Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Why on earth did you do that?” she asked, gasping, her eyes wide and doe-like as she stared at him. But before he could provide her with any sort of a response, she continued. “Anyone could see us here, unchaperoned. This utterly mad. Why would do something as insane as this? Why?”

Realizing that she would simply keep talking, he pressed his finger onto her luscious lips, barely able to fight off the desire to shut her up with a kiss instead.

“Did you want to face Lord Kinsington?” he asked simply.

With his finger still lingering on her lips, she shook her head.

“Good,” he nodded, reluctantly taking his finger away. “He wasn’t looking when I pulled you away, so he has no idea where you have disappeared off to. You are safe here.”

Her eyes widened even more at the insinuation, which he himself knew not to be true. Yes, they were alone and unchaperoned. Yes, that was risky, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t stop thinking about her since the last time he saw her, and he had no idea why.

No woman titillated him in such a manner before. He wondered if it was her innocence which he wanted all for himself, or the curiosity to see what sort of a fire burned underneath the surface of that chastity. To be quite honest, he liked both options equally.

“I am exactly the opposite of safe here, Lord Chesterfield,” she hissed through those beautiful lips of hers. Once again, the desire to punish her with a kiss exploded inside of him, and he banished it with much difficulty.

“I have a confession to make,” he said, surprising even himself.

“What confession?” she demanded. There was no coyness in her voice, and he knew there was more to her shyness than met the eye. Desire roared inside of him, eagerness to find out all there was to know about her.

“I’ve noticed your trouble with Lord Kinsington,” he said, slowly coming to the point. “And I believe we can help each other.”

“How could someone like you possibly help me in such a situation?” she asked, sounding incredulous.

“This entire lecherous old man debacle can be avoided very easily, Lady Vivianne,” he said with a smirk that made her blush, much to his pleasure. In fact, she did many things that brought pleasure to him, whether she knew it or not. “If you would allow me to court you, that is.”

She gasped silently, her chest rising in the gown she had obviously chosen with a purpose. The paleness of her exposed skin felt like a magnet, and he couldn’t look away, especially now that she was breathing heavily, shocked by his proposition. Yearning took hold of him, a desire to trail a line with his tongue down from those beautiful lips of hers, all the way to the hidden petal pink of her breasts.

“If you think I would ever agree to that, you must be out of your mind,” she said, her nostrils flaring at him. She was titillatingly beautiful when she was irked.

The thought made him grin. “I know that is the last thing you would expect me to say right now, but please… hear me out.”

He rarely used that word. Please. He didn’t have to. Usually, his smile would grant him anything he wanted. But with her, it was different. His smile was not enough. She was somehow immune to the charms he had been relying on his entire life. With her, he had to come up with an actual strategy to get what he wanted—and that made the game all the more interesting, for it was a game he had never played before.

“All right, I am listening,” she finally said, taking a step back in an obvious effort to create a safe distance from him. The thought thrilled him, the knowledge that he had such an effect on her. He could barely keep his hands to himself with her looking so utterly ravishing, so blushingly and innocently beautiful, all the while hinting at the storm of passion underneath the surface.

“What I am offering doesn’t necessarily have to be real courtship, of course,” he clarified slowly, carefully selecting each word. “It would simply be a… well, a little game of ours, to make Lord Kinsington focus on someone else and leave you alone.”

He could see that she was thinking about the idea. She considered it a possibility. But then, she hastily shook her head. “That is unheard of. To lie to my family in such a cruel manner? I could never do something like that.”

He was unable to smile at that statement. It took him off guard. “You… you are much more innocent than you seem. I wasn’t counting on that.”

Her cheeks flushed an even more fervent red as she spoke. “I do not know what you were counting on when you accosted me in this manner, but I will not agree to play games for your amusement.”

“Amusement?” he echoed. “My dear Lady Vivianne, I am here trying to help you.”

That was only partly true. But the second part was something he wanted to divulge much later. She didn’t need to know everything right at that moment. All good things to those who wait, he would always say to himself.

“You don’t seem to be the typical Good Samaritan,” she retorted, which made him chuckle out loud.

“True, I have never been accused of that crime,” he teased.

“But I’m sure you have been accused of many others,” she snarled, and even in that fury, she was beyond ravishing, her full lips even more plump and luscious. They were driving him utterly insane with desire as she spoke.

“Certainly.” He nodded, taking a step closer to her, diminishing that safe distance she had created for herself and entering her personal space, making them dangerously close. He knew the risks of such a situation, yet he couldn’t help it. He was drawn to her, and he couldn’t control himself. It was as simple and as complicated as that.

“I’ve been accused of the crime of being too handsome, too witty, too charming, too—”

“Full of yourself?” she cut him off.

“That, too.” He laughed, realizing that he hadn’t had that much fun with a lady, outside of the bedroom, in ages. “And the list goes on, my dear.”

“Please do not call me that,” she snarled again.

“What would you like me to call you? I am open to suggestions,” he inquired in a titillating tone of voice.

“By my name,” she instructed.

“Vivianne.” He nodded. “Perfect.”

“No, I meant as before,” she tried to correct herself, but it was too late.

“You said your name,” he reminded her, delighted that he had won the argument so easily and to such chagrin on her part. “Vivianne.”

He loved saying that name. It suited her perfectly. It was unusual and elegant, but there was a shorter version for those moment when he had shortness of breath and only a fleeting moment to call it out.

Viv. He wondered what she would say if he called her that.

“You are incorrigible,” she said through clenched teeth, pulling him out of his own dirty mind back to reality.

“That is a crime I have also been accused of,” he said playfully. “But only in the sense that I should remain exactly as I am.”

She scoffed at his words. “If that is what you wish, why on earth would you want to pretend to be courting me?”

She had him there. He had to admit that she was much more intelligent than he gave her credit for. In fact, she was one of the most intelligent and witty ladies he had ever met, and her words always kept him on edge. Others would merely nod and smile at whatever he said, no matter how ludicrous or impossible it sounded. His smile made it true for them. But not for her.

“I have my reasons,” he said simply, wondering if he would be able to exit the situation without being forced to lay his cards on the table.

“See?” she said with a victorious gleam in her eyes. “You are not here to help me, but to help yourself.”

She had caught him again. She was good… too good.

“I would be helping myself as well, yes.” He nodded, not wishing to offend her intelligence by even trying to convince her otherwise.

“So, the truth… what is in it for you?” she demanded, her beautiful eyes staring right at his soul, and for a moment he felt completely naked before her.

“Besides spending time with a beautiful woman like you on my arm?” he asked, immediately regaining his composure. “Well, that does make it apparent that I am on the marriage market, does it not?”

For some reason, she became all flustered again, and he couldn’t help himself. He backed her up into the wall behind her, fighting the urge to take her into his arms and kiss her wildly.

Standing so close to her, he could feel her curves pressing against him, his manhood roaring in his trousers, begging for release. Her lips were so close to him, mere inches away. He could feel her hot breath spilling over his, mingling, becoming one. His trousers tightened, the need to have her becoming unbearable.

“You know, I am still doing you a favor,” he told her, staring at those beautiful eyes, drinking in the sight of her. “It is only fair I get compensated for that. I’ll do it for… one… kiss.”

He could see a flicker of a shock in her eyes, then the desire to say yes, but a moment later reason took over. Her posture was rigid with barely contained fury. She drew herself up to her full height, her hand trembling slightly as she raised it. Before he could say anything, her hand flew through the air in a sharp, decisive motion.

The sound of the slap echoed all around him, a crisp, resounding crack that cut through the silence. His head snapped to the side, and he knew a red mark was already blooming on his cheek.

He had to admit that he wasn’t expecting that. The shy wallflower had some spark in her after all, just as he suspected. His cheek burned, but his yearning for her howled like a wild animal in the night, anticipating all the things that could happen.

She’d caught him by surprise so many times that he could barely keep count. However, the next time she lifted her hand, he caught her wrist, their eyes locking in a silent fight for power.