A Duke in Time (The Widow Rules #1) - Janna MacGregor Page 0,41
the proverbial cliff, Katherine stood ready to leap. Exhilaration of the unknown slammed through her.
“How so?” For a moment, she wanted to withdraw the words. She never flirted, nor did she seek men’s attention. Meri had been the exception. Now, she wanted to hone such a skill. For heaven’s sake, she felt out of breath. What was it about this man that she had such a strange reaction?
“Hmm, let me consider all the ways I’m aware of you.” His eyes grew hooded, and his mouth seemed on the verge of a smile.
Christian was the most relaxed she’d ever seen him. Immediately, she grinned in return. “I’m waiting. How are you aware of me?”
“Well, for one”—he held up his index finger as if making a point—“the first time I saw you, I was struck by how beautiful you are.” He then put two fingers in the air. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I found you charming in the way you weren’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with me when we first met.”
“You’re trying to lower my guard.”
He drew nearer, and his breath kissed her cheek. “Am I succeeding?”
They were so close that she could smell his shaving soap. The scent wrapped around her, and for a moment, she breathed it in. “No,” she said softly. “You’re just a man.”
“The things you say are pure poetry.” Another low rumble of laughter vibrated in his chest. “I’m just a man who hasn’t kissed a woman in years. More than three years, in fact.” He bit his plump lower lip.
This was what it was like to have captured a man’s full attention. Did he want to kiss her?
Oh, God. What if he did?
She should be shocked. He was her husband’s brother. But honestly, she might have participated in a marriage ceremony, but she’d never had a husband.
The deep cadence of his voice could hypnotize her. Her blood heated, warming her from within. Below her belly, her body clenched, then released. It throbbed. His words wove a web of seduction around them that she never wanted to escape.
“Just a man,” he repeated as his gaze darted to her lips. “I’m just a man who wants…” Christian closed the distance between them, then cupped her cheeks before he gently tilted her chin for a kiss. Their gazes locked. Want and desire flared in his eyes, igniting the same within her.
Immediately, she leaned against him, lifting her mouth to his. She blinked slowly, on the verge of closing her eyes. “Christian.” Her whisper floated through the night.
Until a flurry of movement erupted beside them in the rosebushes.
Christian darted in front of Katherine, shielding her. “Who’s there?”
A bird burst through one of the rosebushes, flying straight up, the rapid flap of its wings whirring the air around them.
Almost instantly, a white-haired cat darted out of the bushes in pursuit, then stopped. Knowing it had lost the chase, the cat sat in a deigned pose of indifference before commencing to groom itself. Only the swooshing of its fluffy tail betrayed its aggravation at losing dinner.
“Well, this is awkward.” Christian’s voice simmered with barely checked laughter as he moved to her side. “Did we disrupt him or did he interrupt us? I’m not certain who is owed the apology here.”
With her heartbeat back under control, Kat chuckled. “Didn’t they teach you the proper etiquette for this situation in duke school?”
“I missed that day.” The half smile on his face was endearing. “But I did attend the lecture on how to pose for a ducal portrait with your dog.” Chuckling, he took a step back and regarded the cat.
Without a glance their way, the cat turned with its head held high and tail straight in the air and walked back into the rosebushes.
The distance that separated them felt like a mile. Katherine wanted to take a step forward and recreate the intimacy they had shared but thought better of it since he’d changed his stance. He now stood with his feet apart, shoulders wide, and once again, he clasped his hands behind his back. This was the war hero she’d come to know over the last couple of days.
“I apologize,” he said while studying a rock on the ground. He toed it gently, then a plunk sounded as it fell into the pond.
“There’s no harm done.” She cleared her throat and clasped her hands in front of her to keep from twisting her fingers. “I was enjoying myself.” She smiled slightly as she locked gazes with him. “With you.”