grinned. “It was the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted.” Her pink tongue darted out, licking her top lip. My groin ached. “So…intense.”
She had no idea. I lifted the box wrapped in gold paper. “Would you like all of them?”
Her gaze flashed with wariness. She wanted them alright, but she’d never admit as much. Besides, how would she explain to the other servants where they’d come from?
“Here.” I held out the box. I knew I wasn’t being fair. If she reacted to chocolates in this manner, it wouldn’t be long before she’d relent. It was obvious she’d had little in life, and people were greedy. A gift or two… “It’s yours. For free. No attachments.”
She took the box, cradling it to her chest. Her frown was fierce. “Nothing’s free. So, tell me, what is your agenda?”
Smart girl.
“Agenda?” She had such a strange way of speaking for an uneducated servant. Was she a good mimic? Had she learned from a former employee? Mr. McKinnon, perhaps? Just the thought of the man being close enough to teach her anything sent my blood boiling. He might have had her at one time, but she’d slipped through his fingers. Now she would be mine. “My agenda was only to show you a taste of what you could have.”
“If I become your mistress.”
“That was nothing, Ginny. A few coins. Think of what could be yours. Satin and silk gowns. Emeralds, diamonds…whatever you want. Whatever you wish.”
Her face grew flushed, whether with delight or annoyance, I wasn’t sure. Why the hell did I want this woman so very much? Was it the challenge? Was it the idea of flaunting a servant under my mother’s nose? Destroying their plans? Or was it something…more?
“What if I’m content with what I have now?”
“Are you?”
She looked out the window, her unhappiness blaringly obvious. She was a strong, curious woman, and I’d sensed there was something more to her. Perhaps that was what intrigued me so. Layer upon layer of mystery.
“Where are we going?”
“What will you do, Ginny? Work until you catch the eye of some fisherman? A shop keeper, if you’re lucky?”
“There is nothing wrong with a fisherman or shop keeper, you arrogant oaf.”
“Some leech twenty years older than you. You’ll marry and continue to slave away, while at night he paws at you with his sweaty, dirty hands? You’ll never have enough money to truly thrive.”
She jerked her fierce gaze toward me. “And it would be better with you?”
“You have no idea.”
She swallowed hard, tearing her gaze from mine and focusing on that golden box on her lap. Had she been with another man? Had she been with McKinnon? If she had, I’d make her forget.
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Have you been kissed?”
She flushed, keeping her gaze on the box. “I grew up in the slums, my lord. Of course I’ve been kissed.”
A variety of emotions hit me at once, but foremost was relief that she wasn’t some virginal miss. I cupped the side of her face, my fingers sliding into that silky hair underneath her straw bonnet. Surprised, she let the box of chocolates drop to the floor. “Have you been kissed by someone who knew what they were doing? Have you been kissed by someone you wanted to kiss?”
That pink tongue darted out again. “You think I want you to kiss me?”
I almost smiled. “I know you do.”
“How you vex me,” she whispered.
The urgency that rushed through me could not be denied. I cupped the back of her head, knocking her bonnet askew. “Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you?”
She didn’t protest. I leaned forward and molded my mouth to hers. The sensations that swept through me were shocking. My entire body flared to life.
More. I wanted more. I tilted her head, deepening the kiss, desperate, hungry.
Lips so damn soft. She tasted of the chocolate she’d recently eaten. I wrapped my free arm around her waist and drew her across the space between us. Her lush bottom pressed indecently to my lap. My cock grew hard, throbbing. I wanted to lift her skirts and slide into her warm heat then and there. To know her intimately. She groaned, her delicate hands fisting against my chest.
That sound was all I needed.
Yes, she belonged here…with me. Having her in my arms felt natural, right. A variety of confusing feelings assaulted me at once. My hand slid down the curve of her back, cupping her bottom and drawing her over the hard ridge