Page 17 of The Rake I Wished For
A chill raced through her.
Those words, the way he’d said them…
It’d been a challenge. A test.
He hadn’t really wanted to kiss her.
Her heart plunged to her belly, and her throat grew tight. She blinked rapidly. She wouldnotcry.
A long silence fell while she collected herself, and when she managed to speak it came out far too high and breathy. “You called my bluff.” She smiled. “Bravo.”
He stared at her for a long moment, and her smile faltered.
Why wasn’t he laughing?
Where was that amusement in his eyes she was so used to seeing? The warmth and affection she’d gotten so used to she hadn’t even realized it…until the absence of it left her cold.
“Harlow…”
He still wasn’t looking at her, and her heart twisted in her chest.
She’d never seen him angry before. Not with her. And what was worse, she had the most horrifying suspicion that he was…disappointed in her.
All at once, and far too late, she saw precisely what he and Jane had been trying to make her see.
A silly kiss. A ridiculous moment of romance. It was the stuff of fairy tales, and not meant for the likes of her.
It was just a wish to be made ‘round a silly maypole, you ninny.
For a little while there, she’d been swept away by romantic notions, but the truth hit her smack in the chest.
If you insist on pursuing this ridiculous idea, the least I can do is ensure your first kiss is with a man who won’t hurt you.
She squeezed her eyes shut, humiliation crashing through her.
For a moment there she’d actually thought…
Oh drat. She’d been swept away by it all. By the dark desire she’d thought she’d seen in his eyes. By the thrill of his hands on her, of his closeness…
She might not have gotten her kiss, but she’d gotten her wish. For a moment she’d been swept off her feet.
And it was just as much stuff and nonsense as she’d suspected.
She straightened, struggling to regain some composure. “Harlow, I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I did not mean to make your position so difficult…”
His gaze flickered over to her and for the first time in her life, she couldn’t read it. Her belly roiled. She didn’t know what he was thinking. Some connection between them that she’d taken for granted…
It had disappeared. Extinguished like a candle.
Her throat worked convulsively as she tried not to give in to emotion.
“Jocelyn, there you are,” Jane called out.
Right on schedule.
Harlow’s eyes narrowed on Jocelyn ever so slightly, and she knew that he knew. They’d played chess together often enough that she supposed it shouldn’t surprise her that he saw her moves coming from a mile away.
“Right on time, eh?” he said. “Was that your surefire plan, Jo?”
