Page 26 of The Danger of Desire
He muffled the words with another kiss. Only this time he tried what that other fellow had done—he slipped his tongue between her lips.
And oh, what a difference. There was nothing disgusting about it, nothing messy and embarrassing. It thrilled her to no end. He tasted of marmalade and coffee, not at all what she’d expected, and his tongue delved lightly but insistently, rousing a response in her beyond anything she’d ever known.
She felt giddy, excited... aroused the way she did in her daydreams. Heavens. Desirewasreal for women, too. Who could have known?
He had. And now he was pressing her against his hard frame and feeding on her mouth with slow, silken strokes, and she couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but feel the most incredible—
The creak of a gate made them both freeze. He released her, resuming the easy stance of a lord sure of his position. But his gaze smoldered, and the coals sparked fires in her blood. Just as his kiss had done.
“It appears I was wrong,” he said raggedly. “Apparently a few minutes weren’t nearly enough for me... Delia.”
For her, either. She could have gone on and on...
But he was a rakehell. She must remember that. Such men were good at kissing; Lord only knew what other scandalous things he was good at.
Part of her dearly wanted to find out what those were. The other part was angry that he’d managed to get her so hot and bothered.
Just then, Owen came around the tall shrub shielding them from the path. He glanced warily from her to Lord Knightford and back. “Your aunt wants to know if his lordship would like to join you and Mrs. Trevor for luncheon.”
Bother it all, she would never survive that. “I doubt that Lord Knightford has the time to—”
“I would be honored,” the marquess said, his gaze still riveted to hers. “Miss Trevor and I have been having the most intriguing conversation, one I would dearly love to continue.”
Panic rose up in her throat. “Owen, would you give us a moment more?”
“Her ladyship would not approve.”
She glared at Owen. “A moment. That’s all.”
Owen retreated, but only to the other side of the shrubbery.
Delia neared the marquess and lowered her voice. “What do you intend to say to my aunt?”
“I don’t know.” He sounded truthful. And when he shoved a hand through his hair, looking suddenly off-balance, she realized that he was as uncertain about this situation as she.
“If you tell her about Jack Jones, I’ll deny it. You’ll simply look the fool.”
He cast her an assessing glance. “Perhaps. But it would put your aunt on her guard, make her pay better attention to your activities at night.”
“Or make her whisk me back to Cheshire. Then I’ll never have a chance of marrying well. Which rather defeats your purpose of trying to convince me with your... your kisses that my best alternative is to find a decent husband.”
“True.” He stared her down.
“Miss Trevor!” Owen called out. “Your aunt is coming this way.”
Lord Knightford—Warren—offered her his arm. “Shall we, my dear?”
Peeking through the shrubs, Delia saw that her aunt was indeed nearly to the garden. “Fine.” She took his arm. “But I am not yourdear.And you arenotstaying for luncheon.”
He broke into a devious grin. “We’ll just see about that.”
Eight
Warren realized he was skating on thin ice with Delia, but he couldn’t help it—she fascinated him. Most of the time respectable women were open books; he could see their machinations as clear as day. He spent half his time deflecting their attempts to snag him as a husband or snag him for someone else as a husband.
Not with Delia. She didn’t want him for that. She didn’t want him for anything. Except perhaps his kisses, which shehadseemed to welcome. Still, another woman would have used the sensual interlude to draw him in. She’d used it to push him out.
Normal women simply did not behave that way. Certainly not withhim.One moment, he thought she was like his mother—girding herself in feminine outrage against the very idea of lovemaking done for pleasure. And in the next, he wondered if Delia might simply be inexperienced. Which fired his desire to give her a bit of experience.
