Page 52 of The Heiress's Daughter
Had he really kissed her just for sport? Probably, she thought with a sinking heart.
Did she care? She did, rather—but she knew she shouldn’t. She’d always known he was a rake. Disappointment wrestled with exhilaration.
At least now she knew what it was like to be kissed,reallykissed. Her mouth—her whole body—still tingled deliciously. The taste of him, the exciting dark masculine taste of him was seared into her very being. She would never forget it.
She’d finally been kissed, and oh, what a kiss. Kisses. She could never go back to the girl she’d been just an hour before. She felt like a caterpillar who, for a brief moment, had felt like a butterfly—beautiful and glamorous.
Still a little dazed, her entire awareness bound up in Lord Randall’s kisses, she let herself be towed along by Mr. Clayborn.
Until she became aware of what he was saying.
“—as foolish as to go anywhere with that man. Letting yourself be enticed into a dark corner and used like a whore!”
It was cold water dashed in her face. “Awhore?” She yanked herself free of the hand that was gripping her arm.
“Idon’t think that, of course,” he said hastily. “But it’s what people will say. Other people. Ignorant people. Gossips and troublemakers.”
She eyed him levelly.
He continued, “You are too innocent to realize it, but Lord Randall is a notorious womanizer with no morals and no scruples. He’s an immoral degenerate, not to be trusted with a decent, innocent g—”
She cut him off. “Lord Randall is my guardian’s good friend.” And she’d seen no sign of degeneracy in him. He’d been considerate and respectful of her. Of course, he probably shouldn’t have kissed her but that was not entirely his fault. She’d cooperated. Fully. Invited it, almost.
He snorted. “Some friend, to lure his friend’s innocent ward into the shadows and seduce—”
“There was no seduction.”
“No, because I rescued you.” He tried to recapture her hand.
She evaded it. “You didn’t rescue me—”
“I did,” he insisted. “What do you think would have happened if people had seen you letting him maul you like that?”
“He didn’t mau—”
“You would have been ruined! Or worse, compromised and forced to marry him to save your reputation. No doubt that’s what he was counting on, the villain.”
She stepped back. “Don’t be ridiculous. There was no attempt at seduction, no mauling and though it was perhaps not quite proper, we were very discreet. The place was secluded and quite private. As for his attempting to compromise me…” She shook her head. “It was just a kiss. And,” she added defiantly, “I was quite willing.”
He stared at her in outrage. “Willing?You werewilling? Willing to let that reprobate…?”
Clarissa inclined her head.
He stared at her for a long moment.
“Then in that case—” He grabbed her and mashed his mouth over hers. His fingers dug into her upper arms and her lips were ground unpleasantly against her teeth.
After a moment, he broke off, panting.
“I did not—” she began, but he pounced again, this time thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth.
Clarissa wondered briefly whether she should at least try to give him the benefit of the doubt. But it was unendurable. She tried to end it, tried to withdraw, but his grip on her tightened, his mouth and tongue kept mashing on her, and in the end she was forced to shove him away, hard.
He staggered back, wincing as he landed on his bad leg. He stared at her with an expression she was sure was furious, and wiped his mouth. A frisson of anxiety ran down her spine and she braced herself for some unpleasantness—or worse—but then his expression changed.
“Oh, forgive me, forgive me, my dear Miss Studley. I got carried away. My feelings for you simply overwhelmed me. I was outraged by the way that villain took advantage of your innocence, sullying your purity—and now, I have done the same. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive a man driven to madness by your—”
She cut him off. “It’s getting chilly. I wish to return to the ball.” And she wanted a drink to wipe the taste of him from her mouth. She turned and marched toward the lights of the ballroom.
