Ruin Me Please by Nichole Matthews

skirt as she surreptitiously looked around for her shoes .  Where can my slippers have gone ?   Great, s o much for ma k ing a good impression , s he clapped her hand over her mouth when she realized she once more groaned aloud .
    He chuckled, look ing up from his lowered position his eyes crinkled up at the corners .  “ This is a lovely garden. ”  He glanced appreciatively over her starting at the tiny pink to es that peeked out from beneath the hem of her sprigged muslin to the thick golden curls that framed the face of an angel .  He smiled widely.  When he stepped through the archway, he must have walked straight into heaven.  She was a real life angel with the loveliest blue eyes he had ever seen. 
    Surely, God had sent her to banish the demons from his soul.  Golden l ight surroun ded her as if she wore a halo and suddenly the anguish that had bellowed inside his heart for the past year quieted, if only for a moment.  The demons clawing and scraping to escape the prison of his soul seemed to grow tired and stilled . 
    He stood up and pointed to the right laughter lacing his voice with delicious warmth, “ I believe what you are searching for is hidden under that bench”
    “How kind of you to point out ,” Poppy replied , unable to mask the hint of sarcasm that laced her voice .  She grinned as devilment danc ed in her eyes.  Spinning around she groped u n der the bench with her toes and slid her feet into her slippers. 
    Declan took advantage of her turned back unable to contain his wolfish smile , taking a moment to admire her gently rounded backside.  He could no t remember when he had been so enticed.  Her gorgeous derriere brought to mind all sorts of naughty pictures in his mind.  Oh, I am definitely a devil.  He laughed loudly.  “I do apologize.  I did not mean to offend.”  H is regard thoughtful when she turned around her fingers playing nervously with a fold in her jonquil striped morning gown. 
    There was no doubt that he desired her.  He cou ld almost taste her sweetness, but o ne of his best friend ’s sisters, d amn.   He definite ly had the worst sort of luck, and j ust for an i n stant, their gazes met and held and he wondered if his luck was about to change?
    Her cheeks flushed with unknown anticipation.  Her pulse leapt with intensity so strong, so powerful , and so foreign.  Confused and overwhelmed with these new emotions, a suffoca t ing panic began to well up inside of her making it difficult to breathe.
    Declan knew that Ash would skin him alive if he had even a hint of the thoughts that were going through his mind.  Instead of abating, his arousal strengthened and instead of buil d ing up his defenses, he felt like knocking them down .  Arousal built up inside him.  His heart slammed into his chest.  This would never do.  He should have stopped in the village b e fore he arrived.  There is no way that he could slake his lust with his best friend ’s innocent si s ter.  How unfortunate, for she would definitely be a treat that he could savor.  He pulled his gaze away from her and attempted to distract himself with his surrounding s in order to take a m o ment to gain control of his lawless urges.  The first thing he noticed was the lack of ex otic flo w ers in her garden .  It held only a riotous confu sion of color and a hodgepodge of wildflowers, n ot a rose in sight. 
    “Have you only just arrived , Hawksley?”  Poppy asked in an attempt to break the aw k ward silence, her vo i ce husky with nerves .  “I hope your trip was uneven t ful.” 
    “Yes , it was a v ery pleasant trip indeed , beautiful country side surrounds Rosebriar. ” H e cleared his throat.  “I just arrived a few moments ago .   I left my Arabian , Lucifer , at the front to be stabled, ” he informed.  “My coach and valet sh ould arrive sometime this afte r noon.”
    “Lucifer ? ”  Poppy inquired , her brow furrowed when she looked into his eyes.   “He