Her heart beat wildly as desire pulsed through her, settling between her legs. She wanted this man. Despite her belief that Dashlane was the Lord for her, it was Hartwell’s touch, smell, and feel that made her heart race in her chest. She’d been wrong all along.
She blinked up at him, trying to form words that wouldn’t come. What did she say that expressed how her feelings had shifted, grown sharper with such a small touch?
“Are you upset with me?” he asked, his voice rough and gravelly.
Upset? “No. Of course not,” she answered, squinting up at him through the sun. Her umbrella had fallen to her side. Why would she be upset? “It was a lovely first kiss. I never imagined…”
“First kiss?” he croaked, his hand tightening at her waist.
A flush started to climb her cheeks. “Does that bother you?”
He shook his head. “Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Pain lanced her chest at the idea that he regretted the touch. She tried to step back, but her knees were still wobbly and he tightened his grip on her waist. “Let me go.” Why did her voice sound so raw?
“Juliet,” he whispered. “Wait.”
She shook her head. What was wrong with her? Dashlane didn’t like her. Not really. And now Hartwell rejected her. Her sisters had effortlessly received proposals and yet here she was…
“I’m so foolish,” she said, covering her mouth while still holding his jacket. She pried her fingers loose, trying to take a step back once again. “Please don’t tell anyone. I—”
“Don’t tell anyone?” his voice had dropped low. “You should be demanding that I marry you for taking such liberties.”
She stopped, her head spinning. Was that why he regretted the touch? He was worried about being forced to marry her? “I don’t want you to propose.”
He tugged her just a bit closer. “I’m not sure whether I should be insulted or relieved.”
His words so closely mirrored her own feelings that a laugh bubbled up in her chest. “Lord Hartwell—”
“Dane,” he corrected, cupping her cheek. “For this conversation, you should use my given name.”
“Dane,” she whispered, testing the name in her tongue. She liked it. It suited him. “I thought you didn’t like my kiss.”
He grimaced, placing a hand on her waist. “It was a fantastic kiss.” He stepped closer, dropping his forehead to hers. “I just don’t normally act without thinking through the consequences of those actions and I had no intention of kissing you today. My withdrawal is my own internal struggle.”
Relief washed through her. He wasn’t rejecting her. He’d been taken by fancy and kissed her. That was so much better. “Well, in this case, there will be no consequences. I won’t tell if you won’t. But I would like to ask you a favor.”
He softly massaged her cheek, his nose touching hers. “What favor is that?”
“At the ball tomorrow night, would you dance with me? One single dance? I’m afraid no one will ask and then I’ll be the only one of my sisters who…”
“Juliet,” he said her name again, this time on a strangled groan. “You, of all people, can’t actually be afraid of being a wallflower.”
She shrugged, the confession that rose to her lips painful to admit. “Lots of people find me irritating. Even my family, though they love me.”
He drew in a deep breath. “I don’t. I love that you put yourself out there. I think you’re marvelous.”
Her brows drew up. That made heat flush her cheeks. Those words filled her with warmth. “Even though you don’t want to wed me? You looked awfully frightened after that kiss.”
A muscle in his jaw ticced and he swallowed. “It’s not you that frightens me. I was nearly engaged once. I thought I knew her too. That was until I caught her in the arms of another man telling him how dreadful I was.”
Chapter Eight
Juliet stepped back, and her breath hitched while she held Dane’s gaze with hers. “Oh, how terrible. I’m so sorry,” she said. She raised her hands, rubbing his arms in a comforting gesture even as her eyes softened, drawing him in, as her words registered.
Even now, the memory brought a painful lump into his throat. But Juliet’s compassionate reaction caught him off guard. Dane swallowed hard, still unable to comprehend why he’d even revealed this private information to her.
But the kiss had scrambled his normally ordered mind. He wasn’t acting rationally or reasonably.