Noble Scoundrel - Amy Sandas Page 0,30
handled as efficiently as Mr. Boothe was.”
He gave a rough snort. She’d clearly thought the matter through, but if he had to guess, he’d say Lady Katherine had not come easily to this decision. He didn’t blame her.
Taking a moment, he swept a lingering glance over her slim form. She remained still beneath his brazen perusal, as though she knew his intention was to discomfit her and she intended to endure it. When his gaze lifted back to her face, he noted the firm press of her pretty lips and the tiny sparks of fire that flickered in her steady gaze.
“Aside from a generous wage”—he lowered his voice suggestively—“what does the position afford me?”
He noted the slight clenching of her jaw before she replied. “It would get you out of this monstrosity of a house.” A pause. “Obviously, you’d need to reside with us.”
“In Mayfair?” He snorted a laugh. “That’d be a sight.”
“You couldn’t properly protect Frederick from anywhere else.”
The tone of her voice suggested she wasn’t completely comfortable with that aspect.
Good.
“And you?” he asked.
Dark brows furrowed. “What about me?”
“Will you also be under my protection?” Without conscious intention, his voice shifted into a more intimate tone. He was rewarded by the slight parting of her lips and a fleeting glance at his folded forearms.
“I don’t need protection.”
“You might,” he suggested thickly.
Though her pupils expanded a bit at his words, she quickly recovered to arch one imperious brow. “From you, Mr. Hale?”
When he responded with a smile, her attention fell to his mouth.
His heart kicked hard against his ribs. Lust—heavy and strong—flooded his body. He’d been playing with her before, trying to unnerve her. But now, his focus became suddenly very serious.
He replied in a heavy murmur. “Definitely from me.”
“I’m not a timid sort, Mr. Hale. You don’t frighten me.”
The haughtiness of her tone inspired another rush of heat. He unfolded his arms to curl his hands over the edge of the desk on either side of his hips. The feel of the smooth wood somehow helped him calm the thickening of his blood. Holding her gaze, he replied simply, “I should.”
He finally saw a flicker of shock in her expression though her voice when she replied was hard and strong. “Is that a threat? Are you saying you’d force yourself on me?”
“No, dove. Never. I’m not that type of villain.” He grinned. “But it might not take long before you wished I were.”
Disbelief and indignation blazed in her eyes. “You dare to insinuate—”
“I dare.” Straightening from where he’d been leaning against the desk, he lowered his chin and held her gaze with his as he took a slow, measured step toward her. “That and more.” He repeated his words from their first meeting.
Mason took another step. Then another. He didn’t want to frighten her. He wanted to get closer. A lot closer. He wanted to breathe her scent and soak up the elegant fire that burned steadily inside her.
And for the moment—whether due to pride or uncertainty or, he hoped to God, something else entirely—she was allowing it. With eyes wide and fine jaw clenched, she watched him approach.
“Remember how it felt when I had you caught fast against me?” he asked. “Your hands locked in mine. Your breath swift against my throat. Remember the heat of our bodies? The hard thrum of anticipation?”
They stood now with no more than a couple inches between them. Lady Katherine’s head was tilted back as she continued to meet his stare. The woman was bold. Fearless. Lovely.
“I do. Vividly,” she admitted darkly.
Mason wanted to touch her. His hands ached to do so. His fingers twitched with the desire to slide beneath the fall of her thick hair and curve around her nape to hold her in place for the ravenous fall of his mouth. He wanted to palm her arse and drag her up his thigh until her legs wrapped around his hips.
He wanted to be inside her.
“Remember how you trembled against me?” he asked roughly.
She swallowed before replying. “I remember quite well. If I trembled, it was due to anger and frustration.” The words were firm, but her lips were soft and full.
Mason reluctantly shifted his attention from her gorgeous mouth to look into her eyes. “Liar.”
The word sounded like a caress. And he meant it that way. When she didn’t refute him, he smiled. Perhaps the lady wasn’t as resistant to the attraction between them as he’d expected. The thought lit a fire of anticipation inside him.
But then she stiffened.