Mistletoe Kisses and Yuletide Joy by Jo Beverley Page A

their country seat?
    "Tell me about your family, my lord."
    They continued their stroll. "I have two brothers and one sister. Mary is married. Harold is in the army, Charles in the Church."
    " Down at your home?"
    " No," he said with a wry smile. "Charles decided to take religion very seriously and has a living in a northern mill town. My parents are fit to tear their hair out over it."
    " And your sister? Will she and her family be visiting Oakhurst?"
    " She's celebrating Christmas at her own home."
    " So your parents will be alone for Christmas, my lord. That seems rather sad."
    " Did I give you permission to judge my family's contentment, Miss Mayhew?"
    A distinct tremor of nervousness shot through Kitty, but she kept her chin up. "Do I need it? You did say you would tell me why you are here alone."
    " Ah, so I did."
    They were close to the door to an adjacent room, and he turned the knob, then gestured her through.
    Kitty hesitated.
    " We'll leave the door open," he said. "If either of our charges screams, we can rush back in. Don't you think, though, that they might be permitted to steal a kiss?"
    Kitty knew nothing about this kind of chaperonage, but she supposed that as long as she and Lord Chatterton were in the same room, Ned and Pol wouldn't feel free to kiss. She went with him, therefore, into a simple ante room that lacked any sense of being a true living space. It also lacked a fire, and was distinctly chilly.
    "It hardly seems worth the time to find your shawl, does it?" The next thing she knew, she was in his arms.
    " My lord!" But Kitty hissed it, not wanting to disturb the courting couple.
    " I'm just blending our body heat, Miss Mayhew. Relax."
    It was true that he was doing nothing other than holding her close, and that his warmth was welcome. Even so, the feel of his body against hers was... distracting.
    "Perhaps it's time to go back," she whispered into his shoulder.
    " Have pity. A good kiss takes time. But," he added, "perhaps you don't know that."
    Kitty was not at all surprised when he shifted their bodies slightly and tilted her head toward his.
    "No protests, Miss Mayhew?" He was intent again, a little amused, and devastatingly handsome.
    Kitty's heart was thundering, but it pleased her to surprise him. "No. I, too, am chaperoned. If necessary I will scream."
    " But a kiss won't cause you to scream?" His lips were only inches from hers now and she could feel his breath.
    " I don't think so. My experience of kissing is somewhat limited."
    " Ah." She couldn't see his lips any more, but his eyes smiled. "And being of a scholarly disposition, you would like to learn more."
    " You have it exactly, my lord."
    " In the interests of science, then...."
    The kiss in the garden, she realized, had not been a real kiss. It had been perhaps a challenge, a test, a tease, but not a kiss. This, she thought, was a real kiss.
    Perhaps it was the way he held her, encompassing, but without any need to control or restrain.
    Perhaps it was the way he sampled her, like a person stepping into the sea for the first time, exploring each sensation before going deeper.
    Perhaps it was the way she responded, exploring gently in her turn, fascinated by the soft warmth of his lips, the hint of his teeth, the first touch of his tongue.
    She knew she was relaxed against his arms, soothed and softened into a state ripe for further adventures. Improper adventures. She recognized, therefore, that it was time to end it.
    Gently, for she was not offended, she straightened and moved back, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "I think, my lord, that if Ned and Pol are doing that, we should go and interrupt."
    " How true." He looked gratifyingly unsteady himself as he led her back into the other room, saying, "Do you play cards, Miss Mayhew?"
    He spoke rather loudly, and after a moment Kitty realized he was alerting the other couple. When they entered the warm drawing room, Ned and Pol were sitting side by side, hand in hand and rather