The Last Eligible Bachelor - Ashtyn Newbold Page 0,78

swallowed, letting a breath of air fill my chest, but it only seemed to draw him closer. He pressed his hand against the tree behind me, just above my shoulder. This opportunity he spoke of…it could only involve kissing. He could tease me all he wanted, but I didn’t know how to spar with him when what he was suggesting was so…unfair. He knew I wanted to kiss him. It showed in his devilish smile.

I found my voice. With the way he was standing, trapping me between himself and the tree…my guess could not be too unreasonable. “An opportunity to…abduct me?”

Mr. Hill laughed under his breath, leaning back slightly. I relaxed, but it was brief. “Guess again.”

I glanced at his lips; I couldn’t help it. I looked away as fast as I could, focusing on his eyes, but the effect of his gaze on mine was not any better. It was as if he could see my secrets—all of them, swimming far too close to the surface. If I wasn’t careful, I would tell him everything. And I would probably kiss him first.

I pressed my hands against the tree trunk behind me, focusing on the feeling of the mottled bark against my palms rather than the turmoil inside my chest.

Guess again. If Mr. Hill thought I was a simpleton, he was mistaken. I knew what he implied, but I didn’t want to say the words out loud.

He kicked a twig near his boot. “I have been thinking about our conversation yesterday, and I found I had an unanswered question.”

I froze, trying to appear nonchalant.

“If your feelings for me are not real…what then would be the purpose of avoiding me?” His smile had faded. “If what you feel for me is nothing more than friendship, then there would be no risk in spending time with me.”

The rough bark scratched between my shoulder blades. I had no where to go. I should have known he would read me so easily. When would I learn to hide my feelings from my face? He had likely known all along how much I cared for him. I struggled to breathe, and my voice came out weak. “Do you really think I would be so stubborn?”

“Yes, and it drives me mad.”

“You are just as stubborn.” I scowled. “You will not even give the other ladies a chance to impress you because you wish to remain a bachelor for all of your days.”

“They would have never impressed me.” He shook his head, his voice growing softer. “Not with you here.”

He leaned closer. I recognized the look in his eyes as clearly as it burned inside me. Longing. Real, raw, and unguarded emotion.

“You wouldn’t dare kiss me,” I blurted.

“Wouldn’t I?” He seemed to take my words as a challenge, so I hurried to correct them.

“I might mistaken your intentions. A honorable man wouldn’t steal kisses from a woman he doesn’t intend to marry.”

Mr. Hill’s expression shifted, his eyes becoming more serious, searching mine with a new intensity. “Perhaps I do hope to marry you.”

“You don’t.”

“I do.” His hand moved from the tree trunk to the back of my neck, his fingers curving into my hair. He tipped his head down, and his other hand touched my face. I couldn’t breathe. “And I would ask you, if I didn’t already know your answer. I suspect you have been avoiding me because you feel your determination never to marry is at risk. If I asked you…you might hesitate to refuse me.”

What was my answer? I could think of nothing but the way he cradled my face between his hands. I could feel nothing but longing, fierce, deep longing, far more than a desire to kiss him. I did want to marry him. I wanted to laugh with him and see his charming smile for the rest of my life. I wanted him to tell me over and over that I was good enough. That Tillie Sherbrooke was good enough.

“Tell me you have changed your mind,” he said. “Tell me if you ever will. I have changed mine.” His thumb traced over my cheekbone, and the intensity of his gaze softened. “You have changed mine. I asked three weeks of you, but now I am asking for much longer than that.”

Tears stung my eyes. When had my heart taken control of the reins? What had been my first mistake? I couldn’t trace it back to a specific moment, but a slow weakening of my resolve—little by little. Mr. Hill had taken