Page 28 of Sir Hugo Seeks a Wife
“You have a poor opinion of me if you truly believe that.”
For pity’s sake, she should pull away.She knew her weakness and holding his hand only fed it.His touch had already enticed her into those ill-advised kisses in the carriage.But she was so cold and lonely – and susceptible – that she wrapped her fingers around his.“I don’t have a poor opinion of you.”Regret thickened her voice.“I have a poor opinion of myself.”
“I’d bloody well like to kill him,” Sir Hugo bit out.
His sudden savagery startled her.“Who?”
“The bastard who did this to you.”
“It wasn’t just George.”Athene knew it was dangerous to appreciate Sir Hugo’s outrage, but that didn’t stop her.“Anyway, he’s dead.”
“George?”He scowled at her.“That’s the sod’s name?”
“Yes.”
“Then I want to kill George.”
George was safe from Sir Hugo.When she’d abandoned her lover in Vienna, he’d been a relic of the vigorous young Adonis who had so disastrously stolen her heart.Drink, opium, and disease had taken their toll on his health and good looks.He’d also been unwise enough to make powerful enemies in the city.The sort of enemies who could arrange an inconvenient foreigner’s demise with no questions asked.
Her grip on Hugo’s hand firmed.“Thank you.”
He looked surprised.“Why?”
“Nobody other than Sylvie has been angry on my behalf.”
“What about your family?”
Athene’s exhalation was dismissive.“I’m dead to them.My father, my brother, aunts, uncles, none of them has any interest in taking in a fallen woman.I told you my decision to send you away is based on more than my seducer turning out to be a cad of the first order.”
“So you don’t trust men?”
“Of course not.”
“And you don’t trust yourself.”
“How can I?”
“Despite a life of nun-like virtue since coming back to London?”
Self-derision tugged at her lips.“Hardly.”
His frown returned.“You said you’ve only had one lover.”
“But I kissed you.I wanted to kiss you the moment I first saw you.”
His glower melted away, and he brought her hand to his lips.“That’s a good sign.”
The warmth across her knuckles settled in the pit of her stomach, made her poignantly aware of everything she rejected tonight.It had taken years to control her itch for a man’s possession.Not for any specific man, but for the heat of touch, the intimacy of a hard penis inside her.George might have been a wastrel, but he’d known how to excite her.To her dismay, some lingering female instinct told her that if she succumbed to Sir Hugo, his seductive skills would outshine George’s the way the sun eclipsed a bonfire.
Her answer was a rasp.“That I’m incurably wanton?”
“No, you lovely widgeon.”The delight in his smile made her treacherous heart cartwheel with joy.“It means that we’re both caught up in mutual enchantment.”
She didn’t smile back.“More poetry, Sir Hugo?”
“You think I’m insincere?”
“I think…I think you’re not looking past the present moment.”
