.
“There’s Lady Chester’s dinner. She always appreciates guests she believes to be exotic. You would not be turned away from her door.”
Alex listened as Justin went on to list one event after another, wondering what was the matter with him.
Since the moment he’d walked into the sitting room, Alex could sense the distance between them, but she believed it was for the benefit of the men present.
Chris, Nash, and Reuben had wanted to hear Justin’s plans. When Alex had voiced that she didn’t wish to marry, Justin’s body seemed to relax and he’d sighed heavily as though in relief.
This response had put her on edge, however. She was sure that once they were alone, he’d Be different and transform back into the handsome suitor he’d been the other day.
However, when Chris and Nash left them with only Reuben to watch them from the corner of the room, Justin’s eyes didn’t even warm. The only time he seemed to smile was when she was trying to make him laugh. Even then, he seemed to be fighting against the barest of grins.
When Reuben got called away by his own visitor, Alex knew something was wrong.
She and Justin had been alone for nearly ten minutes, and he’d not so much as given her any indication that he remembered their kiss. If Alex didn’t still recall the taste of him, she’d have thought it was a dream, but no. They’d kissed, and it seemed Justin wished to forget it.
“What do you think?” His eyes and voice were plain, though both were still attractive.
She leaned over the table and whispered, “What’s the matter?”
He seemed startled by her question. Surely, he knew to what she referred. “I’m fine,” he told her. “Are you all right?”
No, she was not.
She held his eyes and slowly leaned away. She blinked a few times and then stood. “Excuse me.”
“Ms. Smith,” he called.
She ignored him and started from the room. Her throat closed as she struggled to breathe.
This was her fault. She should never have kissed him. He’d said he’d enjoyed it, but obviously he had not. Perhaps he’d simply been acting kind and preferred the kiss of a lady, which she was not and never would be.
Getting away seemed necessary now.
He caught her arm before she could pass and turned her to face him. “Ms. Smith, wait.”
How ironic that he was comfortable touching her when she least wanted it.
“Choose whatever party you wish.” She didn’t meet his eyes. Her gaze stayed fixed on a button on his shirt. “I don’t care.”
“You will if I choose something you’re uncomfortable with.”
“I’m uncomfortable with all of it.” She bit her lip and said, “The dinner. We’ll go there. One event will be enough, don’t you think?” She was only agreeing to see this done because she wanted to be finished with the ton entirely. Once the papers had their story, they would move on. She would be done with the ton and, more importantly, Justin.
“A dinner will never be enough,” Justin said, releasing his hold on her but not letting her go. “There won’t be enough members of the peerage present to meet you.”
“Then a ball,” she countered. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll go to one event and then we’ll be done with this.” She used his light grip to shake free of him and took a step back. “Good day, my lord.”
Yet she didn’t move.
And he didn’t either.
He stood there for a long time. So long that when he finally did move, she was startled.
Instead of walking out of the room, he approached her again. His hand went under her chin and lifted her face to meet his. “Fine,” he whispered, his thumb caressing her almost absentmindedly while he held her gaze. “One ball, but you’ve many lessons to learn before then. The ton, though they should know better, will still expect you to behave like a lady.”
“So you wish to change me?” she asked. “I thought I was the most intriguing woman you knew?” She regretted the words the moment they left her lips. She’d not wanted to remind him about the kiss, yet she had.
She moved again to detach herself from his touch and flee the room, but his hand slipped from her chin to the back of her neck and held her still.
His eyes fell to her lips, and Alex stiffened as his gaze darkened.
But then he closed his eyes and released a puff of air. His brows drew down and his fingers tightened on the back her neck. “I believe I also said you were the most beautiful,” he whispered.
“That seems to have changed.” Her voice was even quieter than his.
His eyes opened and those perfectly green irises settled on her. “It hasn’t.”
That was good to know, b
ut she wouldn’t beg him to make her feel better. She’d learned a long time ago that men disappointed. There were few males in the world she trusted, and she knew better than to expand that circle.
“You’re touching me,” she pointed out.
He looked at his hands as though they were foreign to him before looking at her again. “I know, and I believe I like it.”
“You should leave.”
His expression was soft. “You’ve lessons to take. I plan to instruct you.” Why did those words seem to elicit something sensual within her?
“You know, there are people who can do that very thing on your behalf. They’re called tutors.” She battled between wanting him to let her go and wanting him to remain where he was. He complicated her mind.
He grinned, and this time he didn’t fight it. His thumb drew circles against her skin and then his finger spread through the base of her hair, massaging her slightly.
Alex closed her eyes and trembled with thrill. She locked her hands on his shoulders for support.
When he spoke, his breath brushed her lips. “My lessons will be more fun.”
She believed him. Her mind was already fogged with the things he could do to her. “I’m not a virgin,” she told him, thinking it only fair he knew before they went further. Her confession cooled her as did the stiffness she sensed in the hand that still held the back of her head.
“Is the man who…” Justin’s brows pinched as he tried to find his words. “He’s not one of the men I’ve met, is he?” His expression became vicious.
Alex’s stomach pitched, half disgust and half fear. “No. My brothers and I… We’re a family. We’d never think to do such a thing.”
“They are not blood.” His fingers began to move in her hair again. “Only a blind man would be persuaded to leave you alone. Knowing you only makes the thought of touching you that much more pleasant.”
She was touched and smiled. “There are some bonds that are forged by more than blood.” Like witnessing someone accidentally wet herself and then having her young protectors try and shuffle her into the house before anyone else noticed. Alex had had accidents until she was seven, until Chris, Reuben, and Nash had truly taken her in.
And no matter what Justin believed, no one thought to be with a girl who once peed in her chemises repeatedly. Even nearly twenty years later, it still brought her shame. “Surely, you share a deep bond like that with someone.”
“Gerard,” he said without hesitation. “But he’s a man. You’re a woman.”
“And there’s no female in the world that you call friend?” She almost wanted him to say no, wanting to be the only woman in his life.
He paused for a moment then slowly shook his head. “Once, when I was young, but… I see your point.” He smiled. “But I’ve decided that I can’t simply be your friend. It’ll never be enough.”
Her heart nearly exploded from the pleasure of his mouth on hers. She pressed herself closer to him but then broke the kiss with a gasp. “The door is open.”
Justin stalked to the door. It closed a moment later and he returned. He barely stopped before he grabbed her head between his hands and brought his mouth back down to hers.
Her body pulsed with excitement as he locked her to his body and slowly backed her against the wall.
His mouth was hot and his tongue even more so. She moaned as he deepened the kiss and tightened his hands on her waist.
Yes. This was where she belonged, and this was where he belonged. With her. Touching her. She kissed him with her own urgency, with the need to make him know that she was officially claimed.
Her arms went around his neck. She tilted her head back to get more of him, as if with his own driving need he needed to claim her as well.
She was startled at the sound of a voice clearing and turned to see Rose staring at them both with wide eyes.
“Reuben is on his way.”
Her brother’s timing was horrible.