She made no quip about being kidnapped but smiled. “It is my pleasure, Sebastian.” Theodosia turned away and started to walk back toward the general direction of his house. A peculiar feeling rose inside of him, and he acknowledge he would miss her presence. A part of him was tempted to ask her to stay, but he gritted his teeth and suppressed the urgings. She paused and his heart jolted.
She slowly faced him. “Will you join me for dinner? When I left your house, your cook was preparing a most sumptuous dinner. I recall something about scallops in garlic butter sauce, braised duck, and fish.”
Sebastian didn’t think it wise to dine with her, not when his thoughts about her were so muddled. It felt like she happened in his life at a wrong moment. “No.”
“You have not eaten since we left the inn early this morning.”
“I need to clear my thoughts.”
“You mean to promenade along the Steyne? Do you need company?”
“I will contrive to keep myself tolerably engaged, and I mean to swim.”
Her eyes widened, and she glanced toward the waves that danced and crashed against gravel and rocks. “The water must be frightfully cold, and it looks rough.”
“It will do perfectly.”
“What will it do other than cause a feverish cold?”
“I am made of sturdy stuff.”
She sniffed delicately. “Why do you wish to swim in this terribly cold water?”
“I need the distraction,” he admitted.
“From?”
Thoughts of you…Perdie…everything.Instead of saying those things, Sebastian murmured, “Good night, Theodosia.”
She stared at him, and he was unable to decipher the intent in her gaze. Finally, she nodded, and turned away. The breath he’d been holding slowly escaped, and he tugged at his cravat, loosening the intricate knots.
“Sebastian?”
Theodosia walked towards him, almost hurrying in her haste. Looking behind her he saw no threat, and he took a step toward her. “What is it?” he asked, a sense of urgency beating inside him.
Her eyes were wide, and in her golden-brown depths he spied fright, vulnerability, and perhaps…desire?”
“Theodosia I—”
“Let me be your distraction…if only for a moment,” she said, her chest lifting on a rapid breath.
He must have misunderstood. “What?”
“We can dance under the stars…”
“The sky is overcast.”
Her lips trembled and he saw it was because she suppressed laughter.
“We can talk, keep each other company, the most perfect distractions from unwanted thoughts, wouldn’t you agree?”
“The air is becoming chilled.”
She stepped closer to him, and his heart almost jumped from his chest. “Theo—”
“Or we can do this…”
And to Sebastian’s shock, she leaned into his body, tipped onto her booted toes, and pressed her mouth perfectly against his.