Catch a Falling Heiress: An American Heiress in London by Laura Lee Guhrke Page A

previous notions about matrimony went straight out the window. With her velvety lips beneath his and her lithe body pressed against him, Jack felt as if the earth were caving under his feet and his body had been lit on fire. Suddenly, giving all his kisses to just one woman for the rest of his life seemed more like delight than deprivation.
    Everything about her overwhelmed his senses. The taste of her mouth—warm and soft, with hints of sherry. The scent of her hair—delicate and luscious from the heliotrope. The shape of her—slim and lithe, with perfect curves that seemed to brand him on the spot. His own desire—pounding through his body, making his head spin and his heart thud in his chest.
    Somewhere in the vague recesses of his mind, he knew what he was doing was terribly wrong—compromising an innocent girl and all that—but with his arms wrapped around her and his mouth on hers, he couldn’t seem to conjure up a scrap of conscience about it, even with her mother standing right there. The fire in him was deepening and spreading, and he was falling, sinking with her into some dark, sweet oblivion where there were no regrets, no consequences—
    “What in heaven’s name is this?”
    The shocked voice of Mrs. Dewey intruded, but even that wasn’t enough to bring him back to reality. No, what pulled him from the brink, what forced him to appreciate just what he’d done, was the girl. He felt her body go rigid in his hold and her palms press against his chest, and he was forced to take his cue. When he pulled back, he noted with some chagrin the flush of maidenly outrage in her cheeks, but when her hands slid away and she took a step back, he perceived her intent and caught her wrist before she could act on it.
    He might deserve a hard slap across the face, and if this were any other situation, he’d let her give him his comeuppance, but in this case, he couldn’t allow it. Slapping him right now would ruin everything, not just for him, but also for her, for if he failed to stop her from marrying Van Hausen, her life would be ruined in ways she couldn’t begin to fathom.
    “Mrs. Dewey,” he reminded in a whisper. “Biggest gossip in Newport.”
    This caution seemed to make no impression. Her stunning eyes narrowed, her full pink lips parted. “Mother,” she said over her shoulder without taking her gaze from his, “this man—”
    “Is a cad,” he interrupted. Keeping firm hold of her by entwining their fingers, he moved to stand beside her and turned his attention to the ladies in the doorway. “I know these things ought to be done in the proper way,” he added, offering his most disarming smile, “but I had to declare my intentions to Linnet before speaking with her father.”
    “Linnet Holland, as I live and breathe.” It was clear Mrs. Dewey was scandalized, but beneath her shock there was unmistakable relish. “It’s no wonder my husband said you were walking down to the pagoda in a furtive manner. Why, you were preparing to engage in a tryst.”
    The girl made a sound of protest at this accusation of her impropriety, but Jack squeezed her hand hard and came to her defense before she could do it herself. “I must protest, Mrs. Dewey. You speak as if something improper is in progress, when the truth is quite the contrary. My fiancée has done nothing to earn your reproach, I assure you.”
    “Fiancée?” As expected, Mrs. Dewey pounced on the word at once. “Why, Lord Featherstone, I wasn’t even aware you and Linnet knew each other.”
    The girl jerked, managing to free her hand from his. “We don’t. I—”
    “It’s been a whirlwind courtship,” he cut her off again. She couldn’t appreciate the true reason for his actions, but for the love of God, didn’t she see that at this point, an engagement to him was the only way to save her from scandal?
    “I appreciate that you often know everything about everyone in society, Mrs. Dewey, on both sides of the pond. But you must