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polite.
    “No.” She couldn’t possibly eat. She’d been pent up with desire like a caged cat for two weeks. Now, so close to being beneath him again, she could barely keep herself from swooning from the excitement.
    “You know, for a moment there, I thought you were about to bolt.”
    “No, never.”
    “That’s a relief.” He laughed without smiling and pressed something into her hand, a key. He whispered his room number. “Go up. I’ll follow shortly.”
    “I haven’t much time.”
    “Very shortly.” Did she imagine the edgy promise in his voice? Desire twisted through her belly. Her knees melted to jelly and she wobbled.
    “Careful.” His strong hands gripped her shoulders, steadying her, his face reflecting none of the emotion pounding through her body.
    How could he remain so unaffected?
    Impulse seized her and she caught hold of his lapels. “Kiss me.”
    He leaned closer and her heart’s beat dashed away from her. Heavens, anyone could come along and catch them. Oh, the risk… But lust made Beth brave. The risk only heightened the thrill. Her breath quickened and her nipples stiffened, straining against her stays. She closed her eyes, tilted her head up. Waited.
    And waited.
    “How many men since me?” He laid his large hand at the base of her throat and a thrill went chasing through her. “Look me in the eye.”
    Her lids fluttered open and his gaze pierced into her with such intensity, she gasped. “It has only been two weeks.”
    “Answer me, Beth.”
    Another thrill trembled through her. Fear or anticipation? She couldn’t say. “None.”
    Still holding her throat, he studied her for several long moments. She set her jaw, refusing to waver under his scrutiny.
    He bent and his mouth pressed hers, hard and hasty. Passion spiraled, took her soaring to the stars. Lassitude weakened her and wetness seeped between her legs. He lifted his head. Her hands tightened on his lapels, trying to pull him back. He resisted, his eyes trained on her like a stag with a doe.
    Kiss me. Just kiss me, you arrogant jackanapes.
    “Now go.” He released her, set her veil back in place and left her there.
    She stared at his departing back.
    Did he have any idea what a rarefied class he found himself in? She didn’t go around asking just any man to kiss her. She had very high standards and she shared herself with only a select few. She was bestowing quite an honor on him and yet he reacted as if she were the one who ought to be grateful. And to add insult to injury, he hadn’t even kissed her. Not truly.
    Yet, despite the seething vexation he inspired in her, wetness slid down along the insides of her thighs. She could hardly wait to get upstairs and be alone with him again. To lie in his bed and have his weight press her down and his huge, hard cock thrust into her. Filling her, stretching her to her limits, just as he had that day in the carriage.
    Heat swept over her and she realized she was shaking with excitement. Oh, this wasn’t good. Or safe. Or sane. Her mouth went dry. She ought to leave, right this minute. But she couldn’t seem to find the will.
    Dear God, it frightened her how much she wanted him.
     
    * * * *
     
    Grey reached for the doorknob, then gripped it and attempted to slow his breathing. But he couldn’t slow the near-frantic pounding of his heart. Nor could he control the throbbing in his erection. It actually ached, as though that organ were being stretched to its very limits with each surge of fresh, hot blood. God, the sight of her when he had lifted her veil—
    She was every damned bit as beautiful as he’d remembered. And then a little more.
    Large, pale blue eyes that flashed with pure recklessness.
    Kiss me.
    That challenge in her voice…as though he, Grey Sexton—a gentleman respected internationally for his discretion and good judgment, possessed of two elegant, experienced mistresses—would risk being caught mauling a young lady in a public corridor like some desperate