Page 121 of If the Slipper Fits
He huffed out a self-conscious laugh. “You were all girl, with eyes that seemed to see through me, and a mouth that…I thought about way too often. That day, thatkiss. It left me—” He raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know whether I wanted to throttle you or kiss you again.”
He slid her a wry glance. “That’s not true. Iwantedto kiss you again, and touch you, and touchmyself, for God’s sake.”
He snorted and looked up at the dome. “Meanwhile I didn’t understand any of my feelings, other than to know being with you leftme restless and murderously desirous of something I was sure I should not want.
“One minute you were the demanding little girl down the lane, and the next you were…” He shook his head. “… always on my mind. The first person I thought of when I woke, and the last before I slept. Practically my obsession, I’m embarrassed to admit.” His expression turned somber. “And then you were gone.”
Her heart lodged so tightly in her throat it threatened to choke her. When she found her voice, it echoed all the emotions swirling within her.
“Maybe you didn’t understand your feelings for me, Caden Thurgood, but I knew mine. I was mad for you. From the moment you told your brother and his mate to fob off, I was putty in your hands.”
His face went ruddy but he barked out a laugh. “Putty? More like porcupine.”
They grinned at each other, until, gradually the humor of the moment faded, becoming at once achingly poignant.
She felt herself ridiculously on the verge of tears.She—who never cried.
“I never thought I’d see you again, Caden Thurgood. Imagine my shock when I discovered you face down at the one and only social event Lady Wentworth deigned to attend since employing me.”
He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, his finger tips lingering over her cheek. “Shocked and appalled and clearly not overjoyed at the reunion.”
Her mouth curved upward. “Not precisely true.”
A voice sounded in the not too far distance, crashing into Anna’s dreamlike state with the force of an anvil. With a yelp, she sprang off of him, yanking down her skirts, and attempting to right her bodice.
“Caden? Whoisthat?”
He grinned at her.Grinned, despite the very real danger someone would discover them here. Like this.
In seemingly no hurry, he unfolded himself from the bench, tucked in his shirt and refastened his trousers.
Turning to face her, he shifted his stance, positioning his body to conceal her from anyone who might happen through the gate. “Probably just a groundskeeper.”
“Groundskeeper?” she squeaked. “Don’t I look as if…” As if she’d been recently tumbled, she left unsaid. She stared at him, horrified.
His gaze assessed her and his expression of amusement vanished. He swallowed audibly. “You look like a goddess,” he breathed. “Come here.”
Delight over the emotion he did not bother to hide overrode her anxiety. She hurled herself into his arms.
Her face pressing into his chest, she heard him mutter under his breath. She could not quite make out the words. It sounded as if he’d said,Will I evernotreact to you this way?
“Caden? Are you here? Is Anna with you?” came the deep, rich voice of Zeke.
She groaned in dismay.
“We’re here, Zeke,” he called in a loud voice. “What in God’s name areyoudoing here?”
The hidden door swung open.
Anna sprang away from Caden, putting a good two feet between them just as Zeke’s head bobbed inside.
His eyes went from Caden, to Anna, then back to Caden. He almost managed to hide his smile.
“Sorry to interrupt your…er…tour of the grounds. Miss Masters has a visitor.”“A visitor? At this hour?” Caden sent Anna a bemused look.
She shook her head.
“My sentiments exactly.” Zeke remarked. “If not for the identity of her visitor, I might’ve refused her.”
