It seemed beyond belief that their sexual encounters, however torrid, created this intensity. It was like her heart beat at his command. Her head swam, and she forced air into her lungs.
Still, the silent conversation continued, incessant as waves against the seashore.
I want you.
Touch me.
Take me to your bed.
Never let me go.
She gasped in distress and faltered back as if she’d spoken the last words aloud.
What was wrong with her? She used Ashcroft for her own ends. She lied and cheated and treated him little better than a stud bull. Nothing existed between them except sex.
Although that wasn’t how it felt right now.
If she was honest, that wasn’t how it had felt when he held her in his arms through a long, hot afternoon either.
She did him enough injury without risking an emotional connection. What she’d planned had always been predicated on his feeling nothing beyond passing sexual interest.
Laura’s certainty plagued her, set up an ominous drone in her head. One word.
Besotted.
No, he couldn’t be. It was outside the realms of possibility. He was a man of the world, and she was a country bluestocking. He was just caught up in the excitement of a new affair.
She blinked and forced herself into the present. Laura stood silently at her side, avidly watching the interaction. Her friend, so perceptive, would divine something of what ran through Diana’s head.
Pray God she didn’t divine everything.
Another quivering breath, and Diana made herself speak, act as if nothing out of the ordinary occurred. “Lord Ashcroft, allow me to introduce my friend, Miss Laura Smith.”
She found little satisfaction in noticing Ashcroft took a fraction too long to return to reality as well. He bowed low to Laura just as he’d done to her, as if he addressed women of rank. “Miss Smith.”
Laura curtsied. “My lord.”
“Are you enjoying your visit to Town?”
“I must admit I prefer the countryside.” Laura made no attempt to mask her inspection of him.
Nor did he conceal his interest in her. Perhaps he subjected every female to this detailed appraisal. Perhaps he sized Laura up as a bed partner. The man Burnley had described wouldn’t hesitate to seduce another woman while in a current mistress’s presence.
Diana didn’t think that was what Ashcroft was doing.
There wasn’t a hint of the sensual assessment she’d read in his eyes from their first meeting. Laura and Ashcroft weighed each other up as adversaries before a fight.
“Has your aunt gone?” Diana asked, forcing a steady tone even as her heart dipped and leaped with excitement.
He shook his head. “They’re a few rooms ahead. I told them I forgot my gloves.”
“Did you?”
“No, they
’re in my pocket.” A faint smile slanted his lips. She wished she didn’t find it utterly beguiling.
“If you delay too long, she’ll suspect something.”