A strange, distinctly alarming emotion flared to life in the center of his heart. An emotion that Hugo was certain was far more dangerous than all English traitors and French spies combined.
Attempting to ignore the sensation, he reached to straighten the cameo that was pinned to the amber ribbon encircling her neck, his fingers lingering on the satin heat of her skin.
“Forgive me,” he murmured. “I should not have teased you.”
Her pulse leaped beneath the light brush of his fingers. But with an obvious effort not to be diverted, she reached up to bat away his hand.
“I do not desire your pity,” she informed him sharply. “I wish to see Talia.”
He shrugged. He no longer believed that Miss Lansing was anything but a concerned friend who had traveled to Devonshire to make certain that Talia was not being mistreated by her husband. But he had promised Gabriel that he would be rid of the female.
He intended to keep his word, although he was willing to offer Miss Lansing the assurance that Talia was alive and well.
“I fear that is impossible at the moment. However, I promise—”
He cut off his soothing words as she parted her lips, her eyes dark with warning. Bloody hell, she actually intended to carry out her threat.
Without conscious thought he swooped his head downward, locking his mouth over her parted lips to prevent her determined scream.
He had no intention beyond stopping her from alarming the servants and disturbing Talia. At least that was what he told himself as he deepened the kiss, his tongue slipping into the warm cavern of her mouth.
The convenient excuse, however, did not explain why he wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her against his stirring body. Or why he closed his eyes to savor the tangy scent of lemons that clung to her soft curls.
Despite her short stature, she fit against his large form with startling perfection, he mused, enjoying the sensation of generous curves filling his arms rather than the wispy fragility of most society women. A man of his size disliked the sensation he was about to crush his lover.
Lover…
The word teased the edge of his mind, sending a jolt of warning through his aching body. Dammit, what the hell was he doing?#p#分页标题#e#
A gentleman did not seduce infuriating virgins in the front salon of his best friend’s home. At least not before luncheon.
With a low moan, he forced himself to release her enticing lips and lifted his head. Before he could let her go, however, she reached up to slap his face with enough force to make his teeth rattle.
“How dare you!”
His lips twisted as he studied her astonished expression with a brooding gaze. She was naturally outraged at his bold caresses, but he did not miss the heated awareness that burned in the back of her dark eyes.
She was not entirely impervious to his touch.
“It was my intent to prevent you from causing an unpleasant scene,” he murmured. “But I believe I have just been hoisted on my own petard.”
He sensed her hesitation before she wisely decided to ignore his wry confession. Now was not the time to discuss the powerful attraction that had struck him like a bolt of lightning.
Of course, he was not especially pleased when she placed her hands against his chest and attempted to wiggle from his grip.
“Release me,” she commanded.
“Do you promise not to scream?”
“No, I most certainly do not.”
His lips twitched. Stubborn vixen.
“Miss Lansing, I assure you that Talia is in perfect health and that she is in no danger from Gabriel,” he said, attempting to ease her fears. “In fact, he happens to be embarrassingly besotted with her.”
“Then why has she not answered the letters I sent?”
Hugo shrugged, regretting that he and Gabriel had yet to discuss the story they intended to invent in explanation of their sudden disappearance.
How the hell was he to put off this female with vague lies and bluster?
And of course it did not help that he was perilously distracted by the feel of her palms that remained pressed against his chest and the curvaceous hips that were perfectly fitted between his thighs.
“She has spent the past weeks away from Carrick Park,” he announced.
“Really?” She narrowed her gaze in disbelief. “Where did she go?”
“She was sailing with her husband upon their yacht.”
“Sailing?”
“It is customary for newlyweds to enjoy a honeymoon trip,” he retorted with the thought it would be unshakable logic. “And what better place to find privacy than in the midst of the ocean?”
Naturally she leaped upon the fatal flaw of his story.
“And you joined them on this supposed honeymoon trip?”