All Men Are Rogues by Sari Robins Page A

words. “Nothing was freely given. But with you, the passion was, is, very real .” Frowning, he observed, “You seem quite plainspoken in discussing such matters. Are you in the habit of accepting kisses?”
    “Hardly. I just do not understand what difference the kiss makes.”
    He shifted in his seat. “I like you. Everything about you. Can it not be as simple as that?”
    “Not in my experience.”
    He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully watching her. “It is understandable for you to be wary. And I applaud you for it. You have lived as a stranger the world over. You have no parents or protector….”
    She raised her brow. “Are you offering your services again?”
    He straightened, ostensibly horrified. “I would not dare disgrace you so.”
    Relieved, she leaned back against the cushion. He was just trying to help her, and here she was questioning his every motive. Since greeting her at the quay, he had been only the kindest of gentlemen to her. She had been living in her father’s world for too long. Her father’s world . She still had Father’s personal journal. He had railed that she keep it with her always. He had been so insistent. Perhaps there was valuable information inside? Information that could clear her father’s name and pave the way to free her inheritance. A small bubble of excitement jumped in her belly. The possibilities whet her appetite to take action. Not to sit by and allow the Mr. Marlboros of the world to have their way. What was Sully always saying? You are only as powerful as you choose to be.
    “If my offers for assistance offend you…” he stated tentatively.
    She waved her hand. “I am being silly, my lord. You are all that is kind and generous.”
    “Do not attribute such qualities to me, Miss Amherst. Being with you is purely self-serving.”
    Suspicion flared again. “How so?”
    “You are good company and my mother dislikes you. An irresistible combination.”
    She smiled, relaxing. “Ah, so much to recommend me.”
    “Beauty, keen wit, intelligence. What more could one want? I must confess, you are not at all what I expected.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Nothing like what I expected at all.”
    She tilted her head. “Is that another compliment, my lord?”
    He stared her straight in the eye. “I don’t know what it is.”
    “At least you are honest.”
    He shook his head. “Anything but. If I were being honest, I would confess my unholy desire to pull you into my lap and kiss you again.”
    She shook her head, smiling. “I’m glad that Ismet chose to ride up top.”
    “Why? He cannot understand me.” He rubbed his gloved finger across his bottom lip. “Or is it because that allows me to kiss you?”
    Her heart skipped a beat. She licked her lips, nervous anticipation making her stomach flutter. “In Ancient Rome a kiss was used as the legal bond to contracts, hence the use of a kiss at the end of a wedding ceremony to ‘seal’ the marriage vows.”
    He moved onto the seat beside her, and his heat beckoned. Taking her gloved hand, he raised it to his lips, asking huskily, “So what shall we agree to?”
    Her breath caught. He smelled of musk and man and was so disarmingly amiable. There was no one to jump in to “protect” her. She reminded herself that she was an adult. And with that responsibility came a certain amount of freedom. Her curiosity, mixed with a small measure of wanting that contact with another, coalesced into a sense of daring. There seemed no reason not to indulge the abandon of a little kiss, especially when the rest of her life seemed so devoid of pleasure. And Justin was just the safe person to allow her a taste of the forbidden fruit. He was kind and so delectably handsome, with his dimpled chin and lush lashes. Where was the harm?
    “Let us agree not to settle for anything,” she answered, her voice suddenly a thick whisper.
    “No marriage, you mean?” He leaned in close.
    “Anything.”
    He pressed his velvety lips