“Fine. You may kiss me,” she said flatly. Then her gaze sharpened. “But it had better be good.”

Alec managed to keep his cavalier expression while internally his reaction was nothing short of pathetic. He had never been one to back away from a challenge, or turn down the chance to kiss a beautiful woman. A tiny voice inside his head suggested that perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to kiss this beautiful woman in particular, but the half-hearted warning was easily dismissed.

“As my lady commands,” he said with a dramatic sigh. Best not to look too eager.

In one swift movement, his hand laced around her nimble waist while the other cupped her nape and gave it a little squeeze. She let out a gasp as her head tilted back but didn’t offer any protest as he gently set his lips to hers.

One could almost believe she was enjoying this.

As if it wasn’t enough for Alec to come strolling in and upend all of Lottie’s plans, now he was trying to further unnerve her with a kiss. No doubt he assumed she would be positively shocked by the mere idea of kissing him, but Lottie had been kissed before. Three times, actually. Ceril Belvedere had even pressed her against the wall of Lady Arlington’s balcony. It had been rather exciting, at least in the moment, but this…

Once, for a very brief period, Lottie had spent untold hours imagining what it would be like to kiss Alec. And even she could not resist the chance to see if her dreams lived up to the reality.

Apparently her imagination had been decidedly lacking.

Yet it wasn’t only the feel of his lips on hers, so firm, commanding, and confident. It was the way he held her close and cradled her in his arms. As if she really did belong to him.

As if he really did want her.

Alec squeezed her neck a bit more and her mouth opened slightly. Then he gently parted her lips further with his own. That hardly seemed necessary for Marta’s sake, but then one would expect him to be fully committed to his duty. Uncle Alfred had made that plain years ago when Alec left.

He will do whatever is necessary. That is not the kind of life for a man with a family. The Crown must come first. Always.

Lottie had never once spoken to anyone about her feelings for Alec, as she hardly knew what to make of them herself. Alec’s friendship had always been invaluable to her, and yet at times she had ached for something more. More than she could ever put into words. More than she ever dared act upon. But her uncle seemed to understand. There was little use trying to have secrets from a man who had spent much of his life either ferreting them out or keeping them safe. And if Uncle Alfred had known, it stood to reason that Alec did as well. Perhaps for longer than she realized. Lottie had once deluded herself into thinking that Alec had morals, a sense of common decency, and, dare she think it, a fondness for her. But he had done a very fine job of divesting her of all those pesky illusions. Completely. Alec wouldn’t think twice about exploiting anything he could in order to bend her to his will. Even something as innocent as her girlhood affection.