Page 107 of From Rakes to Riches

“I am and I do,” he insisted, unsure of her meaning.

“And you say that as if it’s a compliment.”

“It is.” He’d held back long enough, answering her comments and questions. If she doubted his honesty, he would enlighten her now. “Lola.”

She stopped walking and faced him. She waited; his lips pressed tightly together.

“I can’t stop thinking about you. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, you’re with me. Day or night, you’re in my thoughts, and I’ll be damned if I allow you to ignore the attraction between us.”

She frowned. It wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.

“But that’s your mistake,” she said in that same tart tone that usually amused him. “Like every nob you want something, but you don’t consider the consequences or what will be left in the aftermath.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What happens, Theodore, after we kiss? After I fall into bed with you? After I fall in—” She stopped before any more words tumbled out.

He reached for her hand and pulled her straight into his arms.

She came willingly.

11

“Tell me you feel nothing and I won’t ask you again,” Theodore said, his voice thick with emotion. “Just don’t lie to me.”

Her chin jutted out, but her tempting little mouth stayed quiet. When she pulled back, he released her. Her refusal to answer was answer enough.

“The place I found in the hedges is up here.”

She strode to a turn in the path and he followed.

“Here.”

She indicated a space in the hedgerow and he examined it closely. With enough force and momentum, someone could pass through and exit on the other side. She’d done a good job. They were deep within the pleasure paths now. During a typical night’s entertainment with only moonlight and lantern glow, no one would have noticed.

“You’re right.” He stepped away from the hedgerow. “Since Bow Street has made little progress, any piece of information is helpful.”

“We can have no future.” Her blunt change of subject took him by surprise.

“I thought you lived in the moment.” He moved beside her. “You told me one misstep would bring about the end of your days.”

“You have no idea how true that is.” Sadness deepened her frown.

“Then tell me.”

“No.” Her eyes glinted with determination. “Too much truth is more dangerous than walking the rope. I should go now,” she said as she started past him.

He reached out and caught her fingers in his. They stood that way a long minute. No sound could be heard aside from a far-off birdcall. With a deliberate pause, he angled his head and gazed into her eyes. When their mouths met, they closed the world out together.

Deepening their kiss, he breathed in the scent of her skin, a fragrance he’d come to know asLola. Fresh, tart, sweet, sensual. His mind spun from it. Wrapping her hair in his fist, he tugged gently, angling her head for better access as he trailed kisses along her jaw, down the graceful arch of her neck to her clavicle where he nipped and tasted, all the while wanting more.

He licked over her pulse and she said his name like a plea, almost an ache. Her body pressed against his, soft to hard, perfectly matched as desire thrummed through him. It was maddening. He needed more of her, all of her.

He reversed their position, turning his back to the hedgerow as he slid his hands over her firm bottom and pulled her closer. She made a low, appreciative sound in the back of her throat. It vibrated through him as their tongues continued their erotic dance.

Her hands, impatient in their exploration, smoothed over his back to his biceps, all the while their kiss created headier bliss into a sense of timelessness.

She passed her palm over the falls of his trousers, the fleeting caress enough to send an arrow of sensation to his groin. Every movement she made was unmistakable and enticing. The heat of her skin tempted just beneath his touch, her dress nothing more than a slip of fabric over a chemise. So, unlike all the layers proper ladies wore like armor around their bodies.

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