Courting Kit

“What? I thought perhaps you might show me just how a real man kisses a real woman?” Once again she pressed herself into him, murmuring, “For I mean to find out. I should much rather it be with you.”

* * *

Damn, but every fiber of his being was on fire, and in that moment he forgot everything, all the dictums, all the rules he had lived by.

Something snapped inside his brain when she suggested that she would learn about kissing from someone else.

What was wrong with him?

The next thing he knew he had her in his arms, pressed hard against his body, his manhood erect against her belly as he found her lips.

His tongue gently pried her lips open and explored. She was delicious.

She met his tongue with her own, in a tentatively curious fashion that left him hungry for more. She was using him to experiment, and he was excited beyond imagination.

The feel of her body in his arms was like nothing he had ever experienced before. It was as though rockets of energy shot through him, exploding on the way to his brain, neutralizing all rational thought.

Cad! He told himself he was a cad and managed to set her apart.

She said, “Oh … oh my, now that was a kiss. Shall we do it again?”

In spite of the hunger she had aroused in him, he stared and then burst out laughing. “No, we shall not. You have had your kiss, and if you liked it, fine. Now the next time you kiss a man, your heart should be in it.”

Cad, the voice repeated. She is a young maid whom you have no intention of marrying. He frowned when he saw the starry look in her eyes.

He said softly, “I should not have done that … forgive me … I … that was inexcusable.”

“Oh no, it was not. That was the very best kiss I have ever had or will ever have ever again,” said Kitty Kingsley!

~ Eighteen ~

NANNY WAS WIDE awake and chattering about the goodness of the earl and how nicely he had seen to everything. She remarked on the scenery’s loveliness and the pretty, thatched cottages they passed and in general was unaware that Kitty scarcely heard a word.

Kitty had other things on her mind.

“Indeed,” said Nanny, squirming just a bit in her seat. “Lovely scenery.”

Those other things that occupied Kitty’s thoughts were actually one thing—his kiss. She had meant the bantering as a tease and got carried away … and then, something had happened to her when she went into his arms. Somehow, her heart became involved.

Now all she could do was relive that kiss.

When the meal was at an end and it was time to leave the posting house, Kitty felt her mouth drop and her spirits fall when the earl announced that he would continue to ride as their outrider. She had expected—or at least hoped—he would keep them company in the barouche.

After what seemed a great deal of time had passed, she was beginning to feel cooped up. Now, she just seriously wanted to get out of the coach, and even Nanny looked as though she might need a ‘ladies’ break soon as she fidgeted beside her.

Kitty chewed her bottom lip, for at that point she had no further interest in the passing scenery, and said only, “Hmm …” She couldn’t bring herself to say anything much more than that.

The earl was an enigma. He had seen to their comforts at the Green Horse and behaved as though he had never kissed her lips and held her so wonderfully. Instead, he was all that was gentlemanly and appeared only politely concerned with their welfare and comfort.

He had made certain her dear Nanny was at ease and content with her meal. He had directed innocuous conversation towards her and never met her eyes once during the course of the meal. Frustrating was a mood, a hoary mood that threatened to ruin her day.

Had he not held her like a man hungry for a woman? She had been that woman. What then was wrong? She wasn’t a fool. She was certain—especially because she had felt his desire against her body—that he was more than a little attracted to her, but now he was behaving as though she were a hot iron made for branding, one from which he meant to stay clear.

It was most depressing.

The carriage began to slow, and she popped her head out the window but could see naught as it came to a halt. Once they’d stopped, the door opened on Nanny’s side of the carriage, and she felt an uncontrollable elation when she looked at the earl. Oh my, he was so handsome, and his smile … completely devastating.

Kitty’s heart raced in anticipation. Their eyes met, and she saw a warm twinkle in his blues. He did not direct himself to her but instead to Nanny as he tipped his hat and said, “Dear Nanny. I thought I would avail myself of the pleasure of your company for the next half-hour or so … if Kitty here wouldn’t mind?” He cast her a wicked look.