Page 49 of The Duelist for the Ton
A desire to match his own.
“Breathe…” she whispered, her lips curving into a gentle smile.
He inhaled again, then exhaled, slowly.
“That’s better, colonel. Tell me what you see.”
He blinked, and the world around him swam into focus—blurred nighttime shapes illuminated by flickering torches.
“I see flames.”
“What can you see in the light of the flames?”
“A garden,” he said. “A path leading toward a building with arched windows that reflect the torchlight.”
Her eyes sparkled with pleasure. “Good,” she whispered. “Very good. What else?”
He shifted his focus to the woman before him. “I see beauty.”
Her smile slipped and a flicker of annoyance glimmered in her eyes.
“Can you not speak the truth?” she said, an edge to her voice.
“I lack the strength to lie,” he replied. “I see a pair of eyes of the deepest blue, the color of midnight, with silver stars glimmering in their depths that speak of the soul hidden within. In those eyes I see kindness, and compassion.”
He lowered his gaze to her mouth.
“I see lips, full and red, set in a determined expression that speaks of a strength that I lack. Yet I also see softness—a softness that I long to surrender my soul to. Tell me, Lady Portia, what kind of man, save a fool, could see anything other than beauty in that?”
He lifted his hand to her face and caressed her chin with his fingertip, a nugget of need threading through him at the feel of the silken softness of her skin.
Closing her eyes, she leaned into his touch.
“Lady Portia…” be breathed.
“Stephen…” Her soft whisper as she spoke his name swelled his heart. Then she parted her lips and let out a soft sigh. He had only to lower his head a fraction to claim that sweet mouth…
Fool! You’re a weak fool!
He pushed her back.
“No.” He shook his head. “Forgive me. You must think me a fool—a weakling and a fool.”
“Why would you say that?” she asked, her eyes glistening with moisture.
Ye gods, did she harborpityfor him?
He stepped back, but she caught his wrist. “No, colonel—do not run away from me a second time.”
“A second time?”
The compassion in her eyes returned. “You left my world just then. Do not do so again, not when you have only just returned.”
“I-I do not understand you.”
“Yes, you do,” she said, touching his cheek once more. “Your body might not have left, but your mind…”
“You think I’m prone to insanity, Lady Portia?” he said, shame filling his heart as he caught her meaning. “Is that why you asked me what I could see, to test that I was not so out of wits that I couldn’t recognize my surroundings?”
