When the Duchess Said Yes Read Online Free PDF Page B

and kiss him in return. She’d no idea a man’s mouth could be so firm and so soft at once, or able to coax her lips to part so that their mouths joined, too, all wet heat and sensation. Her knees turned wobbly and she held on to his shoulders so she wouldn’t collapse. He pulled her closer, the spangles on her gown catching on the silver braid of his coat. His arm tightened around her waist in a way that only made her want to kiss him more, and when he finally broke away, she felt light-headed, full of wonder, and regretful that it had ended.
    “Oh, my.” She touched her fingertips to her lips to see if they’d changed, and smiled up at him from the cozy nest in the crook of his arm. “How extraordinary.”
    “Most extraordinary.” He smiled, too, with a verymale pride, as he ran his open hand up and down her back.
    She chuckled with happiness. “A first kiss is supposed to be extraordinary.”
    “Our first, yes,” he said, “but I’d wager it won’t be our last.”
    She frowned a bit because he’d misunderstood. This had been her first kiss ever, not just with him, but then his hand slid lower, his fingers spreading over her bottom in a way that also was extraordinary—perhaps a bit too much so.
    “My carriage isn’t far, nor is my house,” he said, his invitation warm against her ear. “We can have the whole night to explore more of your fairy ways together.”
    He pulled her hips close to his, and shockingly she felt the hard length of his cock in his breeches, heady proof that she’d not been the only one to be moved by their kiss.
    But in that instant Lizzie realized the reality of what she’d done, and what he wanted her to do. Swiftly she stepped apart, away from his caress.
    “I must go.” Her voice sounded odd, breathless and throaty and not her own. “I’ve been gone too long. My sist—my friends will miss me.”
    “Not as much as I shall,” he said winningly, reaching for her again. “Come, lass. I promise you that was only the beginning.”
    “I—I can’t,” she stammered, panicking as she skittered backward. He was every bit as handsome and charming and tempting as ever, but now fear and regret washed over her like an icy bath. What would the Duke of Hawkesworth say if he ever learned that she’d gone into the bushes with a stranger and let him kiss and embrace her? Worse yet, what would March say? Oh, truly she was Lizzie Wyldest! No matter how Charlotte pleaded on her behalf, March would order her immediatelypacked back to Dorset and ignominy, and likely spinsterhood, too.
    “I must go at once,” she said breathlessly, “before my friends worry and come hunting for me, and—and you do not wish them to find you.”
    “Let them,” he said with a grandly dismissive sweep of his arm. “I’ll fight them all for your sake.”
    She rather believed he would, and part of her was delighted by his bravery, like that of a knight of old. But these weren’t olden times and she couldn’t let him fall into the hands of March’s burly footmen, and in despair she played her final card.
    “You can’t,” she said. “I won’t permit it. There’d be no point to fighting, anyway, for I am promised to wed another.”
    Not trusting herself, she didn’t wait to measure his response. She ducked beneath the branches and fled into the crowd, her skirts flying and her wired wings bobbing against her back.
    “Lizzie!” Charlotte held her arms out to her, obviously relieved. “Where have you been? We’ve been hunting all over for you.”
    Lizzie flung herself into her sister’s embrace, hugging her tight. Her heart was still pounding, her thoughts confused by all that had just happened. And what would she do if the gentleman followed her?
    “Are you unharmed, Lizzie?” Charlotte asked. “Poor thing, I can feel your heart.”
    With a shuddering sigh, Lizzie broke away, struggling to compose herself.
    “I’m fine, perfectly fine,” she said. “I went to the privy, that was all,