He stifled a chuckle and rewarded her with a kiss—not the wild one she’d wanted, but soft and slow and evocative. This was the one he wanted her to think of tonight, alone in her bed. A kiss to seduce her back into his arms again and again, to sear the memory of it at the back of her mind so that his name and pleasure would be inextricably linked.
There was so much untapped passion in her, simmering just beneath the surface, awaiting an outlet. It would be his pleasure to unleash it, to discover the woman that lurked beneath the cool exterior she had cobbled together for protection.
He drew back slowly, heard the low, longing sigh she gave as she settled back onto the flats of her feet once again. This time she was not shocked, but resigned—as if she had at last accepted that she had been waging a losing battle.
“You did it again,” she said, in a whisper-soft voice, almost mournful. Her lashes shaded her eyes, but she made no move to escape the arm at her waist, and tipped her head back against his shoulder as if she needed the steadiness of it.
“You wanted me to,” he repeated, soothing the sting of the truth with a brush of his lips across the apple of her cheek. “You won’t marry anyway. Where’s the harm?”
With no little effort, her fingers detached themselves from his arm, and she gave a little wiggle to free herself from his embrace. “I have to go,” she murmured. “I don’t know how long it’s been—Nora must be worried.”
James suspected that Lady Ravenhurst had had a rather good idea of his intentions, and had tacitly approved them. “Go,” he said, giving her a gentle shove toward the path leading back up to the terrace. “I’ll be along shortly.”
“You said you would escort me,” she said, linking her fingers fretfully. “Lord Kirkland—”
“Kirkland won’t dare approach you again tonight,” he said. “I’m not fit to enter a ballroom just yet, Jilly.”
She didn’t understand. Her brows drew together, uncomprehending. He dug his gloves from his pocket, camouflaging a chuckle with a cough. “Ask Lady Ravenhurst,” he said. “She’ll understand.”

Chapter Eight