Page 7 of The Lady Was Lying
The one who would make her feel.
She savored the possibility of experiencing passion for as long as she could.
A beat passed.
And then two.
The fantasy stretched, but he didn’t press his lips to hers. Instead, cold air abruptly feathered across her fevered cheeks and damp lips. Her eyes flew open to discover that he’d retreated several steps.
While she’d been savoring the anticipation of potential passion, he’d withdrawn, clasping his hands behind his back, as if to say he had no interest in kissing her, even though the desire on his face had not faded. She faltered, uncertain of what to do. Her experience had not adequately prepared her for rejection.
“I…um…shouldn’t kiss you,” he finally said.
“You shouldn’t?” she asked.
No one had ever denied her.
Until now. Until him.
It was unthinkable.
If she hadn’t been so astonished, she might have been embarrassed. As it was, she was too busy trying to understand how he’d managed to stop himself from taking what she offered.
“You’re very pretty—” Pretty? Was he trying to insult her? “—but I’m a gentleman.”
“A gentleman?” she echoed.
He must utilize a different definition than the rest of society, because every other gentleman she’d encountered had taken her lips like it was their right. As if they couldn’t resist.
Why had he resisted? Did he find her unappealing?
It was difficult to imagine.
Instead of clarifying why being a gentleman precluded him from kissing her, he further insulted her by adding, “I would not dishonor my hosts by kissing a young lady during their ball.”
Her attention snagged on a single word. “Dishonor?”
He stepped back again, putting even more distance between them. A shiver ran through her, and she briskly rubbed her arms. The cold was bloody impossible to ignore after she’d nearly experienced his warmth.
“The Earl of Greydon welcomed me into his home to celebrate his sister. He trusted my honor would guide me.” His voice became more clipped as he spoke, as if he gained confidence as he explained himself. “I intend to marry this year. If I accost you in the gardens, how can I trust myself to act accordingly in the future? It’s important that I know that I’ll be able to properly conduct a courtship. My wife will be assured of my honor from the start, and I can’t have a moonlight rendezvous hanging over my head for the rest of the season.”
It was her turn to step backward.
He was searching for a wife.
Of course he was. Why else would he attend the ball?
She tried to gather her composure while the reality of what she’d done slapped her in the face. Kissing a man with morals was a potentially unforgivable mistake.
One that could have far-reaching implications.
How could she be so careless?
Sebastian had promised he wouldn’t force her to marry, but if he saw her in the arms of an eligible gentleman tonight, there was no telling what he might do. Especially seeing as she’d promised she would stop indiscriminately kissing inappropriate men and she’d sworn to stay within his sight all evening. She’d made a liar of herself in more ways than one that evening, and it would be unfair to expect her brother to keep his side of their bargain when she had refused to keep hers.
Needing to escape the suddenly harsh glow of the moonlight, she shuffled further away until she was shrouded in darkness.
Hiding her beauty brought no relief.
