“You don’t need that.”
Her heart pounded, but she held it up, anyway. She had imagined this moment in her mind over and over, but she was not prepared for the sight of Sidney, sly half smile, ducking under her pathetic twig. Her heart and knees melted. She swallowed, praying her voice wouldn’t tremble.
“It wouldn’t be the Mistletoe Masquerade without mistletoe.”
“I wanted to kiss you since the moment I entered the room. And here I thought this night would be boring. That I’d leave with nothing but regret.”
“Oh?” Cassie could hardly get the word out she was so breathless.
He took the mistletoe and held it over her head. “May I?”
“Please,” she whispered, already leaning toward him. She couldn’t look away from his daring honey brown eyes, those full lips of his, but her vision blurred as he dipped his head, and their mouths sealed. She thought her heart might explode with joy. Heat and pleasure shot through her. He smelled like brandy and fresh bread, and he tasted like mint and spice. She fell against him, her hands spreading over his chest, lost in a sea of longing and long-held desire. She could crumble at his feet now, and she wouldn’t care. This was her first kiss, and it would always belong to him.
His arms came around her and caught her tighter against him. Their masks crunched together, but the kiss didn’t stop. Their mouths fused, lips parting, tongues tasting. Cassie had no idea what she was doing, she simply followed his lead, tasting and retreating, teasing and surrendering.
Knots of need tightened inside her, and she melted to him, giving him all of her, chasing every sensation she could. She wanted this kiss to never end.
Sidney knew he should stop the kiss and make introductions. Clearly his paramour had known him, but he needed to know who this paragon of seduction was. She’d stolen his wits the moment he’d entered the room, from her deep red curls to the brazen tilt of her chin, and the blazing blue of her eyes just like—no, he couldn’t think of her. Not here, not now, not ever again. He had to let Cassie go, and this titian goddess in his arms was just the woman to do it. It was like she’d been plucked from his wild fantasies and dropped here. His consolation prize for the woman he could not have.
His hands roamed the delicious curves of her body, firm and also full. Strong and feminine. She moved against him, speaking with her body and her own roving hands that she didn’t want the kiss to end. She wanted more.
He wasn’t about to bed a woman he didn’t know. He pulled back, dragging his lips down her neck and tasting the heavenly silky skin of her throat. “I need to know your name before we go further.”
She gasped. “What?”
He smiled against her skin and gently nipped her shoulder. She was butter in his hands, lost in desire. He turned her, running his hands over her hips and down her thighs. “I love a mystery as much as the next man, but your name, sweet, give it to me, and I’ll give you something you’ll never forget.”
She shuddered in his arms, and her head fell back to his shoulder.
Cassie’s head spun. He…didn’t recognize her? “Sidney.”
He ran his tongue up her neck to her ear lobe and sucked it into his mouth. Cassie’s knees buckled, but he held her.
“Say my name again.”
“Ss-Sidney.”
He dragged his teeth gently over her earlobe, and her breathing hitched. His hands raked over her sides, pulling her dress up. Cool air met her calves. Her head spun from the overwhelming sensations wracking her body.
“Softer. Whisper it.”
She licked her lips. “Sidney. You don’t know me?”
“I want to know you intimately. May I?”
“Yes,” she moaned, her heart hammering, her mind whirling. My God, his hand touched her bare thigh then moved higher, parting her, and searing her with his touch as pleasure shot through her core.
His other hand slipped inside her bodice and squeezed her nipple. She cried out, shocked by her brazen noises.
“Sidney,” she said again, this time begging him but for what she didn’t know.
“Yes, I hear you, love. I know what you need.”
He caught her mouth, and she arched into the kiss, into the hand that teased her aching breast. She had to stop this, to bring sanity back to both of them, but everything in her fought it.
Another gasp. But this one wasn’t hers.
They both froze, and then his hand slid out from between her thighs and her skirts dropped. He hugged her, turning away from the door, shielding her as he looked back. Cassie’s eyes watered as she stared at the dancing flames.
“This room is occupied,” his stern voice said.
“We can see that,” a lady said.
“What—what is going on. Trinity? I said the—” She gasped. “Lord Reardon?”
Cassie had to look. She was masked after all. She peeked around him.
Lady Delilah? Trinity—Mrs. Hornberry? And a smattering of other guests. Her stomach sank.
“I said to meet me in the south parlor,” Lady Delilah cried.
Sidney stiffened. “I beg your pardon?”
“This is the south parlor,” Trinity said.
“No. This is the North Parlor!” Lady Delilah screeched, ripping off her mask. “And who the devil are you?” She lunged for Cassie, but Sidney blocked her.
“The north parlor is on the other side of the house,” Trinity hissed.
Lady Delilah now stood fuming. “Who is this trollop?”
“You all need to leave,” Sidney said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Trinity grabbed Lady Delilah by the shoulders and pushed her out of the room. The door closed, but they were far from alone. Sidney turned his back to the door but held a finger to his lips. Cassie nodded.
He then went and stood before the fire. “Well, who are you?”
Cassie swallowed, tears choking her throat. “I thought you knew.”
His head dropped. “You sent a note to me?”
“I did?”
He stood, stretching tall, and then he turned. “It appears you weren’t the only one sending me notes, arranging assignations.”
Cassie faced him. She would not cower, no matter how much it hurt. He may not have known upon entering the room, but he would know now. She reached up and untied her mask. It fell away from her face, and she felt liked she’d just undressed down to bare skin.
His eyes blazed. The notch in his throat moved up and down as he swallowed. “Cassie.”
Her gaze dropped to the mistletoe on the floor near his shoe. “I just wanted you to kiss me. To see me as a woman full grown. I didn’t expect it to go so far. I never intended to trick you.”
He folded his arms.
There was a sudden knock on the door. “Sidney, you old dog. You’ve started quite the riot of gossip.”
Her brother. Oh, God.
They faced each other, his expression stormy, and she must have looked as panicked as if the very devil knocked. She turned toward the windows.
“We’re on the second floor,” he stated.
“I—I didn’t want this to happen. Not like this.”
“What did you want to happen?”
“Sidney?” Tristan called from the other side of the door.