“I will be by your side at every moment,” he said.
She wet her lips, her heart racing though she could not say why. “But...but we’ve already danced once, and you’ve already caused a stir.” She nodded toward the doors. “Someone might have seen us. People will talk and—”
“Then let them.” His voice was firm and brooked no arguments. “You and I know the truth, and your brother knows I have your best interests at heart.”
She nodded. She knew he did not see her as anything other than his best friend’s little sister, and he was right that Max knew it, too.
So why was her heat galloping away in her chest at the feel of his arm about her shoulders, and why did her skin seem to burn where his lips had pressed that innocent kiss?
“You’re right, of course,” she said.
“Let the world believe what they will, and if it makes it easier to deal with Mr. Stallworth, then let him believe this ruse we started.”
She blinked up at him. He could not be serious. He would let himself be the talk of gossips, let people believe that he was courting her…
Her lips parted in wonder at all he was willing to offer. Before she could tell him how much it meant to her, how grateful she was to know he would be at her side when she next faced Mr. Stallworth, he was there.
Mr. Stallworth.
She froze when he pushed through the doors of the veranda, alone for once and his gaze roaming until…
He saw her.
He saw them. Her and Everly standing together.
Every sliver of progress she’d made vanished at the sight of him. His gaze, even from a distance, held a longing. A plea.
Her hands fumbled as she reached for something solid—for Everly. His chest was warm beneath her hands, but he was still as a statue. He’d seen him too.
Her heart was racing so quickly it made her breathing quicken, and she looked up to Everly in panic.
What she saw in Everly’s gaze calmed her enough that she could breathe. Empathy. Understanding.
She looked back over her shoulder again. Mr. Stallworth was there and he was watching and…
Anger.
There it was. Coursing through her at last. As if it had been lying in wait, hiding for just this moment. Blazing anger replaced the hurt and humiliation and swept away all thoughts but one.
Revenge.
She would hurt Mr. Stallworth like he had slayed her.
With Mr. Stallworth’s gaze on her and Everly gazing down at her in concern, she acted on impulse. Her hands clutching the fabric of his shirt, she went up on tiptoe, her lips crashing against Everly’s before he could so much as blink.
She was kissing Everly.
One second she was doing it to prove to Mr. Stallworth that he’d been wrong to choose another. And then—
And then…he was kissing her. The hard press of her lips on his changed into something...magic. Something sweet, and warm, and achingly lovely. His lips moved against hers, her own softened in response. The slide of his lips against hers was a delicious, heady sensation that made her tremble in his arms.
His arms which were now around her, crushing her to him as he deepened the kiss, explored her lips, his tongue teasing her until she gasped.
The gasp cut the silence and reality slammed into her.
She dropped back onto her toes, but his arms did not let her go. His gaze was dark and unnervingly fierce.
“He’s gone,” Everly muttered as she tried to even her breathing. “And that, Lady Sarah… That can never happen again.”
8
Theo looked down at Sarah, his hands clenched tight into the folds of his own coat, currently wrapped about her body. She pressed against his chest, but he still couldn’t bring himself to let go.
So many emotions ricocheted through him it was difficult to sort them all out.
Desire.
Whatever he’d imagined he felt for Sarah paled in comparison to the reality of that kiss. The touch had been wonderfully sweet, full of emotion, had set his teeth on edge with need and...had not been meant for him.
The best kiss of his life had been for Mr. Stallworth’s benefit rather than his own.
A fact that made him ache with regret.
Sarah didn’t actually wish to kiss Theo. She only wanted to make Stallworth jealous. Punish him for his betrayal. And Theo had been a more-than-willing participant.
Irritation. That was another emotion currently filling his gut. At himself for responding and at Sarah for kissing him in the first place. Didn’t she know what she was doing?
Sarah took a half step back, and finally he let her go. Her eyes wide, her lips swollen from his kiss. “Never?”
Not like that, he wanted to say but he clamped his mouth shut. Why make his humiliation worse?
Even knowing that she wasn’t kissing him so much as punishing the other man, he’d still kissed her back with all the desire that had been building inside him for the past eighteen months. “Never.”
Was he being cruel? He couldn’t tell as he raked a hand through his hair. He wasn’t trying to be. It was just that he wished to kiss her again...badly. Hold her in his arms and confess all the feelings that had been building inside him.
Which would be a colossal mistake.
Sarah had never and would never return his feelings.
And even if she did, he didn’t want to feel this way. He was a rake, a determined bachelor. He’d made that choice and he’d stuck by it for the past five years. He supposed he’d have to marry eventually. But he’d also imagined he’d make a logical match that benefited the title.
Never—there was that word again. Never had he planned to kiss a woman who was working her way into his heart and soul.
“I’m so sorry,” she started, taking another tentative step backward. Then another. She was going to flee.
In his coat.
And if she entered the ballroom everyone would see it.
He’d said he didn’t care what others thought and he’d meant it. He could spend an evening by her side, but wearing his clothes? That was a whole level of intimacy that would not be forgiven.
He reached out a hand and grabbed the lapel of the jacket. It was going to be ruined after this. But they needed to finish this conversation and protect her reputation. “Sarah,” he said it low and deep, his voice taking on an authoritarian ring.
She jolted, her nose wrinkling up. “What?” Her voice held the familiar irritation that actually made him relax.
This was familiar ground. They bickered. She told him he was overbearing and rude, he called her childish. Which she wasn’t.
He nearly sighed aloud. So much for their old patterns. Even he didn’t believe them anymore. But where did that leave them? “You can’t leave. You’re still wearing my coat.”
She gave a gasp of surprise, looking down at herself. Her hands reached up to pull off the coat but he also heard her squeak of emotion.
He’d been too rough. His own emotions overshadowing his understanding that she was fragile tonight.
So, rather than allow her to take off the coat, he slowly pulled it tighter about her and then gently pulled her in for another hug.
His arms came about her shoulders, his cheek rested on the top of her head. She trembled against him. “I meant what I said just before Mr. Stallworth made his unfortunate appearance. Don’t try to face the rest of tonight alone. I’ll stand by your side the entire evening.”