“I’m not a guest and I’m not languishing. I like being with the children. Unlike you, I actually enjoyed the ride yesterday.”

His hot brown gaze rested on her, stroking her face, lingering on her lips. “So did I,” he murmured. “Far more than you realize.”

His tone was so intimate that Anna moved away from the desk, her heart thudding in the most uncomfortable way. “Lord Greyley, I cannot be alone with you again. Last time…last time was a mistake.” One that left her lying awake long after she’d gone to bed, her thoughts far, far from those of a respectable governess.

His gaze heated from brown to black in the space of an instant. “Last time was magnificent and you know it.”

“It was pleasant,” she said, wiping her damp palms on her dress, hoping that lightning did not strike her where she stood. Calling Greyley’s kisses pleasant was tantamount to calling Hampton Court Palace “nice.” “But we cannot allow ourselves to be so lost to propriety again, or—” She blushed, thinking of what that “or” portended.

“Oh, but we can,” he said in a reasonable voice, coming out from behind the desk, his movements as smooth and sure as a lion on the hunt.

“I should leave,” Anna said, suddenly breathless as she watched him approach. She took a step back.

He followed her. “You’d abandon the field of battle, just like that?” He shook his head sadly, though a gleam of humor lit his eyes to gold. “Thraxton, you disappoint me.”

She eyed him narrowly. There was something different about the earl today. Something…lighter. And infinitely more dangerous. “You wrote that horrible note just to infuriate me, didn’t you?”

He grinned, his teeth white.

Damn the man! “Just what do you hope to accomplish with such mischief?”

“I just want to talk.”

“Talk?” she scoffed. “I don’t think talking was what you had in mind.”

“Hm.” He lifted a finger and traced the line of her cheek, the touch exquisitely gentle.

Anna’s heart beat such an erratic rhythm that she was surprised he didn’t comment on it. “Greyley, we shouldn’t do this.” But oh, how she wanted him to do this. She wanted Greyley to kiss her. Kiss her, and more.

It seemed to Anna as if her entire life was to be bound forever by the strict rules of being a governess while some wild, lonely part of her hungered for something more. Something passionate. And Greyley represented that passion.

It would mean nothing, of that she was sure. But still…She looked up at the line of his mouth, her body softening at the sight. He was magnificent. Anna couldn’t imagine allowing herself to experience the forbidden with anyone else.

“Anna,” he whispered, his fingertips brushing her lips. “What do you want?”

“I don’t know, but I think…I think I want you.” Anna closed her eyes as she heard herself whisper the words. He would think her such a fool. A woman of no principles. She opened her eyes and saw the answering blaze in his.