Page 6 of Anything But a Duke
“Don’t ruin your—”
Before he could finish speaking, she’d already lifted the square of linen to his face.
He winced when she swiped the cloth higher and reached for her wrist. His bare hand against her skin felt shockingly warm.
“Does it hurt a great deal?”
“Not as much as the second blow would have.” He released her wrist, and she allowed him to take the handkerchief into his hand. After one indelicate swipe, he stared at the stained linen and frowned. “I owe you thanks and a new handkerchief.”
“I have many others.” Diana glanced at the Woodson town house. “If you come with me, you can get warm and tidied up.” She moved to step out of his hold.
He let her go, but made no move to follow.
“Forget about me. You’ve done your Good Samaritan duty for the evening.” He stepped closer. “You’re a rare sort of lady, whoever you are.”
Diana bit the inside of her cheek and dipped her head to stare at the pavement.Rarewasn’t the worst thing she’d been called this night. But it felt a bit too much like the other curses Egerton had thrown her way.
The stranger slid a finger along the edge of her jaw. A shocking, intimate touch, but too brief for her to take offense. She lifted her head and wished she could see him more clearly.
“I meant that as a compliment.” His voice was low, almost soothing. “Any woman who rushes in to stop a man from battering me to a pulp has my infinite admiration.”
“Infinite?” Being admired by men wasn’t anything she’d considered until Egerton’s graceless proposal. But suddenly she wished to knowthisman. His name, his story, and what had brought them to the same rain-soaked mews. “You’re a different sort of gentleman, aren’t you?”
Nothing about their encounter made sense. And yet standing with him, conversing with an utter stranger, felt oddly right.
“Some would say I’m not a gentleman at all.”
“Why?”
He chuckled at that, a warm, breathy sound that made her wish to hear it again. “I’m not a man you would wish to know.” As soon as the words were out—words she didn’t at all agree with—he took two steps back. “I bid you good night.”
Distance from the heat of his body left her suddenly cold. Her wet dress let in the evening’s biting chill, and she shivered so fiercely that she couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.
The stranger immediately slid off his overcoat and draped it around her shoulders. His scent was all she could smell, and the warmth from his body clinging to the fabric made her let out an involuntarily sigh of relief.
She closed her eyes a moment and her body swayed toward his. When he reached out to steady her, Diana’s eyes slid open and she sensed his gaze on her. Despite the cold, heat seemed to kindle between them.
The stranger wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her an inch closer, and she was flooded with sensation. His chest brushing against hers, the gust of his breath on her face, his crisp woodsy scent.
Without thought or calculation, she lifted off her heels and pressed her mouth to his.
His lips were warm, far softer than she expected, and he responded without hesitation. When she began to pull away, he dipped his head to draw out the kiss for another moment.
He swept a finger across the edge of her cheek down to her jaw, then he released her. Diana tried for some parting words and fell silent. What did one say to a stranger one had just impulsively kissed?
He saved her the trouble. “You’re soaked,” he said quietly, “and I’ve already made you late to your engagement.” Bowing, he took a step back. “I’ll watch until you’re safely inside.”
Diana knew she should go. He was right. She wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing in the mews, but she was undoubtedly late for Woodson’s lecture. Shockingly, she didn’t mind. This man sparked her curiosity.
He smiled at her and nudged his chin forward to urge her to go.
“Your coat?” Diana didn’t wish to give it up so much as she felt the niggling prick of propriety urging her to be polite.
“Keep it. I have many others.”
She smiled at that and continued on to Professor Woodson’s back garden door. All the way, she sensed the stranger’s gaze on her, watching protectively. One knock and a housemaid immediately opened the door to greet her. When Diana hesitated, the girl called her inside.
“In you come, miss. You’re drenched.”
