“It was never my attempt to charm you in any way, and as for that kiss….”
“What about it?” Annie said, her hands fidgeting together as she sought for something to do.
“It should not have happened. I apologise, unreservedly. It was entirely my fault.”
He regrets it?
Annie turned away. She put her back toward Lord Yeatman, terrified of what he would see if he saw her face. Yes, she might well have feared what she had done when she kissed him, but could she ever regret it? How could she when she had not stopped thinking of it? At night when she tried to sleep, that kiss came back to her. Even during the day, when trying to make conversation with her mother, she thought only of that kiss.
It gutted her to think he regretted that kiss.
“I am so sorry, Miss Storey. I should not have treated you so,” Lord Yeatman’s words were a whisper.
Annie sniffed, stopping any sign of her sadness coming through in the form of tears and turned back to face him with a false smile in place.
“That is quite all right, my lord. No further apology is needed. If you would excuse me.” She formally curtsied and stepped around him, intent on returning to the ball. She only took two steps when his hand reached out and took her arm. It was gentle, yet the touch made her stop all the same. “I thought you were just apologising for stolen touches?”
“I was, then I saw that.” He gestured to her face.
“What?”
“That false smile.”
“It wasn’t false.” She looked away from him, irked he had seen right through it.
“Miss Storey, I have seen my sister wear enough of those false smiles over the last few years to be able to recognise such a thing.” He crossed in front of her, clearly eager to earn her gaze. She looked anywhere else, down at her fidgeting hands until she felt a delicate touch to her chin. She succumbed to that touch, allowing Lord Yeatman to lift her chin, so that their gazes connected. “Why did you smile without feeling, Miss Storey?”
“No reason. I am simply relieved.” She tried to sound convincing, aware the moment she spoke that Lord Yeatman smirked in disbelief. “Clearly, you have a high opinion of yourself, my lord, for you think you have had quite the effect on me, do you not?”
“Ha! You believe that is what I think?”
“You mean to put me on my guard with this conversation and not to give me any hope, are you not? God forbid a young lady should have any hopes or inclinations towards a rake after all.”
“Something tells me you are being tart in order to fend me off. Do you mean these words or are they a shield, in order to hide what you truly do feel?” He angled his head, examining her so closely that Annie felt her breath hitch. It was as if he could see straight into her heart, and it frightened her.
“Do not presume to know my mind, my lord.”
“I know you a little.” He lifted his fingers and held them apart a small distance, illustrating that little amount. “What I do know with certainty is that when we kissed, you very much kissed me back, did you not?”
“I….” Her lips parted and closed, searching for words.
“Tongue-tied?”
“Momentarily. I was simply thinking of how best to tell you that your kiss meant as little to me as mine did to you.”
“That is what you think?” he asked in exasperation, his brows shooting upward. She was confused by the words and crossed her arms over her body, hoping to hold them as a barrier between them. “That is not what I said.”
“It is what you said.”
“That is plainly what you heard, but it is not what I meant.” He shook his head repeatedly. “Let me speak plainer then.” He inched toward her, so close now that her folded arms practically brushed the open lapels of his jacket, and her chin was tilted up toward him.
“That kiss happened because I find it impossible to stay away from you. Even when my mind knows it’s wrong to pursue someone as respectable and proper as you. God’s wounds, even my sister has warned me again and again how cruel it would be for me to associate with you at all, for fear you could be marred by my reputation. I knew all of that, and yet I kissed you anyway, because I could not stop myself.”
His words left her standing completely still, with her eyes flicking down to his lips, thinking of that kiss they had shared.
“Believe me, if I could, Miss Storey, I would kiss you again, but I would not be so cruel as to drag you into any association with me.” He gestured to his own chest. “Thatis why I owed you that apology. Because I was weak and succumbed to temptation the last time that we were alone, without due diligence. Now, was that plain enough speaking for you?”
Annie stepped forward before she even considered what she was doing. She didn’t answer Lord Yeatman with words but with action instead. She closed the sliver of distance that was between them and reached up to kiss him.