Page 142 of Ten Lords for the Holidays

He was perfectly capable of keeping his hands to himself.

Nodding with renewed determination, and truthfully just wanting to be in her company, he strode through the drawing room and straight out the glass doors to the balcony.

There she was.

The night was clear and cold, the moon and infinite stars bathing everything in crisp, silver light.

Standing with her back to him, her face tilted toward the sky, Holly looked ethereal. And he found himself not quite sure what to say.

Stepping forward, his foot kicked a stray pebble, sending it skittering across the concrete and causing her to turn toward the sound.

For eons and seconds, they merely gazed at each other.

And then –

There it was. The tell-tale blush that always made him smile.

Evan reminded himself of his words in the hallway.

He wasn’t a slave to hormones.

He wasn’t a young lad unable to keep his hands to himself.

Clearing his suddenly dry throat, he stepped closer to her.

“Happy birthday.” He quirked his lips, fascinated by the deepening of her blush.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, yet still having the power to pull him closer, like a siren’s call.

He wasn’t a slave to hormones, he reminded himself fiercely. He could keep his hands to himself.

Another silence, this time fraught and filled with desire. He knew it was his own. Desperately hoped it was hers, too.

“Evan.”

That was it. That was all it took to make a mockery of his litany.

Just his name on her lips, but it sounded like a plea. Like a question.

And he could do nothing but close the distance between them, pull her into his arms, and answer her with a kiss.

* * *

Holly sank into Evan’s embrace even though she knew perfectly well that she shouldn’t.

Any minute now, Grandmama could come searching for her.

But with every passing second she cared less about the consequences and more about the feeling of once more being in his arms.

Was it fate that had brought him out here to her?

Hadn’t she just been standing here, thinking about what Angela had said? Thinking about her mother and whether she’d approve? Thinking about how much she missed his witty comments, his incorrigible smile, and his strong, demanding arms around her?

It was as though she’d wished him into standing behind her. So when he’d taken her in his arms, what could she do but go willingly? Happily?

With one hand wrapped around her waist, he lifted the other to clasp her cheek and tilt her face towards his, demanding entrance to her mouth, eliciting a moan from the depths of her.

His answering growl turned her knees to liquid and if he hadn’t been holding her so tightly, Holly felt sure she’d have fallen to mush at his feet.

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