Page 26 of One Night for Seduction
He was heat and passion, freedom and danger. Everything she wanted and could never have, wrapped up in an irresistible package her fingers itched to unwrap. He gave as much as he took, filling her with his taste and scent and touch, leaving her breathless for more.
This was not a kiss. This was a fight for dominance. Temptation to surrender. A reckless promise of untold pleasures, and a warning that to sample them could leave her heart in tatters. Yet she was powerless to resist the pull of desire. Her body swayed at the thought of submitting to his mouth, to his hands, to his—
“Diana?” called a confused voice. “Are you in here?”
She and Colehaven flew out of each other’s arms, eyes wide with panic. Diana’s lips hummed with the taste of his kiss. Her trembling legs barely kept her upright. The pounding of her heart still rushed in her ears. But none of that mattered. Thaddeus was here, and if he caught them together…
“Hide,” she hissed to the duke, placing her palms upon his chest to shove him behind the closest stack of books.
Even that simple touch nearly undid her.
With a final piercing gaze full of words neither of them could say, Colehaven melted into the shadows.
“There you are,” scolded Thaddeus as he strode into view. “Could you not hear me calling?”
She slipped her journal from her reticule and flashed its cover toward her cousin. “You know how I am when I’m writing.”
“You could fill a library of your own with as many journals as you keep,” Thaddeus agreed with a fond smile. He held out his elbow. “Come along, then.”
“Am I missed on the dance floor?” she teased. It was an old joke between them, but even as she said the words, Diana realized the humor was no longer there.
She was not Thad’s little wallflower cousin. She was his albatross. His cross to bear. A burden so disappointing, he had felt forced to enlist the aid of his most powerful acquaintance in a desperate attempt to rid himself of her once and for all.
“I shan’t make you dance,” he said with a little sigh. “I’ve summoned the carriage. We can go home.”
Home. Diana had hoped it would be so for the rest of her life. Knowing her cousin did not feel the same twisted shards of ice in her heart.
When the carriage arrived, he handed her in without a cross word and bounded inside to join her.
Diana loved her cousin. She could no longer keep her silence.
“I’m sorry I am not what society expects me to be,” she mumbled. “What you need me to be.”
She did not regret the path she’d chosen for herself, or all the positive change she had and would create for her fellow citizens. But she hated that doing so fractured her relationship with the sole family member she had left.
Brow lined with concern, Thaddeus took her hands. “I don’t want you to pleaseme. I want you to find someone who pleasesyou. It’s what you deserve. What everyone deserves. As soon as you’re happily married, I will do the same.”
Diana’s throat was too tight for a response to form. Her cousin’s well-wishes squeezed her heart.
This was so much worse than being a disappointment. She was holding backhislife. As her guardian, he felt it his duty to see her safely settled. By refusing to do so, she was preventing him from finding the love he craved.
Even if she could somehow convince him not to wait for her, to keep searching until he found his perfect match, she could not be the anchor weighing down their happy union. Diana had reached the age of majority. She could not presume to remain her cousin’s ward forever.
Sooner rather than later, she would need to be gone.
Chapter 10
Cole awoke with the taste of Miss Middleton’s kiss still haunting his lips. He dressed, broke his fast, attempted to concentrate on the morning paper. But it was no use. His brain could focus on nothing but the delicious memory of last night’s stolen moment.
He should not have kissed her. If he’d possessed the least suspicion that she would welcome, rather than spurn, such reckless behavior, perhaps he would not have… oh, who was he bamming? Cole rubbed a hand over his face and sighed.
If he’d believed she intended to kiss him back, he would only have kissed her all the sooner.
Even in the harsh light of day, he could not bring himself to be sorry he had done so. If her cousin had not spoiled the moment, Cole would happily still be in the library right now, his arms about Miss Middleton’s warm curves and his mouth enjoying hers. The last thing on his mind had beenstopping.
It wouldn’t do, of course. The terms of the wager required him to match Miss Middleton with some other gentleman. A love match, he’d boldly assured her guardian. Right after agreeing not to publicly influence the outcome by feigning interest in order to manipulate other gentlemen’s perceptions.
The kiss had not been public.
