A Lady's Guide to Kiss A Rake: Misadventures of the heart by Tanya Wilde

clenched her teeth. Odious man. “My humble apologies for insulting your kiss. Are you satisfied now?”
    “No, but I suppose it will have to do.”
    “I suppose it does, now please leave,” Jo said, turning away.
    “I’m not ready to leave quite yet.”
    Her head snapped back. “You said if I apologized you’d leave.”
    He lifted his shoulders. “I lied.”
    Jo opened her mouth to impart a scathing retort when she spotted Craven approaching through the crowd, causing her to smile instead. St. Aldwyn’s gaze had turned suspicious at her sudden change of mood and Jo’s smile deepened even more. She did not care if Craven’s sole purpose was to rile St. Aldwyn, in all likelihood to get back at him for their brawl in the gardens. It suited her all the same. 
    “Lady Josephine, you look lovely this evening,” Craven spoke, prompting St. Aldwyn to stiffen, his face seemingly carved in stone.
    Ah good , her smile widened and she turned to direct all her attention to Craven. At her offered hand he a placed a soft kiss on the inside of her wrist, holding her palm slightly longer than deemed proper. The action caused St. Aldwyn to clench his fists and bunch his shoulders, as to void of a sudden attack.
    “What do you want, Craven?” His sharp voice pierced the air.
    Blue eyes locked with Jo’s, unaffected by St. Aldwyn’s rudeness. “I’m here to escort Lady Josephine to our dance.”
    Jo saw a spark of amusement before it was gone. Craven was indeed baiting the lion.
    “That won’t be necessary.” St. Aldwyn’s expression remained unchanged. “I will be dancing this set with Josephine .”
    “Oh stop it, both of you. I shall sit this dance out, thank you very much,” she finished in a huff and stalked away from the men, annoyed to be in the center of their tug of war. Almost like a piece of scrap two dogs were fighting over. She had thought it would be entertaining to see St. Aldwyn’s reaction to Craven, but both men proved to be equally bullheaded.
    While Jo had put some distance between them, she still overhead Craven’s amused voice when he said, “I see you’re still your charming self.”
    “Go to hell.” Came the reply, followed by the stomping footsteps of someone following her. St. Aldwyn seized her arm and proceeded to drag her to the far corner of the room.
    “Let me go,” she hissed, having seen her brother witness their exchange and begin to make his way through the crowd, his face like a thundercloud. She only possessed a few precious moments before her brutish brother reached them. “What has gotten into you?”
    That seemed to bring him up short.
    “I simply have to taste your sweetness again,” he replied.
    For pity’s sake.
    “Tell me you want me to kiss you again.”
    “I can’t, my brother will be on us in a moment,” she pleaded in a whisper.
    “Tell me or I will kiss you now for your dear brother to see.”
    “You would not dare!” Jo gasped, her eyes wide.
    “Tell me or you can explain to your brother why you allowed me to take such liberties.”
    Jo stared up at him, saw the truth in his eyes, the desire. Her breath caught. She wanted him to kiss her again. She wanted to be pressed up against his hard chest, strong arms holding her captive.
    “Yes, I do want to kiss you,” she admitted on a sigh. A heated spark entered his eyes, but it disappeared with her next words, “But we can never do so again.”
    “And why is that?”
    He seemed angry, but Jo could not dwell on the handsome man who stood before her. He’d flirted with many women in his life, shared their beds. Jo was not like those women. She would never be able to separate her heart from the deed and it became clear she’d be way out of her league where Damien was concerned. 
    “We just can’t,” she whispered, looking over to see (with relief) that her brother had been detained by one of the Middletons.
    St. Aldwyn leaned close, his scent overpowering her senses, and lowered his voice. “You