Page 47 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“You don’t believe him?”
She could read him now, and that, if nothing else, told him the dangerous effect she had on him. He prided himself on withholding his emotions, not letting them cloud his reactions or judgement. Somehow, after a few days’ acquaintance, that necessary, practiced mask was slipping. At least with her.
“Not entirely, no. But Alexandra...” Ben reached for her again. It was ridiculous how natural it felt. “Try not to worry.”
She let him take her hand and then drew closer, until their chests were but an inch apart.
“This will become an official investigationnow. Demming will go to ground, but I will find him again. And Lord Holcroft.”
“So I must wait to hear from you?” She seemed to hate that notion and didn’t try to hide it.
He wondered if it was that she wished to hear from him or merely wanted an end to this matter.
One thing he knew—he needed to devote more resources to resolving it, to finding out if there was a plot and ensuring that none of those involved posed a threat to her and her livelihood.
“I’m not patient either, but I’m asking you to be.” He stroked his thumb across the backs of her fingers. “In a few days, I promise you I’ll know more.”
“Oh, but I am patient.” She lifted her hand to trace her fingers across his knuckles, almost absentmindedly. Her touch was delicate and yet tantalizing. When she encountered an abrasion atop one knuckle, her brow puckered. “Well, about certain things. I’ve been waiting all my life. Usually, it’s only my tongue that gets me in trouble.”
“Is it?” He locked his gaze on her mouth. How could he not?
Her breath quickened as did his own, and her fingers stilled atop his hand, though she made no move to pull away. When he lifted his gaze to hers, he saw heat there. A spark of the same desire he felt whenever she was near.
“What I mean to say is...”
Ben slid his fingers along the curve of her jaw as she’d done to him not ten minutes past.
“What you mean to say is...?” he prompted.
“Sometimes I blurt out whatever is on my mind. People don’t like it.”
“I rather like it.”
She blinked. “You do?”
“Mmm. I don’t know what you’ve done to me.” He trailed his fingertips along her bottom lip. Touching her was addicting. The more of her skin he traced, the more he wanted to explore.
When he reached up to cup her nape, she closed her eyes. The sign of trust made him swallow hard.
He did not want to harm her, endanger her. But good God, how he wanted to kiss her.
“Alexandra.” The word slid over his tongue like rich whiskey. He loved speaking it aloud, and that she allowed him to.
“Yes.” Her thick lashes flicked up, and she looked at him with what seemed like yearning. She drew the edge of her lower lip between her teeth, then reached out to lay her hand against his shirtfront.
“I know I should go,” she whispered, “but nothing in me wants to.” She studied his shirtfront, teasing her fingertips along the line of buttons. When she looked up at him again, he couldn’t stop himself.
He traced the backs of his fingers along her check, then bent to kiss the skin he’d touched. Tracing his lips up to the delicate shell of her ear, he told her the rawest truth.
“I don’t want you to go.”
The words seemed to set something loose inher. She reached up, threaded her fingers through his hair, and arched against him, letting her body fall into his. She closed her eyes again, and her lush mouth trembled slightly.
He’d never been hungrier for a woman in his life. But if he kissed her, he’d lose the ability to protect her. To protect himself.
But she was far more tempting than he could resist. All reasonable arguments fled, and it was only him and her and this precious closeness. A desire so strong it blotted out everything but the need to taste her lips. He’d never wanted to kiss anyone more. Never seen a woman and known in that same moment that he wanted her—and he could admit to himself now that the attraction had been there from the moment she strode into his office, talking so quickly that his brain couldn’t catch up.
He stroked her cheek, and she opened her eyes. He saw everything amid the silvery blue—her curiosity, her boldness, her willfulness, and desire too. For him.
