Enticing the Earl

“Please don’t go yet.” She had no idea why she wanted Hart to stay. For some reason he brought her more comfort than either her mother or Selina.

“Very well.” He sat back against the chair. “Do you want to tell me who did this to you?”

“Please don’t kill him, my lord.”

His face tightened and a little tic pulsed in his jaw. “No promises, Miss Featherstone.”

“Allan Davies.”

Hart gave her a look of confusion. “You say that name as if I should know it.”

“You don’t?” This made no sense. Allan had always disparaged Hart, his money and his title. She had quickly discovered that Allan was afraid of the man and refused to walk on his lands.

“I have never heard of the man.”

“He acted as if he knew you.”

Hart looked away and then slowly shook his head. “I do not believe I have ever met the man.”

“That’s odd.” Mia stifled a yawn. “Drat this laudanum. I swear Selina only gave it to me in retaliation for me giving some to her when she’d been shot.”

He smiled down at her. “I remember that day.”

Mia’s heart gave a lurch. His light gray eyes held nothing but kindness right now. But he was a man. With a man’s strength and heartlessness. She’d vowed as Allan was pummeling her that she would never become involved with a man again. Besides, if Hart ever learned that she had stolen from his lands, he would be furious with her. She knew how these lords watched every farthing that passed through their lands.

“My lord, I am quite tired thi

s evening. Thank you for checking on me. As soon as I’m able, I will get back to my mother’s cottage.”

“Miss Featherstone, there is no need for haste. I have thirty bedchambers in this old place.”

“But...”

He nodded and raised a brown eyebrow at her. “No more about this. Even your mother agreed that you are to stay here until you are fully healed. The duchess will stay the night with you. Good night, Miss Featherstone.”

“Good night, my lord.”

“If you are going to be here for some time, please call me Hart or Simon. I get dreadfully tired of all the ‘my lords.’” He rose and walked to the door.

“Yes, my lord.”

He stopped and turned back to her with a smile. Deep dimples lined both cheeks and suddenly her heart lurched again. What was wrong with her?

“As you wish, Hart,” she corrected.

“Much better.” He retreated from the room, leaving her in silent thought.

Why would she suddenly see Hart in a different light? They had known each other since they were children. There was no doubt that he was a very handsome man. Light brown hair cut short and stylish. Broad shoulders and strong arms born from working this estate like a tenant more often than a lord.

She had seen him do everything from putting in a landscaped garden to fixing a spout on a waterfall. No task was too small or too big for him. And all that work had put hard muscle on his body. She shouldn’t have such intimate knowledge of his body, but she had been called to stitch him up after an accident had left his chest with a deep wound. If she hadn’t been affected by him then, why was she now?

Because he’d saved her. That was all there was to it.

That was why she had never noticed how perfectly molded his lips were. And why had she never wondered what those lips would feel like against her own? Or imagine his fingers tracing a path down her breast.

“What a kind man.”

Mia blinked both eyes at the sound of Selina’s voice and then instantly regretted the action. Her right eye ached with the movement. “Who are you talking about?”