Shana Galen by True Spies

embarrassed her? He moved toward her, and she moved another step back. “You have forgotten yourself.”
    “No. I’ve finally remembered.” He took another step toward her, and she darted away from him. He was not going to chase her, but he didn’t have any qualms about cornering her. “If you object to the dining room, why don’t we go upstairs?”
    “The maids—”
    “—are easily dismissed.” He moved closer, and she took another step back. One more, and her back would be up against the window.
    “I do not know what has come over you,” she said, smoothing her perfectly neat hair into place, “but I am afraid I have an appointment this morning. I cannot accommodate you.”
    Winn’s fingers flexed. He would have liked to throttle her. He knew all about her appointment. How dare she put him off in favor of another man? And Smythe suggested he talk to her. Elinor would be lucky if he didn’t lock her in her room for the rest of the year. “I see.” He could have allowed her to go then. He was meeting Smythe in Hyde Park anyway, but Winn didn’t want to make it quite so easy. “I’ll have my valet fetch my coat and hat then,” he said.
    Her eyes widened. “What? Why?”
    “I thought I’d go with you.”
    “No!”
    He raised a brow, and she took a step back, bumping into the window. Now he had her trapped. “You object to my company that fervently?”
    “I don’t object to your company.”
    He stepped closer, planting his hands on the windowpane so he framed her head and those fat, glossy curls. He wanted to take one and wrap it around his finger. “I am glad to hear it. Where are we off to?”
    “I…”
    He could see her thinking, devising a lie. And what surprised him was that if he had not known she was lying, he would not have known it was a falsehood. He did not know her tells.
    “I have some shopping to do, underthings.”
    He smiled.
    “For the girls.”
    His smile dropped. Even though he knew she was lying, the thought of buying underthings for his daughters unnerved him. He did not want to know what the girls wore under their skirts. As far as he was concerned, they did not exist under their skirts. And he did not want to know otherwise.
    “So I’m certain you would rather stay at home.”
    He could not argue. He had her physically cornered, but she had more than outmaneuvered him mentally. “I will wait patiently for your return.”
    She gave him a puzzled look, for which he did not blame her. She ducked under his arm and started for the door, but he could not allow her to go that easily. He did not know what would happen in the park today, but Winn was not going to allow Elinor to meet her lover without thoughts of her husband on her mind. With lightning speed, he reached out, grasped her arm, and spun her back to face him.
    “What—?”
    He silenced her with a kiss. No gentle, tantalizing kiss this time. He wanted heat. He wanted to sear the memory of his lips on hers, his body pressed to hers, his arms holding her tightly—sear all into her mind. He wanted her to feel the lasting traces of the heat of their kiss all the way to Hyde Park and back. His mouth slanted over hers, his lips parting hers so he could taste her. She cried out in surprise, but he took without mercy, and soon she was clinging to him just to keep upright. He pushed her back against the window, cushioning her with his arms as he wrapped them around her waist.
    Outside, the wind battered the windowpane. The day had dawned dark and blustery. He could feel the cold seep through the wool of his coat, but he was far from chilled. Elinor was so warm—her mouth, her skin, the small sigh she made now when his tongue met hers. She was still stiff and unyielding. She did not want him to kiss her, but, like it or not, she did want him. She did desire him.
    He allowed one hand to roam over the indention of her waist and down the swell of her hips. He caressed the curve of her bottom and pressed her to him. She