Page 50 of Unforeseen Affairs
It wasn’t her first kiss. But it felt like the first one that mattered.
He was so good, so rigid and naïve and pure. He smelled so nice, so real, fresh like soap but also vigorous, which seemed silly to say. But however one described it, he smelled exactly as he should.
And here he was, losing his senses over her, encircling her with his firm arms and tightening his hold upon her, as if he could not bear to let her go. Forgetting the rules and strictures of the world he inhabited, just frantic and desperate for something more than his lips upon hers.
And he thought her pretty. And charming.
She felt powerful. And… something else. Warm. Safe. Her body sang out, every fiber of her being alive and yearning.
She moaned into his mouth.
It set something off in Sir Colin, for he handily pushed her back against the high wall of the mews, his lips still on hers, hungry for her. She could feel the cold of the stone through the fabric of her clothing, seeping all the way through her underthings and down to her skin.
Yes, this was desire.
His hair felt so thick, so smooth as she dug her fingers into it, wanting to grasp fistfuls of it and push his head lower, his kisses lower…
A horse whinnied on the other side of the wall, loud and sharp.
They fell apart in an instant.
Her heart raced, but in panic now rather than with pleasure.
Sir Colin had stumbled backward, with one hand still on her arm as he glanced about, taut and alert. When he was satisfied that the only other living creatures nearby were the horses on the other side of the wall, he released her arm and walked a few paces away.
Charlotte realized she was panting, as if from exertion. She shut her eyes, wanting to savor the residual warmth in her body, the delicious ache of this desire before it dissipated.
What a wondrous thing was a man.
She wished to know more.
Alas, it had ended nearly as quickly as it began. The cold stone of the wall now felt pleasant against her back, tempering the frantic heat inside her.
“Miss Sedley, I…” he began, then paused, lowering his head.
Charlotte wished he’d turn around and look at her.
“I apologize,” he said curtly. “I apologize for my mismanagement of all this. My lack of initiative at the spiritcircle, and my lack of decorum just now. I’m sorry to have behaved so boorishly.”
She didn’t answer. What was there to say? That she’d not be cowed by Mr. Bass so easily, or that she’d very much like to encourage further lack of decorum from Sir Colin? Her stepmother had taught her well enough to know that neither assertion would go over well in polite company, so Charlotte held her tongue, as she usually did.
Apparently frustrated by the silence, Sir Colin finally turned about, his expression hard and unyielding. But then his face changed. Softened.
“You must hate me,” he said in a low, resigned voice.
“I don’t.”
He scoffed. “It seems as though where once I counted a number of friendships, now I only dash them upon the rocks.”
“The rocks?”
Colin shut his eyes tight.
“I’ve not only behaved hideously toward you, I’ve made our goal impossible to achieve. What will I tell Beaky?”
“Tell him to sling his hook,” Charlotte said, happy to finally have the opportunity. She’d had a poor opinion of this Beaky from the start, but now she especially disliked him for grossly misusing Sir Colin’s trust. He did not deserve it.
“Sling his hook? Shove off?” Colin echoed sadly, shaking his head. “But Miss Sedley, I gave him my word. I cannot abandon a friend in his time of need.”
