Blushing harder than ever, Melissa pulled back, cleared her throat, and tried her hardest to regain control.
“Please, do not flatter yourself, My Lord,” she said firmly, though with a little playfulness to her tone. It was clear from the smile and raised eyebrow that he gave her that he definitely heard it.
Straightening up in her seat, Melissa readjusted her gown and fought panic. With every second she spent in the carriage with him, her heart raced faster and faster. It was not at all uncomfortable in the carriage with him; in fact, it was quite the opposite, and Melissa thought that spending a moment too long in his presence might become dangerous.
She was more than a little relieved and perhaps more disappointed than she cared to admit when the carriage finally drew to a halt, signalling that they had made it to her estate.
Looking at Lord Spurnrose, she thought perhaps she saw the disappointment mirrored in his eyes. When the door opened, he stood and descended the carriage steps.
Melissa was concerned that perhaps she had offended the nobleman, but then his hand appeared in her line of vision once more, and he said in a clear and calm voice, “Please, allow me, My Lady.”
Hand already tingling with anticipation, Melissa stood up and stepped close to the door. Placing her palm in his, she gripped his hand tightly and stepped gently down from the carriage, relieved that she did not fall into his arms once more as she had not moments earlier.
However, she still stood all too close to him the moment her feet touched the ground. Hand still in his, Melissa stood almost chest to chest with the nobleman. Forced to turn her face up to meet his, her throat grew dry, and her lips tingled with an odd desire to be kissed.
Clearing her throat quickly, she stepped away and removed her hand from his as she said, “Thank you, My Lord.”
Melissa barely noticed the coachman standing behind Lord Spurnrose. The nobleman held out his hand and said, “Please, allow me to escort you to your door.”
For a second, she wanted to decline. She wasn’t at all sure it would be safe to allow him to spend another moment so close to her, yet, she couldn’t help herself. With a nod and a smile, she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and allowed him to guide her up the porch steps.
Using her free hand to hold up her skirts to stop herself from tripping, she struggled to concentrate on that and not the fact that she was holding onto his arm, walking so closely to him that if she so much as stood on her tiptoes she would find herself face to face with him again. But by the time they reached the top of the stairs and he released her hand from his arm, she was there anyway.
Standing with only a book’s distance between them, Melissa gazed into his eyes, unable to pull away. Her entire body shivered when he reached up and stroked a stray strand of hair from her face, cupping her cheek for only a second before he said, “I do hope the ride home was not too inappropriate for you, My Lady.”
His passionate, whispered tone made Melissa’s blood pound in her ears. When his fingertips brushed her jawline, she could not stop shivering. Instinctively, she tilted her head back, shaking it slightly.
Just barely, she breathed the words, “Not at all.”
“Perhaps this might make up for it then,” Lord Spurnrose suggested, and his hand cupped her cheek once more. Surprised, her breath caught in her throat as his other hand came up to her face as well, and in the next moment, his lips were upon hers.
Out of sheer surprise, she reached out to place her palms upon his chest, though she was not at all sure whether she meant to push him away or pull him closer. Instead, she leaned into him, pushing herself onto her tiptoes to deepen the kiss.
Just when she began to open her lips to him, inviting his caressing tongue into her mouth, the nobleman stopped. He pulled back so abruptly that for a second, Melissa thought she might actually stumble over.
Catching herself at just the right moment, she pulled back and shoved her hands behind her to stop him from seeing how much she was trembling.
“Forgive me, My Lady, I fear I have had a little too much to drink this evening,” Lord Spurnrose announced, his face half-turned away, unable to meet her gaze.
Frustration and perhaps a little anger played in Melissa’s stomach then. She did not smell even a single sip upon his breath, and she had most definitely been close enough to sense it. And yet, she would let him have the excuse. After all, it was a much more acceptable excuse than any she could think of, especially for her own desire to have continued in such a fashion.
“Do not apologise, My Lord, we are both adults,” Melissa said as coolly and confidently as possible, even though her heart continued to race and sweat beaded at the nape of her neck. “I do believe, however, that we ought to call it a night before we both do something we might regret.”
Lord Spurnrose glanced at her then almost as if he was surprised, as though he believed she would already regret allowing him to get close enough to press his lips to hers.
Worried about what might happen if she allowed herself to stand there even a moment longer, Melissa quickly dipped her head and said, “Good evening, Lord Spurnrose. I am most grateful to you for escorting me home.”
With that, she turned to the door and grabbed the heavy brass doorknob.
“Good evening, My Lady,” he said after her as she hurried into the manor. She offered him one final smile before clicking the door closed between them.
For a long while after, she remained there with her back pressed against the cold wood of the door. With her head tilted back, Melissa tried to understand why she did not feel the same disgust she had so often felt when men tried to take liberties with her as a widow. It was not often that she had ever found herself in the situation, though to her shame, it had happened more than once over the years.
Yet none of those times had been anything like this. When Lord Spurnrose had kissed her, she had felt an absolute rush of sheer bliss. Worse than that, she’d had the urge to kiss him back in return, which was exactly what she had done.
Just thinking about it now, Melissa blushed harder than ever before. She tried to force all thoughts of it from her mind, her body quivering to remember it.
Only the pattering of paws hurrying towards her down the hall helped ease her confusion and frustration. Dropping down into a crouch to greet her spaniel, she gripped his head in both hands and gave him a good rub behind the ears.
