moved toward her and caught the faint aroma of French lavender.
“Perhaps, ye’re more afraid of yourself,” he said.
She tipped her head up to meet his gaze.
She might, to the untrained eye, be described as unremarkable, with hair the color of peat. She had a heart-shaped face and an upturned nose with a determined little mouth, which spoke of an interior forged from steel. But her most arresting quality was her almond-shaped eyes, which were the color of whisky.
And whether she knew it or not, they glittered with arousal.
“If you really are the duke,” she said, “then you’re the criminal for letting this house fall to ruin.”
“Bricks and mortar,” he said. “Is that all you care about?”
A spark of anger flashed in her eyes. “Of course not!” she said. “I care nothing for mausoleums. It’s the living souls that depend upon an idle aristocrat that I care for!”
“Such as?”
“The birds trapped in the aviary,” she said, gesturing toward the window. “Nobody has tended to them for four years! Should they be left to rot as consequence for the misfortune of being in the power of your cursed family?”
“Birds?” he said. “Is that all?”
“Men like you live to shoot them out of the sky!” she snorted. “And what about the servants and tenants who rely on you for a living? Four years is plenty of time for dismissed servants without a reference to sink into the gutter and die.”
“So, you’re laying deaths at my door, now?” he asked.
“Your hand might as well have dealt the blow which killed them,” she said. “But you’ll continue to hide behind your title and abuse the underprivileged.”
“Why in the name of the devil would I do that?”
“Because it’s in your blood! The Molineux line is rotten to the core.”
“You know nothing about me.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Then you’re a madwoman.”
She raised her hand, and he caught her wrist and drew her hard against his chest.
“Take your hands off me!”
“Ye gods, lass, you’re like a terrier!” He laughed. “All teeth and claws, yapping at a man’s ankles. You need taking in hand!”
He circled an arm round her waist, and she drew in a sharp breath as her body molded against his as if it belonged there. A spark of desire flared in her eyes, and her cheeks bloomed that delicious pink which a woman in need could never conceal. He dipped his head until their mouths almost met. She grew still, and her breath caressed his skin. He lowered his gaze to the smooth, porcelain skin of her neck, where a faint pulse rippled at the base of her throat.
His mouth watered in anticipation. The men of his ancestry would mark such fresh, virgin skin as their own, to lay claim to their women.
There was something to be said for the old ways.
He flicked his tongue out and ran it along the seam of her lips. She let out a soft sigh, and he caught the faint taste of warm honey. He withdrew his tongue, and a whimper escaped her. She tilted her head, almost imperceptibly, to bring their mouths closer again, an involuntary act driven by need.
“Tell me what ye want, lass…”
Face flushed, she parted her lips, and he slipped his tongue inside her warm, welcoming mouth. She curled her fingers round his arms and held him close. A groan reverberated through her body as he took ownership of her mouth, devouring her, savoring the sweet taste of fire and honey.
He broke the kiss, and she pressed herself against him, a low groan bubbling in her throat. She pressed her lips against his mouth, and the tip of her tongue grew insistent as she sought entrance. But he withdrew, and a frown creased her forehead.
Clearly, this was a lass who was used to getting what she wanted, a lass who had no use for words when it came to conveying such raw need. He placed his lips against the corner of her mouth, then peppered her chin with a line of feather-light kisses, teasing her mouth with his tongue. She parted her lips again and let out a frustrated little mewl when he did not oblige her demand.
He smiled against her lips. “I’ll wager you want my hands on ye now, lass, now ye’ve had a taste of pleasure.”
She stiffened. Her hands, which had clung to him, urging him on, now pushed him away.
He blinked to clear his vision and saw a blur in the corner of his eye before a sharp sting exploded on his face.
“How