He shrugged. “Pure curiosity, nothing else.”
“Well, stow your curiosity. You shall get no information from me.”
“As you wish.” The book was the last thing on his mind anyway, and the further it stayed away from White’s, the better. He’d grown quite averse to betting books in general.
“What is the big deal about a kiss anyway?” she suddenly asked, settling back into her spot. “I’m sure my brother has stolen tons of kisses from innocent ladies.”
Simple. “Because it’s you. And because it’s me.”
“Yes, but what if I had been the one to steal the kiss?” She raised a brow. “Would that have made a difference?”
“No.” Warrick met her gaze. “It would still be you. It would still be me.”
“Yet everything else would be different.”
Warrick furrowed his brows. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
She leaned in close. “The intention would be different. Perhaps even the outcome.”
“What the devil are you saying?” How would it be different?
Please, demonstrate.
Chapter Eleven
Selena’s lips hoveredover Warrick’s, her gaze teasing his with sparks of laughter. The infatuation she’d had for this earl back in her childhood had begun with another such moment where their eyes had met and held for more than five seconds. Both then and now she had fallen into a daze. Only that time, he had been the one teasing her, and his gaze had been full of humor and not expectation. This one hinted at secrets and shared intimacies. Two things she thought she’d never experience with this man.
But it was the expectation that gave her pause.
She slowly pulled back.
No longer a naïve girl who would have twirled at a request for marriage from him, Selena didn’t need to take days to realize that an infatuation had blossomed, as she had when she was young. She recognized the burgeoning signs instantly. If she wasn’t careful, a real feeling might sprout, a budding attraction that could at any moment bloom into something else. Not something more, just something else.
A kiss.
A touch.
A scandal.
This much she had gathered with their second kiss. A third would be a mistake.
Dark eyes flashed. “It’s dangerous to tease a man this way.”
Keep your cool, Selena.“I know. Am I not allowed?”
He leaned forward, imitating her earlier behavior, and she scooted farther away, putting a less tempting distance between them. “If you are willing to take the risk, you can tease, but only if I’m allowed to tease you back.”
“We shouldn’t be teasing each other in the first place,” she muttered more to herself than as a warning than him.
The way she wanted to abandon all resolve both confused and vexed her. She had not come this far just to be robbed of her common sense with a past-and-perhaps-recently-returned fascination. No matter how tempting and handsome he looked. She would not be swayed because he read romance novels, though inside her heart gave a little scream of admiration. What men read romance novels?Shedidn’t even read romance novels.
“Agreed,” he said. “It’s not the appropriate time with your brother lying wounded in bed.”
“Your reasoning...” She gave a burst of laughter. “Never mind. We should probablynotgive into this basic nature of ours again.”
“Right.” He nodded slowly. “We shouldn’t.”
“Not very convincing, Phineas.”
