The Gentleman Who Loved Me (Heart of Enquiry Book 6)(21)

For her own good, he had to retreat, to return to his strategy of protecting her from afar.

He gave a subtle nod to Madame Diderot. She discreetly closed the door, leaving them in the privacy of the stock room, a small space with boxes piled along one wall, a table tucked up against another. Drying feathers fluttered on clotheslines overhead.

“Good afternoon, Miss Kent,” he said.

Her icy stare would have frozen a lesser man. “How did you know that I would be here? Did you bribe Madame Diderot?”

Tread carefully.

From the inner pocket of his jacket, he withdrew the ivory feather he’d taken from her at the masquerade and held it out. A peace offering. “I figured sooner or later you’d be in need of a replacement. And bribery was unnecessary in this instance. Madame owed me a favor.”

Primrose snatched the feather from him. “Well, if you’ve come to lecture me on my behavior again, save your breath.”

“Actually, it’s my behavior I wished to discuss. I owe you an apology.”

Her eyebrows winged.

“What happened at the Pantheon...” He cleared his throat. “I was entirely at fault.”

“Without a doubt,” she said coolly. “You ruined yet another opportunity for me to meet with Lord Daltry.”

“Will you leave off Daltry for a bloody moment?” Taken aback by his own vehemence, he forced himself to say in calmer tones, “I wasn’t referring to the earl but the kiss we shared.”

He’d imagined how she might react to his apology. Profuse blushes. Stammering denials.

Her shoulders hitched in a careless shrug. “It was just a kiss.”

“Just a kiss?” He had to check himself. Again. “How many times have you been kissed?”

“You ought to know. After all, you’re the expert on my behavior.” She wandered to the table. Her back to him, she lifted a magenta feather from its surface. “The advantage of being a hussy is that one doesn’t fall into a swoon over something as inconsequential as a peck.”

“It was more than a peck, and you know it,” he said shortly. “And don’t call yourself a hussy.”

“I’m just quoting you. And, by the by, one must wonder at your familiarity with hussies.”

“I beg your pardon?”

Her head angled in his direction, her smile as sharp and delicate as a scalpel. “You so readily identified me as one, so it speaks to your experience with the breed, does it not?”

“I do not discuss my personal affairs,” he said stiffly.

“And that makes you a hypocrite, sir, since you seem to have no compunction meddling in mine.” She set the feather down, looking bored. “Now is there anything else you wished to discuss? I have other appointments today.”

He prided himself on his self-control, his ability to keep a cool head. He’d seen and done too much to let anything or anyone get under his skin. But he’d overestimated his forbearance—or underestimated Primrose. He’d embarked on this time-consuming, effort-intensive quest to protect an unspoiled girl; instead, he was confronted with this insouciant brat.

Irritation simmered. She didn’t want his help? Then he’d wash his bloody hands of her.

“Don’t let me keep you,” he bit out.

“I shan’t. This will be our last meeting, I hope?”

A scathing rejoinder was on the tip of his tongue. But then she turned, and the heightened sheen in her eyes slammed into him like a battering ram. His wall of anger crumbled, and he was moving toward her before he knew it.

She retreated a step, hissed, “Stay away from me!”

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice pitched low. “I meant no insult.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re like the rest. You think that because of my reputation, you can treat me any way you wish.” The hitch in her breath stabbed him like a blade. “That I’m a strumpet you can dally with and toss aside—”

“No, sweetheart,” he said, “I think the opposite. You’re a jewel.”

“I don’t believe you!”

“It’s the truth. You’re beautiful, but more than that, you’ve courage and spirit to spare. You light up any room you walk into. Any man would count himself blessed to have you by his side.”

Something flickered in her face. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not. You’re precious, Primrose,” he said hoarsely. “Beyond words.”

“If what you’re saying is true,”—her voice quivered—“then why does no one want me?”

The naked vulnerability in her gaze tore down the remnants of his resistance. He closed the distance between them. At the whiff of her unique floral scent, need clawed his belly.

“I want you.” His words were raw, guttural. “So goddamned much.”

Her lips parted, her lashes fluttering.

He didn’t know who made the first move, but in the next heartbeat she was in his arms, his mouth descending hungrily upon hers. She kissed him back with equal abandon. Her sweetness laid waste to his good intentions, and the kiss raged into a fever.

~~~

Rosie felt herself being lifted onto a table, her back propped up against a wall. Things fell—but the world could have come crashing down for all she noticed. Because there was only him.