retreated, she followed it with her own, tasting the darkness of his mouth, the brandy and pleasure.
His hand cupped her buttocks, lifting her, pressing her hard against him. Something hard, demanding, pressed against her belly.
He broke away on a groan. ‘My room or yours?’ he whispered, his voice hoarse and urgent against her neck.
She froze. He thought… He wanted… She’d misled him into thinking she was like all the other women under Lady Keswick’s roof. Of course he did. And, heaven help her, she was terribly tempted to ease the hot thrumming in her body, to learn what it meant to lie in a man’s arms. Ruin was literally staring her in the face, a fallen angel ready to lead her astray. This was why mothers didn’t leave daughters alone with handsome young men. Her body trembled with longing. If she was ruined, her life would be changed forever. There would be no hope left.
‘No,’ she said pushing backwards with her palms flat against his chest.
‘You are jesting?’
She shook her head. ‘I— No, I am not.’
She couldn’t see his face clearly, only hear the harshness of his breathing and feel the warmth radiating from his body.
‘Oh, now I have it.’ The note of cynicism was back in his voice, the sneer so audible, she could hear the curl of his lip, see it in her mind’s eye. ‘You want something in exchange.’
What on earth was he talking about?
‘You want to name your price. What is it? My silence about tonight? Money?’
She did want his silence. She didn’t want her grandfather learning about her search. But what he was suggesting was…was wrong. Against everything she believed in. This bargain he suggested was cold and calculating, without love or any deeper affection. It had nothing to do with feelings or emotions. This was all about lust.
Base urges paid for in some sort of coin.
She touched a finger to her lips and shook her head. ‘You have nothing I want.’
‘I’m sure I can think of something given time.’ The teasing note in his voice, the velvet purr, did nothing to soften his meaning, the implication that every woman could be had for a price. She’d been right not to trust him with her story.
She backed up a couple of steps, shaking her head. ‘No, thank you. I must bid you goodnight.’ With a fine show of bravado, she straightened her shoulders, swung around and ran for the house.
Chapter Five
What the hell had happened? His breathing just as ragged as that of a boxer who’d received a blow to the solar plexus, Garth bent down for the lantern and strode for the house. The kiss had been good. Better than good, it had been perfect. All right, perhaps he should have been more subtle about asking her what she wanted, but she’d been the one spouting nonsense about romantic love. He wasn’t going to pretend he felt something he didn’t.
He had felt something stir in his chest, though. A strong desire to possess as their bodies melded. She’d responded beautifully to his kiss. Even better than he’d anticipated. She’d kissed him like a courtesan and run off like a terrified virgin.
Women. Every time you thought you understood them, they shied off in another start. Perhaps she thought she had him fooled with that innocent face, as if he was some green boy new on the town.
A smile crossed his lips. Perhaps this was all part of her game. He’d encountered them all in his time, bold ones, shy ones and everything in between. Very few of them didn’t end up in his bed once he understood the direction of their carnal desires.
This one would be no different. In the end. One thing he wouldn’t do was chase after her. He would give her time, let her decide her next move.
He entered the house. There was no sign of Mrs Travenor, not even wet footprints. No doubt the sly little wretch had removed her shoes from the slender feet he’d noticed when she stood on the chair and deliberately teased him with glimpses of her ankles. Damn her.
She’d probably spent most of her married life sneaking out of her husband’s house to meet some man or other. Another womanly trait. Lord knew, he’d had enough of them offer to slide out and meet him in his time, and seen their disappointment when he’d refused.
Damn it to hell. Now he needed a brandy or he would never sleep. Because right now a certain part of his