her back to settle on her waist once more, refusing to relinquish her completely. “You look shocked, little mouse,” he teased, brushing the tip of his nose against hers. “Scandalized even.” A chuckle rumbled in his throat, and his gaze dipped lower to trace the curve of her lips.
Temptation once more sparked in Caroline’s blood, but she fought it back down with a weapon that had always served her faithfully: righteous indignation.
Oh, she would be furious with herself later, but now, now, she was furious with him!
“I demand that you unhand me this instant,” she snapped in the frostiest tone she could muster, her hands pushing against the unmovable boulder he called a chest.
Another chuckle rumbled below her fingers, but then he finally relented, his hands dropping from her sides, taking the heat with them. “If you insist, little mouse,” he continued to tease her, the look in his eyes betraying his amusement.
Caroline gritted her teeth, then stepped back, in desperate need to put some space between them. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call me that,” she huffed, her fingers working to tug the tendrils the wind had loosened back under her hood.
As though to defy her, he moved closer again, his gaze holding hers, all but daring her to lash out at him. Then one hand rose, reaching for the curl she’d just tugged into her hood, pulling it back out and letting it run through his fingers. A smile teased his lips as his gaze followed the dark strand. “It’s beautiful,” he whispered, and his gaze returned to hers. “You should wear it like this more often. It’s a crime to see it always tucked away.”
Swallowing that annoyingly persistent lump in her throat, Caroline squared her shoulders and once again retrieved her tendril. “That is none of your concern,” she snapped, putting the haughtiest of haughty expressions in her eyes. “It is not your place to offer such advice, nor was it your place to…” His lips quirked, and her voice failed her. How embarrassing!
“To kiss you?” he dared her. “Oh, but I disagree. After all, you owed me that kiss.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I b-beg your pardon?” she all but stammered, stumbling backward.
Again, that annoyingly smug grin drew her attention to his lips. “Have you all but forgotten?” he asked, clutching his chest in feigned indignation. “You offered it in exchange for that precious pouch of yours.”
Remembering their first encounter, Caroline shook her head. “I did no such thing!”
“Not in words,” he agreed before he stalked closer, a hunter’s gleam in his eyes. “However, you did imply that you would…compensate me for returning the pouch.” His dark gaze drilled into hers, reminding her of the way she’d slid onto his lap, suggesting…promising even…that…that…
“I was merely trying to retrieve what was mine,” Caroline huffed, trying to ignore the way he gazed down on her. “After all, all’s fair in love and war.” The moment the words left her lips, Caroline cringed. What was she thinking?
Her smug savior chuckled. “I suppose that’s true. However, if that is the case, then you cannot fault me for demanding fair compensation.”
Her gaze narrowed, anger blazing in her veins. “That pouch was mine to begin with,” she snapped, jabbing a finger at his unnerving chest. “You had no right to it!”
His gaze narrowed. “What did you need it for?”
Caroline stilled.
“What was in it? Money? What were you doing out that night?”
Warning bells went off in Caroline’s head. “What I do does not concern you,” she hissed, her hands beginning to tremble at the threat he suddenly posed. If he learned who she was, if he knew what was at stake for her, how important it was she keep her nightly activities a secret, what would he do? Would he threaten to tell her father? Would he extort her? Would he demand money in return for his silence? “I need to go.” She made to turn, but his hand shot out and grasped her arm, pulling her back.
His gaze swept over her before he sighed, a hint of disappointment in the way he looked at her. “I’ll take you home.”
Caroline tensed, ready to refuse him when a nagging suspicion made itself heard. Her gaze narrowed as she studied him. “Do you…?” She swallowed, afraid to hear her fears confirmed. “Do you know where I live?”
That smug grin of his reawakened. Caroline could have slapped him!
Her hands clamped together. “How do you—? Did you follow me?” Her voice rose in outrage. “How dare you?