her from gazing hungrily at his lips.

Which did nothing at all for his chances of standing up anytime soon. “If not a convent, then an asylum,” he said, matching her sultry tone. God, but he wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do more than that, if he were honest. And he wasn’t the sort to go around debauching aristocratic ladies on beaches. He’d caroused his way through university, enjoyed himself thoroughly in Europe, but it took coming home to Ireland for him to feel truly in over his head in matters of desire.

“My dear brother would have to catch me before he could put me in an asylum,” Marie went on, her lips only a breath away from his. “And poor Fergus has just made the fatal error of giving me the means to pedal away from him whenever I want.” Her eyes flashed as they met his. “What kind of mischief do you suppose I might get into with that sort of freedom?” she asked.

“I cannot imagine,” Christian said, pulsing with lust and feeling startlingly on the back foot for a change.

“Fortunately,” Marie went on, her breath tickling his lips and his heart pounding, “I have never been the sort to have a hard time deciding on things. I tend to know what I want the moment I see it.”

“Oh?” Blast him, but his voice shook on the single-syllable word.

“And I’ve seen it, Christian Darrow,” she continued, arching one amorous eyebrow, her full lips forming a wicked grin. “I’ve seen it all.”

He started to laugh, but she stopped the sound by leaning toward him and kissing him soundly. She kissed him. Not that he wouldn’t have kissed her just as hard himself, if he’d had the jump on her. He wasn’t about to let her have the upper hand for long, though. Regardless of his state of arousal, he pushed himself up until he could reach for her and drag her into his arms. It was pure and utter madness. They’d barely met, but since when had formalities or time stood in the way of the absolute pleasure of kissing a woman who was game?

And Marie was most certainly ready for it. She slid her sandy arms over his shoulders and sighed deep in her throat as he devoured her mouth with giddy pleasure. It was wrong, mad, and the single most exciting thing he’d ever done. But most of all, kissing Marie, parting her lips so that his tongue could dance against hers, filled him with joy like nothing ever had before. One taste and he had the wild feeling that he would never be able to get enough of her. Not even if?—

“Good God in heaven above, what is the meaning of this?”

The booming shout came from closer to the road. The spell that had been cast over Christian and Marie seemed to evaporate with a snap as the imposing form of Lady Coyle glared down at them.

“L-lady Coyle,” Christian stammered. He started to shift then realized there was no possible way he could untangle himself from Marie and her conveniently concealing skirts without causing them all a great deal more embarrassment than they were already suffering under.

“Oh, dear,” Marie gulped.

She started to move as well. She stood carefully, holding her skirts out to the sides as an effective curtain that allowed Christian to stand up as well. If only he wasn’t half as upstanding as he obviously was. Although that situation was well on its way to deflating.

“I have never been so outraged in all my life,” Lady Coyle raged at the two of them, face splotched red. “I thought that I had seen the very nadir of behavior from you O’Shea girls, but this?” Lady Coyle squeaked.

“I’m terribly sorry, Lady Coyle,” Marie said, laughing nervously. “It was a joke that got a bit out of hand, you see.”

“A joke?” That made Lady Coyle squeal even louder. “You think this sort of gross impropriety is a joke?”

“It was only meant as a jest,” Christian said, backing Marie up and scrambling for a way to make the situation better.

He came up blank. Worse still, Lady Coyle’s outrage only seemed to grow as she stared at the awkward pair he and Marie made.

“That is it,” Lady Coyle hissed. “Lady Marie, come here at once. Although I have only just come from there, I am taking you back to your brother at once.” She held out her hand and snapped her fingers for Marie to get moving.

“Um, er….” Marie hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at Christian’s sand-covered body.

“At once,” Lady Coyle shouted. “We will avert our eyes so that Mr. Darrow may make himself presentable.”

“I doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Christian muttered against Marie’s ear.

Marie snorted into laughter, but that only enraged Lady Coyle.

“Lady Marie, if you do not get away from that man and accompany me back to your brother’s house this instant, I will make certain that not a single respectable house in all of Ireland will accept you, not a single person will claim to know you, and your brother will be forced to send you to the very darkest asylum in Peru.”

“You see?” Christian murmured. “I told you it would be an asylum.”

“Ssh,” Marie hushed him, clearly having a hard time suppressing a giggle. “I’m coming, Lady Coyle. And I am ready to accept whatever punishment you and Fergus see fit to dole out.” She stepped away from Christian, starting toward her bicycle. A few yards away, she glanced over her shoulder, giving Christian’s sandy body a once-over. “It was worth it,” she said with the most wicked grin Christian had ever seen.

Lady Coyle fussed, Marie fetched her bicycle, and the two of them walked off as Christian dashed out into the sea again to wash the sand off his body. His mind reeled from the wild turn his morning had taken. He let the cold water do its work, shriveling his balls almost as effectively as Lady Coyle had. He wouldn’t be able to get Marie out of his blood any time soon, though. One kiss, and he was gone. Suddenly, he was bloody glad he’d come home after all his adventures.