Page 26 of The Lady Tempts an Heir
“Good. Then we should begin.”
“Haven’t we already?”
“It sounds as if we’re about to have visitors.” A group of both men and women could be heard laughing and talking as they made their way toward the entrance of the conservatory. “We should appear as if we’re in the midst of a flirtation.”
“You’ve smiled more in the last several minutes than you have in the entire time I’ve known you. I believe we’re well on our way.”
She was right. Life for him had become one long series of tasks to complete as he managed both his family and Crenshaw Iron. He enjoyed the thrill of it and the satisfaction he got from the work. However, being with her tonight felt good in a different way. The pleasure of her company was for him alone. Turning toward her fully, he put a hand on the window at her back. He stepped forward until her skirts brushed the front of his trousers. Sucking in a deep breath, he almost felt dizzy with her scent. The prickling at the base of his spine had been joined by a familiar and pleasant heaviness farther down as blood filled his cock. His hand found her cheek before he knew what he was doing. Her lips parted in surprise, but he didn’t think she found the stroke unpleasant. She tilted slightly into his touch. Leaning closer, he lowered his voice even more. “I want to be clear that we do not have to do anything with which you aren’t comfortable. It’s not necessary to kiss, but we do need it to appear that we have.”
“To make it seem as if you want me beyond reason.” She quoted his earlier comment.
“Yes.” The word came out as a breath.
The tip of her tongue came out to touch her lip, leaving a moist trail that shimmered in the light. He wanted to kiss it, to taste her.
“How will you ever convince them of that?” she whispered.
He couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not. Didn’t she know how attractive she was? “You have to be kidding. You’re the most desirable woman I’ve—”
She rose up on her toes, closing the distance between them so that her soft mouth pressed against his. He nearly gasped at the sudden craving that jolted through him. It was fierce and so immediate that he had to force a gentleness he didn’t feel as he kissed her back. Jesus, she tasted like champagne and berries. She was so soft and pliant that he imagined how it would feel to sink into her heat, to hold her still against him as he—
She pulled away, her breath coming in a rush. She looked stunned, as if she hadn’t expected to do that. A hand went to her chest as the other came up to steady herself against the window. He stepped back to allow her space.
“Maxwell... I... I didn’t—” She closed her mouth as the newcomers wandered over to the windows.
The group gave them a cursory glance before continuing their rather loud conversation at the end of the aisle. Without saying another word, she hurried around him and exited at the other end. He could hear her heels on the stone tiled floor as she made her way down the next aisle and left the conservatory. He was almost glad for her hasty departure so that he could deal with his own visceral reaction to her. To lose hold of himself in public like that was not something that happened to him. He felt as if he were in over his head for the first time in his life.
Chapter 9
I think people really marry far too much; it is such a lottery after all, and for a poor woman a very doubtful happiness.
Queen Victoria
Thank you so much for coming on short notice, dear.” Helena met Violet in the entrance hall of her townhome. Huxley closed the door behind her friend and accepted her coat.
Violet smiled, nearly bursting with joy from the looks of her as she tugged off her gloves and handed them over to the butler. “Thank you for inviting us. I hope you don’t mind that I’m a few minutes early, but I hoped to beat Max and August so we could chat.”
The sheer happiness all but exuding from Violet’s pores was the exact reason Helena had invited Violet, August, and Maxwell over for tea today. She didn’t want his sisters to get the wrong idea about the state of her and their brother’s relationship and be hurt. Inviting them all for tea so they could explain had seemed the best way to handle things, even though the last thing she wanted was to see Maxwell so soon after that kiss last night.
She still didn’t understand what had possessed her to kiss him.
Taking her friend’s hands and giving them a loving squeeze, she noted the ink stains on some of her fingers. Jumping on this topic to delay the inevitable, she asked, “How is your manuscript coming along?” Violet was a writer who would soon have her first work serialized in a publication based in America.
“Good, but slow. I’m a little anxious about how my work will be received come January, which is playing havoc with my creativity. That’s to be expected I suppose, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Helena sighed inwardly as she led her friend to the drawing room. Perhaps it would be best just to blurt out the fact that her relationship with Maxwell was a fabrication. “I’m afraid that I know why you want to chat, and I have to confess that it isn’t at all what you hope.”
Violet gave her a puzzled look at they stepped into the drawing room. “You mean you haven’t heard back yet from Sir Phineas?”
Helena’s mind went blank for a moment as she had been taken entirely off guard. She had been certain that Violet meant to ask about their display last night, that she might have even heard about their ill-advised kiss. The conservatory hadn’t been exactly private. Fumbling her words to start, she managed to say, “You mean the building? The priory?”
“Yes, of course that’s what I mean.” Then Violet smiled knowingly and wagged her eyebrows. “What did you think I meant?”
Helena laughed despite herself. “You know very well that I thought you were going to ask about your brother and last night.”
“I do want to ask, but since you invited the three of us today, I can only assume you mean to address it with everyone present.”
“Right you are. Best to discuss that once everyone is here.” Helena crossed to the settee and indicated that Violet should join her. When they were both settled, she said, “Unfortunately, I do not have very promising news. Sir Phineas doesn’t seem to be inclined to make any sort of immediate determination regarding the property.”
