Lover Be Mine (Legendary Lovers 2)

“Thank you for your gallantry in tending to my wound, Lord Jack, but I must go.”

“Not so quickly, Miss Fortin. I mean to claim my kiss now.”

Her laughter faded, to be replaced by uncertainty.

“I need to be able to tell Skye and Kate that I succeeded,” he explained.

“I cannot kiss you.”

“You are not engaged to Dunmore yet, are you?”

“No.”

“Then what is the impediment?”

Her gaze dropped to his mouth, then lifted again, but she offered no reply.

“Think of it as an experiment,” Jack urged when she kept silent. “I simply want to test my sister’s hypothesis.”

A true statement, he rationalized. If Sophie Fortin was easily frightened by kissing him, then she couldn’t possibly be his ideal mate.

When she remained unmoving, he leaned forward until her lips were close enough to capture. He breathed in her sweet, feminine scent, then let his mouth caress hers with a featherlight pressure.

She gave a soft gasp at that mere contact, while he turned instantly hard at her delectable taste.

Jack drew back sharply. He’d known very few females who could arouse him so quickly, which in itself was an ominous sign. The stark attraction was there between them, without question.

Sophie had felt the same intense spark, too, he could tell, for she raised her fingers to her lips, eyeing him in wonder.

After a long moment of silence, she cleared her throat. “Did you learn what you wished to know?”

“Not in the least,” Jack replied, cursing mentally. Kissing her had left him even more conflicted. There might be something to Kate’s bloody theory after all.

Sophie let out her breath slowly. “It makes no difference. There could never be a match between us.” She sounded rather wistful.

“Why not?”

“The feud, for one thing.”

“I’ve always thought the feud to be rather silly.”

Sophie frowned at that. “My father certainly doesn’t consider it silly. It affected his entire life in a most detrimental way.”

“In what way?”

“When his grandfather died, Papa’s line lost the barony. The terms of the letters patent were peculiar. Inheritance went through the baron’s younger brothers instead of his sons. Therefore, both the title and accompanying fortune passed to Papa’s great-uncle rather than his father.”

“So he still holds a grudge after all this time? For a quarrel that dates back more than half a century?”

“I fear so. He will never forgive your relatives for depriving him of his birthright. And even if he could, he would never countenance a marital union between us when he has his sights set on my marrying a duke.” She sighed. “I should return to the masquerade. My family will wonder what has become of me.”

She rose from the couch, intent on leaving, but Jack stopped her by catching her hand.

“Don’t go yet.” The intensity in his tone surprised even him.

“I must.”

“At least allow me a better kiss.”