Fancy nearly shoved the woman aside in order to prove her wrong by latching her mouth on to Mr. Sommersby’s. That thought brought her up short. Whatever was wrong with her? Was she truly thinking of kissing him? She couldn’t deny wondering what it might be like to have his mouth pressed up against hers. “I would very much hate to have to report your inappropriate behavior to Beast. You might want to do yourself a favor by returning to your studies.”

Lottie winked at Mr. Sommersby. “Ye might get that kiss ye be wantin’ after all.”

She sauntered away, her hips swaying in such an exaggerated fashion that Fancy was surprised the woman didn’t harm herself. Her parting words made it difficult to meet Mr. Sommersby’s eyes. Instead she settled on studying his chin. It was one of the finer examples of nature doing its best work. It jutted out, not too much, but enough so it didn’t become lost in the muscles of his throat. It fanned out into a strong, square jaw, well-defined but then everything about him was.

“We should probably return to our lessons now.” She despised how her voice sounded almost meek, a tiny bit breathless.

“She wasn’t half-wrong, you know.”

Her gaze did jump to his then. “About it being hot in here?”

“About my wanting to kiss you.”

Chapter 10

He shouldn’t have said it, but hell, it was hard not to want to devour her mouth when the woman was passionate about every damn thing in her life. He watched her turn red and nod jerkily, before she mumbled something about getting back to work. Then she gathered her students around her like a goose her goslings—or perhaps a knight his armor. He’d unnerved her, which hadn’t been his intention. Yet, he’d felt a need to at least confirm he was drawn to her.

Did she truly think that men attending the ball weren’t going to want a taste of that luscious mouth? That any gent in her company wasn’t wondering what it might be like to press his lips to hers, urge them to part, and slide his tongue inside in order to know fully the velvety confines within and the taste of her?

If his thoughts continued on this path, he was going to grow hard and embarrass himself. The doxy would certainly notice and no doubt call attention to him or at least tease him unmercifully later. So he focused on her hair, the silkiness of it, and how the heavy black strands would flow over his hands if he removed the pins holding them in place. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. That foray certainly hadn’t helped matters.