Page 131 of Ten Lords for the Holidays

He wondered if she’d outright refuse him, and he wondered why the idea bothered him so much.

But when he held out a hand, she hesitated only a second before placing her own in it.

Looking down, he noticed that her hand looked tiny and fragile in his own, and Evan felt a jolt of awareness at the contact.

Raising his eyes to her face, he was secretly delighted by the blush upon her cheeks, and it took a considerable effort not to lift his other hand to the smooth skin.

Instead, he led her to where the other dancers were gathering, still paying no heed to Winchester.

As they took their places across from each other, Evan glanced around the room.

His gaze caught on Angela, who was watching them through narrowed eyes.

She nodded her approval as the orchestra struck the opening chords of a reel, seeming pleased that he’d rushed over there and practically snatched Lady Holly away from the rather placid Mr. Winchester.

Evan frowned, wondering if he’d been manipulated by the odd little woman.

But it mattered not.

The dance began, and he reached out to clasp Lady Holly’s hands in his own, pulling her close enough to smell the lavender that floated around her, before reluctantly stepping back as the dance demanded.

He danced the set with her, not talking much but enjoying every time she came close enough for him to catch her lavender scent or see the sparkle in her deep brown eyes.

All too soon, the set came to a close, and Evan reluctantly dropped Lady Holly’s hand and stood back from her.

From the corner of his eye he could see more than one gentleman getting ready to swoop in, and that bizarre jealous protectiveness reared its head again.

Without much thought, he turned back to face her.

“Would you care to take a walk outside, my lady?” he asked, loathe to let her go.

It was beyond strange, he knew. This desire to keep her with him at all times. Yet he couldn’t make himself let go.

She bit her lip as she considered his request before the ghost of a smile appeared.

“You seem determined to keep me outdoors and freezing, Lord Stockton,” she quipped, showing some of that feistiness that he’d seen earlier.

And apparently, he’d reverted to a green lad with no control over his libido, for her words immediately set him to thinking of the many pleasurable ways he could keep her warm.

Thankfully, he had enough sensibility left not to tell her that.

Instead, he grinned in response to her playful insolence and held out an arm, waiting to see if she’d refuse.

With an exaggerated sigh, she placed her arm in his elbow.

“If my toes fall off, you’re explaining it to my grandmother,” she whispered as they moved toward the exit.

His bark of laughter drew plenty of attention from the guests in attendance.

But neither of them noticed.

CHAPTER7

As soon asthey stepped outside, Holly felt the cold bite of wind whip around her and wished that she had her cloak. Or even a long-sleeved gown.

It had been foolish, perhaps, to agree to join Lord Stockton.

But the truth was that she’d felt incapable of doing anything else when she’d looked into his eyes.

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