The Secret Wallflower Society - Jillian Eaton Page 0,41
between his thighs, then back up at his face. “Are you certain it’s your heart that is talking to you?”
His hearty chuckle filled her with pleasure. On the rare occasions Helena dared speak her mind, she was quickly silenced by her mother or whatever suitor she’d been unlucky enough to be paired with. Their condemning glares said a woman was to be seen, not heard. A pretty cherub to sit atop a fountain for others to admire. Always lovely, always polite, always well-behaved.
Helena enjoyed being lovely. She knew her own beauty and wasn’t timid in using it to her advantage. She liked fashion as well and had the patience to sit for hours while her hair was combed and curled and pinned. Her collection of jewelry was only outmatched by the number of shoes tucked in a long row beneath her bed, and her dresses were too numerous to count.
She also, given the right situation, could be exceedingly polite.
But where she failed, time and time again, was being well-behaved.
It was most likely why her parents wanted to marry her off as soon as possible. She could only imagine her mother’s expression if she knew her eldest daughter was in the company of a viscount. Unchaperoned, nevertheless. Helena wouldn’t have put it past Lady Holton to be lurking in the bushes, ready to spring out with a wedding veil in hand.
Her lips twitching at the thought, she snuck another glance at Stephen out of the corner of her eye. He was still grinning, and her own smile deepened. He was a scoundrel, no doubt. Wicked through and through.
But then she could be a little wicked herself.
“I am afraid I cannot commit to marriage,” she said, extricating her hand from his grip. Linking her fingers together, she neatly crossed her ankles and perched her hands on the edge of one knee. The epitome of ladylike grace even as a glint of devilishness burned in her jade green eyes.
“And why is that?” Stephen leaned back until he was daringly close to the water. Helena had the most ridiculous urge to push him, just to see what would happen.
And what his body would look like wet.
“I don’t know the first thing about you,” she said with a flutter of her lashes. “Except that you’ve a penchant for bothering young women who could not make it more obvious they wish to be left alone.”
A lock of hair tumbled across of his brow as he canted his head. “Am I bothering you, Miss Holton?”
“You were.”
“And now?”
She pursed her lips. “I haven’t decided.”
“What else would you like to know about me?” Sitting up, he placed his boots flat on the stone walkway and spread his arms apart. “Ask anything you like.”
“You could lie,” she speculated. “Tell me everything I want to hear and make yourself seem like the perfect gentleman. I’ll fall helplessly in love with you. We’ll marry, and it’s only after I’ve signed away my rights to my money, and my body, and my future children, that I will realize you’re a terrible human being and I am trapped with you for the rest of my life.”
A line appeared between his brows. “You’re quite cynical for someone so beautiful.”
“I’ve found cynicism and beauty have more in common than people think.” The side of her breast brushed against his outstretched arm as she twisted towards him.
Her breath hitched. His eyes darkened.
“What can I do, then, to prove my worth?” he rasped.
“Actions speak louder than words, Lord Ware.” Slowly peeling off the glove on her right hand, she straightened the pin on his cravat, then peered up at him. “Any dandy worth his salt can spin pretty words. It’s what they excel at. But do you know what a dandy cannot do?”
With his eyes never leaving hers, he gave a curt shake of his head.
“They cannot kiss. Not well, anyways,” she said with a dismissive flick of her wrist. “They’re too selfish, you see. And when someone is selfish, they think only of the pleasure they wish to receive, not that which they are capable of giving.”
“You sound like you speak from experience.” As if he couldn’t help but touch her, Stephen reached for an auburn curl that had come loose from her coiffure and tucked it behind her ear. He lingered at the small, sensitive spot where the edge of her jaw connected to her neck, and her pulse leapt in response.
“If you’re asking if I’ve kissed a dandy, my answer is yes.” Like a feline,