To Kiss a Highland Rose (Kiss the Wallflower #6) - Tamara Gill Page 0,13

long, dark domino over his shoulders and a mask covering half his face, leaving half his lips and one eye visible.

He swooped into a bow before them, a teasing grin on his lips. "Lady Elizabeth, Lady Julia, you both look remarkably beautiful." His lordship turned to Elizabeth, his attention stealing over every part of her like a physical caress. She breathed deep, scrambling to regain her wits.

What on earth was wrong with her? Was she so desperate for a husband that she saw interest where there was no interest to be seen? Dear heavens, how pitiful if that were true.

"I hope you have not forgotten our dance, my lady." He clasped her hand, kissing the top of her gold silk gloves. His eyes meeting hers as his lips touched.

"I have not forgotten, my lord," she managed, ignoring the nervous wabble in her voice.

He smiled and came to stand beside her. Lord Bridgman was not far behind his friend, and he soon swooped Julia into his arms and out onto the dance floor for a Scottish reel.

"I knew it was you the moment I came into the room. I think I could pick you out of a crowd anywhere."

Elizabeth chuckled, shaking her head. "Really, my lord? Is my costume so very bad to pick me out of a crowd so easily?"

He reached out, picking up a loose curl and sliding it through his fingers. Her heart stilled, her mind imagining his hands caressing other parts of her just so.

"Your hair, you see. Such a beautiful, rich red, makes one want to run their fingers through it to see if it singes one's skin."

Elizabeth couldn't form words. No one had ever said her hair was lovely. And yet the way Lord Hastings was looking at her right at this moment, she could almost believe he was earnest.

"You're in Scotland. There are many of us with such colored hair. I think you're flirting with me, my lord." And she loved that he was. Never before had anyone shown her such interest. The gentlemen who visited her childhood home, Moy Castle, always were wary of her brother's presence. The laird's sister was someone to be polite to, but never look at beyond friendship.

Her brother had a way of scaring off most suitors if he thought they were too forward. Her time in London had been tarnished by the nickname she coined. Men stayed away from her for fear of being married off to the women who flocked to her side. She had been glad when she returned home to Moy.

"Perhaps I am. Would it be so bad if I was?"

His eyes twinkled behind his black mask, watching, taking in her every word, her every reaction to him. He was enthralling, made her want things she'd never thought she did before. His lips lifted into a knowing smile, and she had the overwhelming desire to touch her lips to his. To see for herself if his lips were as soft as they appeared.

She inwardly sighed, knowing he would be an excellent kisser. Along with that thought was the disturbing one that other women had enjoyed being in his arms. Women he'd seduced just as he was trying to seduce her. Vixens all.

"It may not be so bad, even if you are English."

He clasped his chest in wounded dramatics. "Do not injure me, Lady Elizabeth. I shall never survive the pain of your rejection."

The strains of a waltz sounded, and she set down her glass of champagne, reaching for Lord Hasting's hand. "Time to dance, my lord. Ye can flatter me on the ballroom floor."

Chapter 6

Sebastian smiled, clasped Lady Elizabeth's hand tight as he led her out onto the floor. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close and losing himself in her bright, green eyes. When she wanted to be, she could be quite amusing, more than he thought she would be after their first meeting.

Her hand fit snugly in his, her body perfectly aligned to his height. Dancing with her for the first time made him realize she was quite the perfect height. The idea of seeing her long legs, untying her silk stockings, and sliding them off her satin skin, had him taking a deep, calming breath.

"You mentioned that we're now neighbors, my lord. Have you had Bragdon Manor for long, or is it a recent acquirement?"

"Two years or so. It was the property my brother left me after his death. I should not be the Earl Hastings, you see. I was