Page 43 of Enticing the Devil

Beynon couldn’t exactly argue that. He was well aware he wasn’t always able to keep his more vehement emotions from showing in his manner and countenance. But although Colin might be right about him, he suspected the man was quite off when it came to Lady Anne. Gentle? Perhaps. Reserved? Maybe most of the time.

But definitely not all the time.

And he doubted the woman had an ounce of shyness in her. More likely, she simply preferred her own company over the forced socializing in which everyone else engaged.

“You underestimate her,” he muttered.

Colin tilted his head thoughtfully. “Do I? You may be right.”

“Either way, you’ve nothing to worry about. The lady and I are getting along just fine.”

Colin didn’t believe him. But he didn’t really care. He just wanted out of the blasted conversation so he could go walk off the tension riding through him, especially now that he’d recalled just how unreserved the lady in question had been only minutes ago.

“If you say so,” the earl replied evenly. “Just be careful.”

Beynon gave a curt nod before stepping past his brother. “Excuse me.”

“I’ll see you at dinner,” the earl called after him.

He didn’t bother to reply.

Chapter Fifteen

Considering the frightful mood he was in, Beynon did his best not to glower through the evening meal that night, but he suspected by the many apprehensive glances he received he was failing rather spectacularly.

He did, however, manage to avoid looking overly long at Lady Anne. Unfortunately, by preventing his gaze from lingering on the one person he wanted to observe, he basically ensured his thoughts remained locked on her.

If he closed his eyes for even a second, he could clearly see the way she’d looked after he’d finished kissing her beneath the oak.

When her thick lashes had lifted to reveal the bright green and azure swirling in her unfocussed gaze and her breath had slid shallowly from her lips—glistening, pink, and plump from his kiss—he’d been shaken right down to his core. He’d never seen anything so damned beautiful as Lady Anne ensnared in a web of blissful desire.

Too beautiful.

Colin may have been a bit off in his perception of the lady’s vulnerability, but he’d been right about one thing. She was no match for Beynon. Not socially. Not physically. And sure as hell not romantically.

By the ton’s standards, she was so high above him, he couldn’t even see her exulted perch. He was raw and unrefined while she was the epitome of gentle grace. Anyone who looked at them for a second could see they didn’t belong in each other’s worlds. They didn’t even exist in the same universe.

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