to kiss her, would he? And why did that dreadful thought intrigue her? Even if she didn’t know what she wanted in a man, Emma knew she did not want this man. She pushed him away with all her might.
He tossed the offending forks to the floor with a loud clink.
“Mr. Kingsley, my mother will be looking for me.”
“I suppose you should have thought of that before you decided to steal from her dearest friend.” His gaze slid down her body. “Now, where else might you hide something? I can only think that a woman’s garter might hold something if tied tight enough.”
“Don’t you dare touch my limbs!”
He gave her a smug smile. “Dare? Don’t you know how much I love a dare? I live for wages and dares. It’s how I make my living.”
Emma stared at his dark face and quivered. The man was a devil. She had almost fainted when his fingers had pressed against her breasts. The idea of those fingers gliding up her legs was too much. “Mr. Kingsley, you must stop.”
“Didn’t your mother ever warn you against crossing a rake?”
“She told me not to speak with such men,” Emma retorted. “Unfortunately, everywhere I go lately, you are there.”
Kingsley’s hand bunched up her skirts. His fingers floated lightly against her leg until he found her garter. “Why, Miss Drake, what could this be?”
She struggled to break free of his tight grip on her wrists, which only brought her body up against his hard chest. He stiffened before setting her free.
“Why?” he demanded, staring down at her with his icy blue gaze. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“Perhaps I wanted to see if I could do it.” She hardly believed the words herself. Why would anyone do something so foolish? And yet, after hearing him speak of a maid or footman getting sacked for her actions, she felt thoughtless. She should have considered the results of her exploits.
“You have nothing better to do with your time?” He lightly scraped the tines of the fork across her jaw.
The chilly sensation of the silver against her skin brought gooseflesh to her entire body. “What I do with my time should be of no concern to you.”
“If you weren’t Louisa’s sister, I might agree. But you are obviously up to something. Take heed, angel. I shall be watching your every move now.”
She stared into the depths of his sapphire eyes and trembled in fear. Steeling herself, she squared her shoulders. The last thing she needed was this man scrutinizing her every movement. “I don’t need a keeper, Kingsley. Go find yourself a mistress to occupy your time and leave me alone.”
“I should do just that, but I find you far too entertaining.” His lips lifted in a sardonic smile.
Cold air swept across her as he moved away from her. He opened the door and waited for her leave before following behind her. Was this what the Season would be like now? Simon Kingsley watching her with his hot gaze always on her.
She might go mad before the Season ended.
Chapter 5
Simon strode through the ballroom, grabbed a brandy from a footman, and then headed out to the gardens. Once there, he gulped his drink down, wishing he had brought a second. What had he just done? Treating Emma Drake like that had been wholly unjustified. He had no right to speak to her in such a manner, to trace her skin with the tines of the fork to see her reaction, to want to taste her.
She was an innocent who was clearly trying to defy something or someone. Convention? Her mother? Both were possibilities, but there were likely others such as that idiot Bolton.
That might explain introducing herself to Simpson. That smacked of defying her mother or Society’s strict conventions. The fact that she tried to steal from Lady Huntley might also point to an issue with her mother. But it still made no sense to him.
And why was she everywhere he went? Until this Season, he had rarely seen her except at some family functions Harry insisted he attend. Of course, he had never frequented many balls the previous years, but lately, he’d felt inclined to put in an appearance. Now, she was at every fete, dressed in some frothy concoction designed to make her look as innocent as she was, yet also cut low enough to entice every man in the room.
He wanted to throw the crystal snifter at the ground to ease his frustration.
Instead, a second glass