Desperate and Daring 01 - Desperate and Daring by Ella J. Quince Page B

say, though her heart was beating alarmingly fast and a burst of pleasure filled her when he said her name.
    His jaw clenched, but he didn’t move closer. He stayed perfectly still and just stared at her. “You don’t want me to kiss you? Truly?”
    Heather shook her head weakly. “I like the way you say my name.”
    His face softened and his eyes suddenly a vivid blue behind his spectacles. “Heather.”
    Heather had the urge to reach out and touch his coat suddenly. To walk her fingers up the lapel to his neck. She curled her fingers into her skirt instead. “What is your name?”
    His lips turned up at the corners ever so slightly. “You wish to know my name?”
    She nodded, her lips curving in a return smile.
    “It’s Fallon.”
    “Fallon,” she said, feeling the weight of it on her tongue.
    “I have to kiss you right now,” he begged, and then he removed his glasses and stepped closer.
    Heather put a hand on his chest to push him away, but then she became preoccupied with the feel of it, the warmth she could feel through his clothing, the obvious hard muscle underneath. She looked at her hand against his chest. Mesmerized, she spread her fingers using various amounts of pressure to test the hardness of his chest. She had never felt this way about a man before, never desired to kiss him or touch him as she did now. This feeling was dangerous, much more so than any teasing rogue who wished to toy with her. The danger was he and the danger was she, because with him, she forgot what she was about, and another part of her took over.
    “Fallon,” she said again, pausing to swallow, “why are you talking about me to the other gentlemen?”
    He swallowed too, his Adams apple moving up and down with it. “I was curious to see what they thought of you. If they found you as enchanting as I do.”
    She spread her hand out again, sliding it slowly up to his shoulder. He inched closer to her. “What did you find out?” she asked huskily.
    “I was right. The only thing standing between you and a proper marriage is the lack of dowry. But to some here that may not matter anymore. My interest—I mean, the duke’s interest, has spurred the interest of others.”
    “Interest you wish to dissuade on the dukes behalf?”
    He had been watching her hand, but at that, he looked at her. Heather looked up to meet his eyes.
    “I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything. I don’t know where it came from, or if it can even be satisfied, but I want you, and I can’t stop it. I’m in a difficult position, Heather. I came here as a steward. I’m beneath you.”
    “You are so much more than a steward,” Heather whispered.
    He closed his eyes. “Please, let me kiss you.”
    Inside, Heather thrilled at the need in his voice. No man had ever wanted her so badly or spoke to her with such desire. It was a new experience for her, one she was dying to explore. Would he be the first and last man to desire her? If she married the duke that would be a certainty. For all the interest with which he spoke of from the other gentlemen, Heather knew it would never come to anything. She didn’t have the time to be courted. She needed a husband by the end of the party. She needed a place to go for her family. Only the duke could offer that. If he agreed at the end of the week to a marriage, they would immediately file for a special license and return with him to his home. That was her only choice, but for right now, in this gazebo, she had a muscled chest beneath her hand, and a handsome and kind man begging to kiss her. She closed her eyes. She wished she were dreaming so she could let him kiss her, and desperately kiss him back.
    His arms came around her and pulled her against him. She opened her eyes with a gasp but didn’t fight him. Instead, she reveled in the warmth of his body, the strength of it. He was such a large man, but he was inherently kind in almost everything he did. She wished she could have met him in another life,