Page 45 of A Scandal at Stonecliffe

Nathan smiled to himself, warmth stealing through him. “Admit it. You’ve come to like me.” He took a step forward.

Verity turned her head to face him, raising her chin a little, but Nathan noticed that she did not move back. He thought it was strange that the stubborn set of her chin made him want to kiss her.

“Come, Verity, you might as well say it.” Nathan stepped close to her and put his hand on her waist. “You care about me.”

She raised one shoulder in a shrug. “Perhaps...a little.” And once again she made no effort to move away.

“A little?” His thumb began to make little circles upon her waist. “Is that all your kiss counts for?”

“That was a momentary aberration.” Verity placed her palms flat on his chest as if to hold him back, but she applied no pressure. And the feel of her skin through the thin material of his shirt shot sparks all through him.

“Twice?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “One kiss might be an aberration. Two is a habit.”

She glared at him, annoyed. “Very well. Yes, I kissed you. And, yes, I liked it. I even like you, heaven help me. But that’s not enough.”

“Enough for what?” he murmured and bent to softly kiss the corner of her mouth. The little dimple there deepened, and she made a soft noise, part laugh and part pleasure, so he kissed the other side. And, finally, his lips came to rest fully on her mouth, his arms going around her.

Verity curled her hands into the cloth of his shirt, and when he lifted his lips, she sighed, “Oh, Nathan...this isn’t wise.”

“Not at all,” he agreed and kissed her again.

“We’re nothing alike,” she murmured as she wrapped her arms around his neck and went up on her toes for another kiss.

“Clearly.” Nathan began to kiss his way down her neck. God, but she tasted delicious. Smelled delicious. He was quickly losing his train of thought, but he managed to add, “You’re rash and unpredictable.”

She slid her fingers into his hair, and his passion spiked. “And you are stodgy and...” Whatever she was about to say died in a soft moan as his hand slid up to cup her breast.

Verity was so very sweet and pliable in his arms, her jagged edges melting away in heat and hunger. That is until Verity clenched her fingers in his hair and gave it a sharp tug.

“Ow.” Nathan raised his head and looked down at her dazedly. “You could have just said stop.” His arms fell away and he stepped back.

“Stop.” Verity’s eyes were bright, her face flushed, and her hair in some disarray. All Nathan wanted to do was take her back into his arms. “Nathan, what are we doing?”

“If you don’t know, then I was obviously doing it badly,” Nathan retorted.

A little smile tugged at her lips. “You were doing it very well. That’s the problem. We need to think about this.”

His instinct was to dispute her words. Nathan really wasn’t interested in thinking right now. But she was right, of course. If they continued, they’d soon wind up in bed. And that would be a mistake. Really. It would. Even if he couldn’t think of the reason why right now.

Nathan sighed and moved farther away, shoving his hand through his hair. “I apologize. I was, um...” What had he been? Impolite? Discourteous? That seemed far too tame. Filled with lust would be more like it. “Ungentlemanly.”

Verity giggled.

Of course she would. He ought to know by now not to expect a typical response from her.

“I don’t care about that.” She made a dismissive wave of her hand. “The problem is—I do like you.”

“Excuse me?”

“It would have been entirely different two weeks ago. Then it would have been easy. Just for fun. But now it would mean something. So I have to be careful. I don’t...” She looked away for a moment, then set her jaw and turned back. “I don’t want to lose you. Lovers are easy to find. Friends are hard to come by.”

“Of course. You’re right.” Nathan would have come up with words about propriety and being influenced by the high emotions of the day, about respect and regret and how very wrong they were for each other. Verity had summed it up in a simple statement. And it stunned him a little to realize how very much he did not want to lose her. “Well. I should go home now. It’s been a wearing day.”

“Yes. But tomorrow...” There was the faintest tinge of question in her tone.

He nodded. “I’ll return tomorrow.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN