Page 64 of The Wolf of Mayfair
“You cared for me when I was ill,” Helia said again.
“Would you stop saying that?” he barked. “I only did so because I did not want you dying in my household.”
“You could have allowed someone else to care for me,” she said softly, persistent as a dog with a bone. “But you didn’t. Iknowit was you who sat by my side.”
Fury sent his nostrils flaring. “My servants do not have loose lips. The ones that do, I sack—”
“Oh, hush.” She pinched him, and that press of her thumb and forefinger on his arm knocked him off-balance.
Wingrave stared incredulously. “Did you ... just pinch me, madam?”
“That is what we common people call it.” Then, her lips, still swollen from his kiss, tipped up at their corners.
He sharpened his gaze on her mouth.
Unbidden, his mind and body recalled at once the sweet taste of her: apple blossoms and peach, a sweet combination which had made for an unexpected aphrodisiac. Just the memory of that kiss sent another wave of lust through him.
Under Wingrave’s scrutiny, Helia’s innocent smile remained unwavering.
For a woman who’d just come long and hard in his arms, she remained remarkably wholesome.
How, with the ire and wrath he’d turned on the minx following that very thorough climax he’d coaxed her to, did she still wear that wide, sunny, anddisarminggrin?
“I know what you’re thinking, Anthony,” she said with a lightness paradoxical to the turbulent nature of his own thoughts and feelings.
She had absolutely no idea the lustful thoughts centered on her. If she did, she’d flee—and fast.
“You’re thinking you don’t tolerate servants with loose lips or allow people to put their hands on you,” she said, completely off the mark, as he’d predicted.
Her lips took a mischievous tilt, revealing a pair of adorable dimples. “Especially as you’re a future duke. But I know you will not sack your servants.”
Wingrave folded his arms. “And just how did you arrive at that conclusion, Helia?” This he had to hear.
“Because you care about them.”
He laughed, and damned if that wasn’t a real explosion of mirth.
“Just as they care about you,” Helia said, undeviating from her course. “Theydo. They wouldn’t speak so highly of you if you were, in fact, cruel and heartless.”
God, had he ever been that innocent?
His laughter faded. “You’re an unworldly thing if you believethatdrivel you now speak.”
“So what if I am unworldly?” she challenged. “I’d rather be unworldly and optimistic than so jaded by the world that I can’t see there are people who care about me.”
Why must she persist in seeing things that were not there? To make herself feel better. That was the only reason for her gullibility where Wingrave was concerned.
“I am heartless,” he gritted out.
Helia shook her head. “I don’t believe—”
Anthony took her by the hips and dragged her closer, pulling a gasp from her.
Her chest heaved, with a modicum of fear ... and desire.
Good. Both of those emotions were safe. He knew how to handle those sentiments.
Burned by the feel of her, Wingrave released her swiftly and flexed his fingers to forget the feel of Helia Wallace.
