“I don’t suppose Lady Brompton had a bigger one?”
“Lord Brompton had a small head.”
“Evidently.” He looked at her breeches and silently groaned. “You do have other clothes?”
“No, I left Grayswood in a hurry. Finding you was my priority. And I daren’t return to Grosvenor Street. The servants will surely follow me and tell Sebastian.” She clasped her hand to her chest and sucked in a deep breath. “Either these strappings are too tight, or there’s a distinct lack of air up here.”
Serious questions filled his head, all overshadowed by the only one that seemed important. “You strapped your breasts?”
“How else was I to pose as a gentleman?” She glanced around the room and must have seen something she found offensive. She snapped her spine straight. “Who is Delphine? You have never mentioned her before, and your clothes are strewn about her bedchamber floor.”
Nicholas noted her accusatory tone. She was jealous. And must have jumped to entirely the wrong conclusion.
Interesting.
“Delphine was seven years old when Aaron Chance found her alone on the streets and took her under his wing. She’s been like a sister to him for sixteen years. She’s nothing but an acquaintance to me.”
A smile touched her lips. “A sister? Like I am to you?”
“No. Aaron does not want to claim her mouth in a searing kiss. Aaron has no desire to strip off her clothes and caress her naked body.”
Her eyes widened, for she was unused to him voicing his feelings aloud. “Had I found you at the card table, I would assume you’re drunk. Had you not kissed me like a man starved of affection, I would assume I’d misheard.”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you.”
Perhaps Aaron’s devil-may-care attitude was rubbing off.
Perhaps he’d been a fool to hide the truth for so long.
She gulped. “H-how long have you felt this way?”
He gave a hapless shrug. “Two years.”
Maybe longer than that.
“Two years! Why did you not say something before?” She scoured her mind and came up with the answer. “Because of Sebastian?”
He nodded. “And because you saw me as a brother.”
She jerked her head. “I did not see you as a brother.”
“I know. You told me so at Grayswood.” And he’d known by the way she kissed him, with a hunger that belied her prim exterior, that she wanted him, too. “You seemed keen to explore our connection.”
A pink blush stained her cheeks, though she appeared more confident than he had seen her in years. “I—I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you, Nicholas. I’ve thought about kissing you for so long.”
“How long?”
Don’t say two years!
Don’t tell me we’ve both suffered in silence.
With some hesitance, she said, “Since the day I hurt my ankle on the walk to Thornborough.” Her breath quickened. “You were so attentive … and the way you touched me … I’ve never forgotten it.”
What the devil?
It was so long ago he could barely recall the event, though he was certain her parents were alive at the time.
Stunned, he collapsed back in the chair. “That was six years ago.”