Page 32 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
But I do. Asmall voice whimpered in the back of her mind and her stomach felt as though it was filling with ice at the thought of him leaving without her having told him so.
However, he stepped forward again, closing the distance between them, making it clear he had no intention at all of leaving.
"Miss Lloyd, I shall leave if it is what you wish," he said, his tone so low that it made her skin tingle all over. The way he drew close, so close that she could smell the musky scent of him, made a lump form in her throat. "But I suspect that is not what you truly want."
Heat rushed to her cheeks and warmth pooled between her thighs at his words. His tone was intoxicating, his closeness even more so. And yet Priscilla tried her absolute hardest to maintain her decorum.
"You are an incorrigible man, my lord," Priscilla announced, half-turning away.
Before she could go much further, the viscount's fingertips met the side of her chin and urged her back around to face him. Heart hammering and breath caught in her throat, Priscilla's mouth went entirely dry. She trembled so badly that she feared her knees might buckle right there and then. Instinctively, she reached out with shaking hands.
The moment that her palms met his chest, he leaned in. His hand at her chin suddenly cupped her face, his other scooping around her lower back to hook her into him. And in the next second, his lips were on hers, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
The sound was so animalistic and threatening, yet so seductive that it made Priscilla's heart race faster than ever before.
Though her rational mind told her this was wrong, the rest of her screamed,Yes!
Her fingers hooked into the front of his waistcoat, holding him to her, suddenly terrified that he might pull away.
For several moments, she forgot everything from her Ice Queen persona to her hatred of men who thought they could take whatever they wanted without consequence. She forgot that she was a hard and unforgiving force of nature and allowed herself to simply melt into the viscount's arms. For once she felt wholly and entirely feminine, small and fragile in his embrace, and she actually liked it.
It took everything that she had in her to pull away. Sudden anger rushed right through her, and instinctively she raised a hand. Never had she been quite brave enough to strike a man of theton,but this situation seemed to call for it.
There was just one problem. The viscount was faster. He gripped hold of her wrist and pulled, forcing her around so that her back was pressed flush against his chest. Still holding her wrist, he wrapped his free arm around her and held her tight to him.
A mix of fury and desire battled throughout Priscilla's entire body, and for several moments, she feared it might consume her.
Finding strength deep within herself, she ripped free of his grip, struggling immensely with the urge to return to his embrace the moment that she stood alone before him.
When she met his gaze she saw no regret, only the desire to reach for her again. And just as he did, Priscilla smacked his hand away.
"No!" she snapped. "This cannot happen!"
"Priscilla!" he called after her even as she fled the room. Though his use of her first name was seductive and heart-warming, she did not allow herself to look back. Instead, she raced headlong down the stairs, almost slipping right off each step, precariously close to falling.
She did not stop until she reached the bottom of the staircase. Heart still hammering, she slipped into the nearest alcove and collapsed onto the floor. Struggling for breath, she wrapped her arms around herself and threw her head back, trying to regain control of herself.
This cannot be happening!She snapped at herself, pinching her own leg. It had to be a dream, some kind of terrible nightmare, and yet save for how she was feeling right now, there was nothing nightmarish about it. The way she had felt in the viscount's arms, the tingling she still felt upon her lips from his kiss, it all felt so right.
Yet there was a deep pit of anger and frustration welling up inside her. She should never have allowed herself so close to the nobleman. She ought to have never made such a stupid wager.
He has not seduced me!She declared to herself. That could not possibly be what he had done. If this was seduction, then she could not possibly understand why anyone wanted it. Her insides were all twisted into knots, her heart in her throat, and she trembled so badly that she feared it might never stop.
Tears of confusion and frustration pricked the corners of her eyes, making them sting. But she would not allow them to fall, she could not. If she did, then he had won, and she had failed.
No!She would not allow the viscount to get under her skin. She would not be one of those women. All her teenage and adult life she had been determined to live her life her own way. She would not allow a man like Lord Sinclair to come along and ruin all of that. Even if he was the most intriguing, intoxicating creature she had ever laid eyes upon.
Distinctly, she remembered all the men who had come before him, all the men who had tried and failed to seduce her. What was so different about Lord Sinclair that allowed him to slip right past her defences?
The truth was that she had absolutely no idea. All she did know was that there was no way she was ever going to allow it to happen again. Denial turned to frustration and frustration turned to determination as she declared to herself,what happened tonight shall never happen again!
There was no other way around it. If she was ever to have the life she had always dreamt of for herself, she had to make sure that the viscount never managed to get close to her again.
He is not at all as wonderful as he makes himself out to be!She told herself firmly, pinching her leg all over again.Stop thinking about him and concentrate on what you truly want!
And yet the moment she thought those words, she realised something terrifying. She had absolutely no idea what that looked like anymore. Fear, frustration and anger welled up inside her all over again and she snatched her mask off her face, dashing it to the floor beside her, trying not to think of how annoying her aunt would be if she saw that she had broken the peacock feathers that decorated it.
There is more to life than all of this!She announced to herself.There has to be!And there was no way she was going to let a man like Lord Sinclair get in the way of finding it. He was just another fool, determined to be the one who could break her, the one who would be forever revered as the man who had melted Miss Priscilla Lloyd's heart.
