Steam Guardians 01 - A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine

have…kissed you back.” But she’d enjoyed it so much, it was an effort to maintain a distance from him.
    He cursed, the profanity rolling across his lips without hesitation. He was so contrary to what she’d been raised to desire in a man, but her flesh burned for him. It was dark and wicked, but too hot to control.
    “You should have sneered at me, Janette; I need you to be exactly what I expect of a high-society lady.”
    For just a moment, she let the burn of her desire warm her. She could be his equal, step back into his embrace and do all the things her flesh was urging her to. “Being a lady doesn’t mean I have to be prejudiced, Darius. I’ll judge you on your actions alone.”
    One corner of his mouth curled up, making him look like a rogue. “So judge me, sweet lady. I await your decision.”
    Tension drew her body tight. She felt poised on the top of a wall, her answer some manner of test from him. There was something inside her that didn’t want to fail, didn’t want to be what he expected. She pushed aside all the lectures from her parents and heard instead the words Mrs. Brimmer had spoken… too young to be prejudiced . Was that all it was? This division between Illuminist and high society?
    “Nothing to say, sweet lady? Or should I say, not enough courage to speak your mind?”
    It wasn’t the smugness in his tone that needled her, but the bitterness.
    “You are bold, and I believe I enjoyed it too much.” Her words came out in a husky whisper she didn’t recognize as her own voice. She’d never sounded so sultry before.
    “You did,” he concurred, his voice deep and edged with satisfaction. She witnessed the truth shimmering in his eyes before she turned her back on him and ran. It wasn’t Darius she fled, but the certainty in his dark gaze—the flame of desire that she wanted to move closer to until she surrendered to the heat his kiss unleashed. She felt more alive than she ever had, as though she had just been waiting until this moment for her life to begin. If she didn’t run, she was going to forget why kissing him back was a bad idea.
    But he wasn’t a gentleman, and she was a lady. He might ruin her and return to his Solitary Chamber, where she might never see him again. So she proved him correct about one thing: she lacked the courage to stay anywhere near him. She ran right to the front of the house, and her father’s butler noticed her immediately from where he waited with the other servants.
    Why had she never noticed how some men were considered better than others? Across the well-manicured lawn stood the personal escorts of everyone inside. They had their collars turned up to keep the wind from biting into their necks while they passed flasks of whiskey between them.
    All the while waiting on their betters.
    The idea stuck in her throat, but she climbed into the carriage when it was brought around, because it offered escape.
    Coward.
    She didn’t dispute it.
    ***
    “I cannot begin to express how disappointed I am.”
    Janette stood by the breakfast table as her father eyed her.
    “Indeed, I believe I have always been quite clear on my view of Illuminists, and still you accepted one as an escort.”
    Heat rose to her cheeks, but it wasn’t from shame. Janette bit her tongue to hold back the tart response she wanted to make.
    “Howard, really. Mrs. Brimmer would have been offended if Janette had declined the dance,” her mother reminded him. “You know very well the Brimmers are controversial in their views on Illuminists interacting with society.”
    “ Controversial is too mild a word to describe that woman’s tendencies to ignore decent behavior. How dare she select my daughter for her atrocious public demonstrations? Well, she shall not change my thinking. Not one bit!”
    Her father hit the tabletop. The breakfast dishes clattered, and Janette stared at his closed fist in shock.
    “You see what this has pushed me to? Physical outbursts! The calling card of the