“When I learned he was ill, that he was dying, I thought we would repair things, but he wasn’t interested in such sentiment.” Instead, he’d focused on what Tobias needed to do when he was gone—take care of his ward and marry as soon as possible or suffer the consequences.

“I’m so sorry,” Fiona said softly.

“He found my behavior abhorrent, and I must admit I did my damnedest to ensure he felt that way. His disapproval was the best approval I could earn.” He shook his head. “Looking back, that was not a terribly wise choice considering that I would need to marry at some point.”

“I did not help matters with my behavior.” She grazed her fingertips against his leg, sending a flash of heat through him. From the moment he’d glimpsed her in the doorway, his body had thrummed with a steady, insistent longing. Her touch amplified the sensation so that need pulsed through him, sending blood rushing to his cock.

He shifted in an attempt to get his coat to mask his desire, but it was fairly hopeless. Perhaps she wouldn’t notice.

“Please don’t continue to fret about what happened,” he said thickly. “My reputation was well known before you dressed up as a maid.”

“Still, you were on the way to improving things, and I ruined that.”

He stared at the pale column of her throat where her pulse beat strong and sure, and perhaps a bit quickly. “Did you?”

Her lips parted, and he wondered if she felt the same arousal as him, if that was even possible. For he was powerfully drawn to her and wanted nothing more than to lay her out on the settee, lift her skirts, and bury himself between her legs.

“What are you asking?” she whispered.

“I’m not really asking anything.” In his mind, he peeled her stocking away and kissed the backs of her knees before skimming his tongue along her thigh. Clearing the lust from his throat, he continued, “I’m merely pondering whether you had anything to do with it. Perhaps I am truly what my father and everyone else believes—a reprobate, a rogue, a scoundrel.”

“Of course you aren’t.”

“No? Then why is it that when I look at you, all I can think about is kissing you? And not just your mouth. In my mind, I strip away your clothing so I may kiss you everywhere. That is surely improper, for you are my ward. No, it’s beyond improper, it’s scandalous.” He straightened his arm and allowed his fingers to graze her shoulder—first the part that was covered with the sleeve of her gown, then her bare flesh as he moved toward her neck. “It’s positively shameless.”

“Would it be so bad if it was just one kiss?” the question was higher than her usual tone. Her eyes were wide, her pupils dilated with unmistakable desire.

“But what if it wasn’t?” He trailed his fingertips up the side of her neck to a spot behind her ear. He gently pressed his thumb to her jaw.