The children echoed their approval in hearty accents, and both Cherry and Sky watched their departure in some amusement. Cherry turned and peeped a look at Sky as she remarked, “I don’t know what you and Freddy talked about, or what you did, but whatever it was, it had a profound effect on him. Why, I thought I would die when he announced his intentions of picking up his books and studying tomorrow. Says he means to make up the work he has missed and get himself reinstated at school!”
Sky put down his snifter of brandy as he moved towards her. He didn’t speak, and she felt her heartbeat begin to accelerate. She began rattling on about dinner, and anything else she could think of, until he stopped in front of her so close she thought she could hear his heartbeat.
She looked up into his blue eyes and unconsciously licked her lips. The moment was inevitable. Their proximity to one another filled the room with a pulsating electric current. The air they breathed seemed warm and seductive. She couldn’t stop him, didn’t want to stop him when he wrapped her in his arms and bent to kiss her. His mouth closed on hers with an eagerness that made her feel as though she were melting into him.
Her response was full, hot-blooded woman. She held him, pressed her body into him, invited him to continue …
His kiss developed into another, and she thought herself lost to him, to his touch and his kiss, just as she had before when he had taken her to his bed. So much rested on her ability to keep him at bay …
She was in love with him and wanted him to recognize that what they felt for each other was more than lust. She didn’t want to be a tease, but, for the moment, she had lost control.
Someone wiser, stronger in her mind demanded, Stop, Cherry—stop! And she
managed to put her hand out and push against his chest. He allowed her to pull away; she knew it was not his style to force a woman.
“Why do you hold out against me, sweetheart?” he said, his voice husky.
Why that should irritate her, she couldn’t say, but it did. She knew he wouldn’t declare love for her. He wasn’t ready for that, yet it felt demeaning. It shook her. She had given in to her desires, and now he thought she belonged to him whenever he wanted. Softly she answered, “Because I must.”
He frowned down at her, and his hands dropped to his side. “You must?”
“Proprieties … my lord, dictate that I get over my … infatuation with you and behave like the governess that I am.”
“It is a bit too late for that,” he scoffed.
“Do you think so? I, however, do not.” His words had stung, and she fought to get control over her trembling body.
“You can’t change what happened—you can’t stop what we feel for each other.”
“Lust? I believe that we are not animals and can control it. What happened was obviously a mistake.” She turned and started to walk away.
* * *
Damnation! What was this new turn of events? She couldn’t walk away from him, from what they had together! He wanted her more than he had ever thought it possible to want a woman. He more than wanted her—he damn well liked her, a great deal in fact.
“Cherry … stay, please …”
“What then, do you mean to proposition me again with the promise of ‘looking after me’. Should I accept that? Should I take a little cottage and leave my position here as governess? Or do you wish me to carry on as governess during the day and mistress by night? Shall I accept, my lord? Is that what you want?”
Her words cut through him. He felt a cad, and yet, he wanted her. Damn, but he couldn’t go on this way, wanting and not having her. She wanted him too. He was sure of it. “Stop it!” he snapped at her. “It isn’t like that.”
“Is it not? I rather think it is precisely like that,” she answered and turned away once more. “Good night, my lord.”
“Cherry, don’t go.”
She turned and looked at him, “Yes, my lord?”
“Don’t you see … don’t you know—we could have so much together, and I would always see to it that you are protected from wagging tongues.”
He saw a flash of anger in her aqua blue eyes as she answered, “I see and understand you very well, my lord. That sort of life would not do for me.”
“Cherry … love, I don’t know how I can do without you.” He tried taking her into his arms once more, and it took everything she had to pull away. He let her and dropped his hands to his sides.
“You must understand my position, even if you cannot like it,” she offered him.
“I do,” he said softly.
“Good,” she answered promptly. “If you will excuse me then, my lord.”