Lady Be Reckless (Duke's Daughters #2)(41)

“Because he wants you to succeed?” she finished in a soft voice. “He is a good father—he only wants the best for you. I don’t understand why so many people have a problem with a father wanting the best for his son.”

Her voice was returning to its normal fierce tone, for which he was grateful. A comforting, soft-voiced Lady Olivia would be so out of his experience he might just break down and sob in her arms, which wouldn’t do either of them any good. Especially with his leaving.

“I am sorry to hear your father is not in the best of health.” She bit her lip. “It makes sense that you would want to leave town as soon as possible. You are a good son for making sure he takes care of himself,” she said. “I appreciate your living up to your part of the challenge. I have no doubt that if you were to stay for the full month, I would succeed, however.” She lifted her chin as she spoke, and it was as though he could feel her confidence in his own body.

It was breathtaking. It was likely a good thing he was leaving, if he thought about it. He was too intrigued by her, too intent on watching the expressions play over her face, wanting to feel the warmth of her sparkle. Everywhere.

“I have no doubt that you believe that, Lady Olivia.” He couldn’t keep the skepticism out of his voice; after all, she was one lady, albeit a fierce one, and he was standing among all the politely born ladies and gentlemen whose only experience with situations like his were to hold their noses and cross to the other side of the well-bred street.

“You are maddening,” she said, but it didn’t sound as though she were maddened by him. Or not entirely maddened by him, that is; she was looking at him with a slight smile on her mouth, as though she also found him amusing.

“But at least I was able to persuade you I am a decent enough gentleman,” he said, allowing himself to step closer to her so he could look straight into her eyes, gauge her feelings by how she was regarding him. “And for that, Lady Olivia, I am eternally grateful.”

“Oh, damn you,” she replied, then slid her arms around his neck and drew his mouth down to hers.



She was kissing him again. And this time, she didn’t have any excuse except that she wanted to. He froze for a moment, and she had a sudden anxious feeling that he would draw away, an embarrassed expression on his face, and inform her that kissing her was not what he actually wanted to do. That he’d done it the other evening because he’d felt sympathy for her.

But then she felt his hands grasp her waist firmly, and he drew her to him just as firmly so their bodies were pressed up against one another. And he was kissing her passionately, ruthlessly, as though she were a woman who was able to withstand the force of him.

And she was. What was more, she inhaled the force of him, wanting to participate just as fully in this kiss as he was. Learning the taste of his mouth with her tongue, sliding her hands over his shoulders and down his back, flexing her fingers so she could make out his impressive musculature.

Even his back was strong. That shouldn’t surprise her, but it did.

Eventually, her hands returned to the front of his body, and she found her palms running over his chest, wishing she could reach underneath his clothing to touch his skin. Nice though his clothing felt, she imagined he would feel even nicer.

His hands were still at her waist, but his fingers had tightened, and she wondered if he was struggling with the urge to touch her as she was touching him. If she weren’t so intent on kissing him so thoroughly, she’d draw back for a moment and tell him, Yes, please, do touch me in those places that suddenly seem to be clamoring for your fingers. But she wouldn’t, because if she withdrew, he would stop kissing her, and what was more important, she would stop kissing him, and she didn’t want that. Not at all.

The fact that he was leaving shouldn’t make her feel so alone. But it did. And kissing him helped, at least for right now, at this moment.

Then she heard a noise and leapt back from him, glancing around guiltily, hoping nobody had seen them.

“I—” he began, then took one of the hands that had been at her waist and pushed the curls off his forehead. “I did not mean to allow that to happen again.”

“You did not mean for this to happen again?” She rolled her eyes at him, wondering how she’d missed that he was such a dolt. A handsome, curly-haired dolt, but a dolt nonetheless.

“You are not the one who did all this,” she said, gesturing to the space between them. “Let me tell you once and forever, Mr. Wolcott,” she continued, emphasizing his name with a raise of her eyebrow, “there is no one who is in control of me. I chose to kiss you, not the other way around. And may I say, I regret my action, if you were going to claim responsibility for it. But it was my action, not yours.” She drew herself up to her full height, which was still, unfortunately for her, many inches shorter than he, and planted her hands on her hips. Her mother would be appalled at how common Olivia appeared right now, but that didn’t matter. Not when he thought that he had bestowed a kiss on her, as though she were some pitiful supplicant. Was that how he saw her?

“I see I’ve annoyed you, Olivia.” His voice was amused, and of course that irked her further. “I merely wished to draw the blame onto myself, since I know you do not truly wish to kiss me. Because you wish—” And he stopped, a pained expression on his face.

Because you wish you were kissing Bennett, her mind supplied. Even though Bennett—Lord Carson—hadn’t crossed her mind once, and she would need to examine that more thoroughly later. But meanwhile . . . “Draw the blame onto yourself?” She stepped forward, raising one hand to point a finger at his chest. The chest that had been so intriguing to her just a few minutes ago. “As though I am not responsible for what I do? As though someone might accuse me of something untoward, and you would have to take the blame because of who you are? A man?”