The Husband Hunt (Madison Sisters 3)

"Oh my, yes. I have only seen one or two, but quite enjoyed them," she said easily.

"And do you like flowers?"

"Always, my lord. They are quite lovely and cheering. "

"And your favorite sweet?"

"My favorite sweet?" Lisa grinned and teased. "Will you cook it for me?"

He laughed at the suggestion. "Not I. But my cook is known to make the best pastries in London and I would be pleased to have her make whatever you like. I could then bring it to you tomorrow if you would allow it. "

Lisa considered it briefly, but finally said, "Of course I will allow it. I'd be happy to see you again tomorrow. As for what to have your cook make, surprise me, my lord. Have your cook make whatever she makes best. Something you like. "

"I know just the thing," he assured her. "You shall love it. " "I shall look forward to it, my lord," she said with a laugh. "As shall I," Pembroke assured her and then glanced around with a frown as the music came to an end. Grimacing, he murmured, "I guess this is the end of our dance. "

"Oh," she said with surprise and glanced around. It had seemed to go by quickly as they talked. Smiling faintly, she turned her gaze back to him and said, "Well, thank you for the dance, my lord. "

"Thank you, Miss Madison. It is always a pleasure," he assured her.

"Yes it is. "

Lisa glanced to the side at that comment to see Lord Findlay had approached.

"My waltz, I believe," he said with a grin, and then nodded to the other man. "Pembroke. "

"Findlay," Lord Pembroke murmured, giving Lisa up to him. Before he left, however, he smiled at Lisa and said, "Till tomorrow. "

"Yes. " She smiled and then turned her attention to Charles as the waltz began.

"Tomorrow?" Findlay asked mildly as he swept her into the dance. "I take it Pembroke plans to call on you again?"

"It would seem so," Lisa said with a grin. "He is bringing me sweets from his cook who he claims is the best in London. "

"I have heard that," Findlay allowed. "I suppose this means I shall have to come as well, bearing something to top his offering. "

Lisa chuckled at the suggestion. "Surely it would have to be something special to top the best sweets in London, my lord. "

"Yes, I suppose it shall," he acknowledged and then smiled wryly. "I shall have to consider carefully on what to bring. "

"Hmm," she said with amusement, finding it heady that two of the most eligible, not to mention the handsomest, bachelors in town were vying for her attention thusly.

"In the meantime," Charles murmured, steering her about the floor. "I believe there is the question of that kiss I have been trying to claim. "

"Ah yes, the kiss," she said, lips twitching. "Well, surely you will not try to claim it here on the dance floor, my lord? That would cause quite the scandal. "

"Oh, I would never do that and risk damaging your reputation," he assured her.

"I am glad to hear it. "

"And of course, if I wait for the quadrille and try to escort you outside for fresh air, your watchdog, Lord Langley, would be on us and no doubt drag you away again before I could do more than take you in my arms. "

"No doubt," Lisa agreed dryly.

"Fortunately, I thought of that and made my plans accordingly. " "Did you?" she asked with interest. "And what plans are those?" "Well, at this very moment a couple of my friends are talking with him, and blocking his view of us. Unintentionally, of course. "

"Oh, of course," she said on a laugh and turned to glance toward where Robert had been standing all night. Sure enough, a group of three men were surrounding him.

"And, I have danced us to the terrace doors," Findlay added. Lisa turned her attention to her other side to see that they were indeed only feet from a set of terrace doors.

"All I am waiting for is your permission to whisk you out for a breath of fresh air and a kiss," he said quietly. "Do I have your permission?"

Lisa turned to face him, taking in the solemn question on his face as she debated her response. It was one thing to decide to allow a man a kiss should he make the attempt. It was another thing entirely to be asked and actually have to give permission. For some reason saying yes felt, well, a bit bold. It turned it from allowing something to be taken, to actually giving. Which was just silly, she supposed.

Was she not eager for this first kiss business? Had she not been disappointed that Robert had interrupted them now twice? She really did want to know what it was like, and if she would like it.

Forcing her head up, Lisa opened her mouth but couldn't actually find it in herself to say yes. Instead, she closed her mouth, swallowed and simply gave one small, quick nod.

Fortunately, it was enough. In the next moment, Charles was turning, whirling them out through the open doors and onto the terrace so fast that she felt sure no one had noticed. Once out in the cool evening air, he broke their embrace and walked her to the railing at the shadowed edge. Lisa went silently, her head bowed now as nervousness roared up within her. He was going to kiss her. Dear God. Her first kiss and it wasn't going to be Robert.

That didn't matter, she reminded herself grimly. What did matter was . . . what if she was a bad kisser? She hadn't a clue what she was supposed to do in a kiss. Did she just stand there with her eyes closed and lips puckered? Was she expected to kiss back? If so, how? Her sisters and their husbands had kissed in front of her, but mostly they were merely quick pecks. However, she knew from her reading that there was much more than a simple brushing of lips in a proper kiss. There was nibbling and thrusting tongues and sucking and all sorts of things that sounded rather silly but were apparently quite delightful. On the other hand, perhaps he wouldn't give her a proper kiss. Perhaps he would just brush her lips with his this time and -

&nbs

p; "I can almost hear your mind whirring. "

Lisa glanced up with surprise at Findlay's amused words to find that while she was fretting, he'd urged her back up against the railing and stepped in front of her.

"You look nervous," he commented solemnly, slipping one arm around her to draw her closer, while using his free hand to tilt her chin up and then let his fingers trail down her throat. "Have you never been kissed before, Lisa?"

Eyes wide at the goose bumps his touch raised in her, she shook her head.

"Ah. " For some reason the news made him smile, and then his expression turned solemn and he said, "Never fear. It is like dancing. The man leads, the woman follows. I will teach you. All right?"

She gave a jerky nod, and then held her breath as his mouth lowered toward hers. Some part of her mind was waiting for Robert to bark out her name and interrupt again. In fact, she was quite surprised when Charles's lips brushed over hers without that happening. She was even more surprised when the pressure of his lips increased and then softened as his mouth opened and he nipped at her lips teasingly.

Lisa moved instinctively closer then, feeling some of that warmth she'd read about slide through her body, along with a desire to feel more. Her own mouth opened a bit, her lips nipping back as he was doing and her arms slipped around his shoulders. The action raised her breasts, which were suddenly pressed against his chest as he tightened his embrace and the action sent a frisson of interest through her that had her pressing closer still.

When his hand slid up the back of her neck to cup her head and tilt it slightly to his preference, that sent another little shock of pleasure through her. She quite liked his handling her so. Certainly, she had no idea what to do with her head. It was all very pleasant and making her tingly, so when he suddenly broke the kiss and eased back, she opened her eyes to peer at him with disappointment.

"Is that all?"

A surprised chuckle of amusement burst from Findlay. Once it passed, he shook his head and said solemnly, "No, my dear, that is certainly not all. However, that is as much as a gentleman would permit himself with a lady such as yourself. "

"Oh," Lisa breathed, and smiled crookedly as he eased her out of his arms. She supposed it was good that she wanted more. That was certainly a promising sign. But at the moment she just felt a bit frustrated, as if she'd been given a taste of something that might be quite delicious, but hadn't got enough to tell for sure.

"We should go back in," Findlay murmured, easing her to his side. "My friends cannot keep Langley busy forever. "

"Yes, I suppose we should," Lisa agreed quietly as he walked her back across the terrace. They were nearly to the doors when movement out of the corner of her eye made her glance to the side. Her step faltered and her eyes widened slightly when she saw the man watching them. Robert. Stock still and silent in the shadows, his expression unreadable. It seemed Charles's friends hadn't been able to keep him busy for long at all. She wondered how long he'd been there . . . and why he hadn't intervened this time as he had the others . . . and what he was thinking as he watched them slip back into the ballroom.