s complexion into a lovely shade of red.
" W hen you kissed my hand ! " s he yelled .
It took all his inner strength to keep from bursting out with a loud laugh . The shade of red enhancing Grace ' s lovely skin was amusing . That Grace had no clue how strange she sounded being irate over a polite gesture made Ewan almost choke on his suppressed laughter .
Her quickened breath interrupted his musings . Ewan almost forgot the conversation. Almost.
" And that offended you? " h e teased, lifting his eyes from her delectable chest and forcing himself to meet her gaze . He raised his eyebrows in expecta tion .
" Yes! It offended me! You humiliated me! " She waved her arms around again in her exasperation.
" By kissing your hand? " Ewan calmly replied, still working hard to keep his laughter from overcoming his self-control. Grace would probably attack him if he dared share his humor in the situation . The though t of her body pressed against his was anything but threatening — rather , the idea intrigued him . The physical effect of his thoughts became uncomfortable , and he barely suppressed a groan at her next words.
" By using your tongue! " A parlor maid, who had just entered the room, raised an eyebrow toward Grace. S he left discreetly , but not before Grace ' s angry crimson color was drained in humiliation and replaced with a dark blush.
" I did nothing of the sort. " Ewan spoke with a dismissive tone, knowing full well he had nearly molested her hand . H e lifted his gloved hand to brush imaginary dust from his coat and took a deep breath , trying to calm his pounding blood. He recalled the scene with pleasure. H e had kissed her hand , simultaneously issuing a challenge to Shiply, a challenge he intended to win .
He couldn ' t think of the prize, not yet . Even now he was silently astounded that he had acted so brazenly — so rashly . But when Shiply ' s words , drenched in honey , were falling on Grace , and she seemed to soak them up so willingly, all he could think was that he could not — would not — stand by and let her be torn fr om his life . As the walk had progressed through the park , Ewan had grown more and more angry and frustrated with the situation, sensing no resistance in Grace to Shiply ' s overt courtship .
She ' s mine , h e wanted to announce and promptly beat Shiply to a pulp . What stopped him from proceeding was the truth that Grace did not belong to him, in any way. The realization had washed over him like cold water . True, she was his friend , in a manner of speaking , but he wasn ' t the one who drew out the seductive smile she unknowingly offered to Shiply . No, he wasn ' t even the one who made he r toss her head back and laugh , offering both him and Shiply a view of her glorious slender neck .
Even now , Ewan licked his lips in thought of what her skin would taste like , should he press his lips to the slight hollow under her chin. Oh, why had he agreed to watch out for Grace ? Why did he willingly put himself in such a position of such exquisite torture ? Rather than courting Grace himself, he was reduced to watching someone else kiss her hand, make her laugh , and seduce her with a smoldering glance.
With th at last thought , he had made up his mind and came to his rash decision . Shiply wasn ' t going to court Grace without some competition — namely, him. Without allowing himself to think of the ramifications of such a decision, he began to plan.
So silently he stood by , waiting for the prime opportunity to throw the gauntlet, preferably without Grace knowing . He wasn ' t quite sure he was ready to admit his feelings out loud, let alone to Grace , who would likely reject him . A fter all , his reputation wasn ' t much better than Shiply ' s .
Then, as Shiply kissed the air above her hand in the most proper way just as he was leaving, Ewan made his move . As soon as Shiply stepped away, Evan advanced. With purposeful steps toward his prey , he approached Grace and
Stephanie Hoffman McManus