Page 37 of Pursuing Lord Pascal
“I am indeed. And I intend to devote that wickedness to your enjoyment. I’m hoping some wickedness might even rub off on you.”
Her lips quirked. “That’s already happened. I used to be perfectly respectable, devil take you.”
She didn’t sound like she minded too much. He couldn’t help it. He kissed her again. She responded with sizzling enthusiasm, until he could manage only a single word. The question that thundered through every beat of his reckless heart. “When?”
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Not now. Meg and Sally will be home soon from their shopping, and Morwenna is inside writing letters.”
“We could give her something interesting to write about.”
“Too interesting. You need to stop kissing me.”
“Never.” To prove it, he kissed her again. This time he lingered over her lips, relishing how she welcomed him into the honeyed heat of her mouth. By the time he raised his head, they were both gasping for breath.
“When you kiss me, I can’t think.” Arousal clouded her eyes.
“I haven’t been able to think since I met you.” His voice descended into stark sincerity. “You make me so happy.”
“You make me nervous and excited.” She paused. “And happy. I’m sure I should regret this headlong dash into sin.”
“Ah, sin,” he said on a voluptuous sigh.
“You’re incorrigible.” She laughed and pushed him away.
He let her go, content now that he had her promise. “When, when, when?”
She caught his hand. “So impatient.”
“Amy,” he growled. “You’ve teased me enough.”
She drew him down onto the charming stone bench where she’d sat watching the fountain. To his regret, she started to sound sensible again. How he’d loved seeing this clever, practical woman dizzy with excitement.
“It’s not straightforward. We need to be careful. Any scandal will hurt Meg’s chances. The world can’t know she’s sharing a house with Lord Pascal’s mistress.”
He liked the sound of that. He’d like the sound of Lord Pascal’s wife even more, but today he was content to postpone that discussion. “I want you to myself all night.”
Already she was shaking her head. “It’s too risky.”
He sighed. “When did you become adept at intrigue?”
Amy blushed and squeezed his hand. “I’ve…I’ve been thinking of this since our last kiss.”
His laugh expressed astounded delight. “I had no idea. You’ve been so cold, I quite despaired of winning your favor.”
“I’m sorry that I was such a coward.”
“And you didn’t trust me. But you do now. Your consent does me such honor.”
Amy was back to looking misty-eyed. “I couldn’t resist you.”
She was a miracle, and he didn’t deserve her. He sucked in a jagged breath to contain the vast wave of emotion that threatened to choke him. In silent homage, he raised her hand to his lips.
Pascal struggled to restore the lightness. She wasn’t yet ready to hear what lay in his heart. He’d lured her to the threshold of a life together, but only careful handling would coax her across into a permanent place in his future. “So while you were busy tormenting me, you were hatching wanton plans?”
Her smile was tremulous. “I thought perhaps one afternoon…”
“Oneafternoon?”
She gave a nervous, excited spurt of laughter. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We usually go driving anyway. Perhaps instead of the park, we go to—”
