The Sweetest Kiss (Brothers of Worthington Series) by Marie Higgins

tried to relax her by rubbing his thumbs along her knuckles. “Judith, I might as well come right out and say it.”
    “I wish you would.”
    “Judith.” He held her gaze. “Did you…give yourself to him?”
    She gasped, yanked her hands away from his, and jumped to her feet. The quick motion scooted the chair back, which put distance between them.
    “How dare you!”
    He stood. “Now, Judith. I have every right to ask.”
    “You certainly do not.”
    “My mother is sponsoring you. She is spending money on your coming out ball. If you are already um…deflowered, then she has the right to know. Why should she spend money on instructing you for a ball you do not need?”
    Tears glinted in her eyes, but she blinked the moisture away. “Just because you took liberties and kissed me in the woodsman’s cottage, does not mean I’m the kind of woman who gives them freely.”
    He admired her courage to stand up to him, and—he believed her. She could be lying, but deep down inside, he didn’t think so. Relief poured through him, and he nearly sighed aloud.
    “I’m relieved to hear that, Judith.” He reached for her, but she took another step backward. “Now that we have that out of the way, would you like to finish writing this letter?”
    Several minutes passed as they stared at each other. She stood straight with her arms at her side, her hands fisted. Lines of anger marred her beauty, and he wanted to stroke the skin and make them disappear.
    Finally, she nodded and walked to her chair. As he settled in his seat, he picked up the quill. “Now, let us continue.”
    As Trey wrote, he asked for suggestions, which she responded to coldly. His heart twisted, knowing he was responsible for humiliating her. But he had to know. Not only for his mother’s sake, but because he needed to know for his own peace of mind.
    It surprised him that Lieutenant Cutler was such a gentleman. That man must have been immune, because Trey found it almost impossible to be near Judith without wanting to take her intimately in his arms. Even now as he glanced at her, regret for making her feel this way wrung his heart and he wanted to hold and comfort her.
    Once the letter was written and sealed with his family’s crest, he leaned back in his chair and smiled. Still, her expression remained impassive, her attention remaining on the missive.
    “Now what happens?” she asked.
    “I will have this delivered to my solicitor. Then we wait.”
    She bobbed her head, but stayed in her chair. Silence stretched through the room. In the hallway, the grandfather clock struck two. There was no light in her eyes. No lift to her mouth. It was as if the life had been sucked right out of her.
    His throat tightened. What had he done? “Judith?”
    Slowly, she moved her gaze to meet his. “Yes?”
    “I can tell you are still put out about that question. Please forgive me for asking. I just needed to know.”
    “I understand.” Her bottom lip quivered before her tongue darted out and swept across it. “But what I don’t understand is why…why…”
    He leaned forward, linking his fingers across his knees. “Why I needed to know? I thought I had explained that.”
    She shook her head. “No, what I want to know is why Alex didn’t try to take advantage of me when he had the chance.”
    Her answer was so very soft, he wondered if he misunderstood. The tears forming in her eyes confirmed her statement. She actually thought this was her fault?
    He took hold of her clasped hands again. Instead of being moist, they were cold. He rubbed his thumbs over her skin, hoping to warm her up. “My dear Judith, what are you saying? Did you want him to compromise you?”
    She hiccupped a laugh. “I never thought of this until now, but Alex could have compromised me several times. He was not raised with noble parents, yet he was very proper around me.” She blinked as the tears continued to build. “In fact, you have touched me more than he has.”
    Trey