Page 23 of The Grand Mistletoe Assembly
Her common sense returned before his, for she demanded, “Stop the horse and let me off.”
“No.”
“Everyone is staring at us!”
“Let them stare.”
“This is highly unlike you, Nicholas.” She was seated sideways and turned her head to glare at him. “Not even to say we can’t hold a proper conversation in this position.”
Nicholas leaned close. “Nothing about yesterday or today has been proper, why start now?”
“Have we not moved past the matter?”
“You don’t tell a man to forget about a kiss if you want him to forget about a kiss. Now I can’t forget about it even if I wanted to.”
“So you interfere in my engagements?”
“Are you going to kiss Dare?” Nicholas countered, the mere thought driving him bloody mad. “He is the one youmeantto kiss, no?”
Those beautiful eyes blinked. “My birthday is in a few days. I did not want to reach twenty without my first kiss.”
“I see.” Nicholas brought the horse to a halt, his gaze delving into hers. “Since you already shared your first kiss with me, why do you still plan on kissing another?”
“How do you …” Her eyes widened. “You eavesdropped on our conversation?”
“A mere coincidence.”
“Do you expect me to believe that?”
Nicholas cleared his throat, his mind still stuck on this first kiss business. He was the first man to ever kiss Pippa. An extremely satisfying thought.
“Be that as it may, forget about Dare.”
“You have clearly lost all sense.”
“Ihave lost all sense?”
“This is the second time you have left your sister unchaperoned with a group of men to whisk me away from a big, bad wolf.”
“Jeremy is there.”
“Is he a man?”
“All of England knows he is the equivalent of your hired help.”
Pippa snorted. “For a man always in control, you don’t seem to have a grip on matters. So, pray tell, what do you plan to do now that you have me?”
Excellent question. He’d nearly forgotten about his plan. Nicholas stared at her pretty face, filled with questions and so tantalizingly close to his, and felt his pulse leap. Damnation. His heart was experiencing another event. So much for his calm.
His gaze dropped to the soft arch of her lips.
Full.
Sweet.
Utter temptation.
He now knew how they would feel against his own lips. The soft sensation. The taste of sweetness that branded into his mind. His bones. His soul. He wanted to occupy her mind solely. Her lips. Everything.
