Page 16 of The Moonstone Pirate
“I know, Butterfly. My heart shot into my throat when I saw you out here and realized how alone you were.”
She nodded. “I’ll be more careful from now on. Goodness, I cannot find the strength to stand on my own two feet.”
“Blast, I shook you up badly. You’re trembling.” He tucked an arm around her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I should have used a softer tactic to make my point.”
She looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
He cast her a wry smile. “Instead of scaring you by threatening to abduct you, I could have shown you how easy it was to kiss you. You would have been helpless to stop me for that, too. But you would have enjoyed it far better.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “You would kiss me even though you are terribly angry with me?”
He cast her a devastatingly appealing smile, his features softened in the glow of moonlight. “Being angry with you and wanting to kiss you are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes anger heightens the thrill of a kiss.”
“It does? I do not see how.” Not that she had any experience with such things. “I would never wish to be kissed in anger.”
He caressed her cheek. “How would you wish to be kissed, Butterfly?”
“In love, of course. Why else, if not that?”
A groan escaped his lips. “Lord, what you do not know about men could fill an entire library. Men do not think that way.”
“Why not? Would you not prefer to put your whole heart into a kiss and have it mean something special?”
“No, Imogen. It is the last thing I would want. Why are you looking so surprised? Are you really that innocent?”
She wanted to punch him again. “Who says I am innocent?”
“You give yourself away with your every comment. Men do not care if they are in love or not when they kiss a woman. In truth, they rarely are in love and prefer it that way. Fewer complications.”
“Perhaps for the man, since he can walk away and ignore the consequences unless the young lady’s family is powerful enough to insist on his making it right. But if the woman has no family to protect her, what is she to do? I am not a ninny. I understand what kisses can lead to.”
“I never said you were a ninny.” He gave her cheek another light caress. “In truth, you are quite clever. But not about everything. You do not know the first thing about kisses.”
He no longer appeared angry with her.
His expression turned surprisingly tender. No one had ever looked at her in this amorous way before, as though he wanted to possess her and at the same time protect her. There was a smolder in his silver eyes.
She shivered, even though he was looking upon her with undeniable heat. It was a nice look… Well, perhaps more wicked than nice, because he had an eyebrow arched and a melting smile that was quite exciting. Her head was spinning and her breaths came in quick spurts. She could hardly put a coherent thought together.
“Um…is there a secret to kisses I should know about?”
He shook his head and laughed. “Imogen, has no one ever kissed that beautiful mouth of yours?” He inhaled sharply in response to her prolonged silence. “Blessed saints, would I be the first?”
Her cheeks turned embarrassingly hot. “What makes you think I would ever permit you to kiss me?”
His smile was arrogant, yet his expression remained surprisingly tender. “Because you know it would be the best kiss you ever received in your entire life.”
She gasped. “Is there no limit to your arrogance? Are you that confident I will like it?”
“Not a doubt.” His roguish smile faded as he continued to regard her. When he spoke, it was with surprising sincerity. “The problem is, I might feel the same way about our kiss.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Yes.”
Imogen shook her head, now completely confused. “I would not worry about it if I were you. You are experienced and unlikely to be swept away by kissing me. But as for me, a kiss ought to be special and meaningful. What is the point otherwise?”
She sighed and continued, “You are afraid that you will melt my heart and then I might trail after you like a lovesick goose. I think our conversation has gotten a little out of hand. You have made your point about my safety and should walk away now. Then I will no longer be with you, and we shall no longer be thinking about kissing each other.”
