My Lord's Lady by Sherrill Bodine

her waist stopped her flight and turned her back to face him. Abruptly his fingers caressed the mass of hair at the back of her neck, and forced her to look up into his glowing eyes.
    “I fear nothing,” he breathed.
    Then he bent forward and captured her mouth in an intimate, open kiss. His lips searched before his tongue daringly stroked her mouth. His fingertips traced down her throat, over her shoulders, to the high curve of her breasts above her gown.
    She met his kiss eagerly, and her skin swelled and warmed to his touch as a penetrating throb of pleasure raced through her. With the wall of detachment destroyed forever between them, she glimpsed the deep well of his passionate nature. She trembled, reacting as her own powerful needs were newly reborn.
    This answer was so sweetly enticing, it terrified her!

Chapter 6
    He feared nothing. Not the incredible sweetness of Georgina’s mouth, nor the passion spiraling through his blood when his hands moved to the slope of her back, pulling her lush softness even closer.
    He whispered her name against her mouth, while his fingers stroked her luxuriant hair. He heard a soft gasp come from the back of her throat and exhilaration pounded through him.
    Dragging his lips back and forth across hers, he coaxed her mouth open.
    Her response as her lips met his eagerly and her small body melded into his much larger one, was the most exquisite gift he’d ever been given.
    Stunned disbelief burned away his passion. Brusquely he freed her from the hot clinging kiss. Her sherry eyes were wide with shock above flushed rigid cheekbones. Shaking her head, she stepped back in denial.
    So did he.
    “Gracious me!” she breathed, her hands fluttering to her throat where a pulse throbbed.
    He had the oddest desire to place his mouth on that very spot.
    “This … this…” Suddenly she stopped, lifting her chin, and met his gaze with her old boldness. “This
attraction
is not enough to base a relationship upon. Even if we both wished it, which we don’t. You and I view the world in quite different ways, my lord.”
    “So it would seem,” he agreed, having learned long ago the most effective way to mask his true feelings.
    “Then we shall simply acknowledge this for what it is and go on with our lives.”
    Go on! How dare she? She’d been nothing but a sword thrust to his peace of mind from the moment they’d met. How, after what they’d just shared, when long forgotten emotions poured through him with such force, could she casually dismiss him? He drew upon his most powerful defenses but could think of no appropriate answer. The nonesuch reduced to speechlessness by a woman, and a bold and sassy one at that.
    “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to return to the children.” She spun about, threw the bolt, pushed the door wide, and ascended the stairs, all as if nothing momentous had just occurred.
    Bemused, he followed her with his eyes. After a moment’s reflection, he too made for the nursery. With all his well-laid plans in ruin around him, it seemed like the right course of action.
    Everyone waited, trying to appear busy. The children had books open in front of them, unfortunately Leticia’s was upside down. Sabrina sorted silks with Amesley’s desultory help. Only Tildie, rocking peacefully and mending, appeared to have any peace of mind. Georgina didn’t even have the chance to prejudice them against him, he arrived directly on her heels.
    So he was quite able to see Lawrence leap to his feet and rush to the door. “Are you all right?” he asked anxiously before seeing his father. Then a stuttered, “Oh, beg pardon, sir.”
    Leticia, ever the diplomat, threw herself into the breach. “Lady Georgina, your hair is ever so pretty falling down upon your shoulders. Isn’t it pretty, Father?”
    His sweet daughter’s attempt to soothe the awkward situation made it all the worse. Georgina suddenly realized how she must look, and guiltily tried to restore her hair to a