The Ugly Duckling Debutante_FINAL-3 by Rachel van Dyken Page A

his reputation. Men were used to getting out of his way.
    He leaned down and whispered, “Lady Sai, a word, if you please?”
    She excused herself from the gentlemen and linked her arm in his. Just one touch from her sent a longing shudder throughout his body. He tried to stifle the hunger that threatened to escape, but it was torture. He led Sai down a darkened hallway and onto a patio he once used to seduce women. Odd, that he would take her to the one place he knew nobody would find them. It wasn’t wise, he knew. He was making a mistake. They should be around people, not lurking in dark corners.
    He inhaled unsteadily and faced her. “Sai, I hope you don’t mind, but I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to retire for the evening.” He bent down to kiss her glove, but she had already removed it and was now feeling his forehead.
    “You do feel a little warm.” Her voice was heavy with worry. She rolled her eyes. “Maybe if you wouldn’t drink so much, it wouldn’t be a problem. I hear brandy is bad for fevers.”
    “What the devil do you mean? I don’t drink too much!” he argued.
    “You do. I’ve seen you throw back more than your fair share. I don’t approve.” She leaned over the railing, pulling away from him at the same time.
    Nicholas hesitantly drew closer. “I didn’t realize you were watching me so closely.”
    Eyes flickering with embarrassment, she looked away. So this was how she was going to play it, ignorant.
    “I assure you,” he cleared his throat. “I normally make no habit of consuming spirits of any kind, not even when I lived up to the reputation of the playboy of the ton .”
    She lifted her head to look at him. “Why now?”
    “Why, indeed,” he muttered, feeling pitiful and powerless.
    She said nothing about his confession, though he knew she had heard it. “Sai, I—“
    “Yes?” Her eyes looked innocent and hopeful.
    “I…” He shook his head. Why was this so hard? He refused to lose the bet, but then again, nobody would actually see them up here. What would be the harm? She had asked him to kiss her. Why shouldn’t she experience what it would feel like to be led down a dark hallway and kissed senseless?
    Forgetting everything except his own needs, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the unsatisfied passion he posessed. Her body went limp against his, as he took in more and more of her taste. Everything about her was fresh and alive. She tasted of newly picked strawberries, warm and inviting. He took the liberty of running his fingers through her hair and realized his mistake. It made him hungrier for more. He would never be satisfied with merely kissing this woman. Never. He cupped her chin and kissed down her neck, feeling her tremble with delight each time his lips met her skin. She seemed to purr as he left trails of kisses down her cheek; her eyes were closed, but he wanted nothing more than to see the two large emeralds aglow with desire gazing back at him.
    “Open your eyes,” he whispered huskily.
    For once she didn’t argue, but obeyed his bidding. It was enough to completely undo him. He picked her up and found her mouth again, this time with everything he had been thinking and feeling since meeting her. If he was going to kiss her, he wasn’t going to hold back, especially if she was to belong to someone else. His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest, the intense longing shot straight through his body, making him want to moan and shout all at once. This madness had to stop, or he would do more than just steal a kiss from the innocent girl.
    Unwillingly he set her feet back on the ground and hesitantly distanced himself from her. Her breathing was ragged. Her hair had fallen out of its pins, and her lips looked swollen and ripe. He didn’t think it possible, but she was more beautiful than before. Her eyes held questions he knew he would have to answer. He struggled to say something, something to reassure her