“No.” She pulled away from him. “You won’t kiss me when I ask you to, but I am expected to pucker up on command?” Linley pushed at his chest as hard as she could, but he did not budge. “I want you to kiss me when I feel beautiful. When I feel like you really want me just as much as I want you. Not when I feel caged!”
He took a few steps back, holding up his hands. “Caged? How could you possibly feel caged when you’re the only free person I’ve ever met?”
“After all these weeks you still know nothing about me. I’m no more free than you, Patrick. I simply choose to use what little space I’ve been given!”
“What does that mean?” he asked.
She hung her head. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll never understand.”
“Then let’s try to find some common ground.” Patrick kissed her forehead, and then that cute little nose of hers. “Surely you don’t need words to know how I feel about you. If you’ve been paying attention at all these past few days, it should be quite obvious.” He kissed her lips, softly at first, becoming more insistent with each brush of his mouth against hers. “Not everything in this world needs to be categorized and labeled. Not everything can be. I’ve learned it’s best to take things as they are.”
Linley found the taste of him intoxicating, and it wasn’t the hint of champagne on his breath. Her head spun at his words. They made no sense. They went against her very nature. How could she not question this new development—that he possibly had feelings for her, feelings that drove him to the brink of jealousy? It frightened her and excited her all at the same time.
She pressed her body close against his, running her palms up his spine, feeling the warmth of his body through the soft wool of his evening jacket. Thinking back, the signs had been there all along. No man could be that patient, that generous without some small ulterior motive. Surely, no man would put up with her father, and Berenice, and her friends because he liked having someone to go to museums with and to take to dinner once in a while.
Linley wasn’t lying when she told him she was unaccustomed to flirting. What may have been obvious to women like Gaynor had been lost on her. She’d never thought of herself as an object of desire—that any man could be romantically interested in her. But the thought of Patrick watching her, and possibly wanting her, all this time made her heart race.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt beautiful. She felt worthy of all the trouble everyone had gone to on her account. Parties, and frocks, and trips to London did not just appear out of thin air. Her family and friends worked very hard to make her time there a success. And if tonight was any indication, together they had pulled it off.
Below her feet, hundreds of London’s best society danced and drank with one goal in mind—sending her father and his team halfway around the world. The fact that she and their host were noticeably absent would probably raise a few questions…or at least a few eyebrows.
If sitting unchaperoned in a library was social suicide, she could only imagine the uproar of being discovered locked in a passionate embrace. But this was Patrick—her Patrick—touching and tasting her as if she were the only girl in the world.
To hell with the house full of people downstairs, she wanted to kiss him all night long.
Spurred by her encouragement, Patrick’s mouth opened. He nibbled at her bottom lip, pulling on it with his teeth. As if that wasn’t enough, he trailed to her throat, nipping at that sensitive flesh. Linley whimpered, pulling him tighter, pulling him closer.
He bent her backward, grabbing at her bottom and pressing her hips to his. They were all over each other before they knew what hit them. Patrick dug his fingertips into her stiff, corseted waist, while Linley gripped his hips, holding on for dear life.
Neither of them knew how it came to this.
For once, Patrick wasn’t behaving like a gentleman. He was one second away from hiking up her skirts. And judging by the way Linley ground herself against him, she wasn’t about to stop him if he did. But no amount of jealousy or unrequited longing could excuse taking an innocent girl against a dusty brocade wall like some harlot in a dark alleyway.
She pulled away first, panting. Every inch of her skin flushed. She felt warm and dizzy. Linley wanted to speak, to say something, but for a moment, all she could do was stare at him.
Patrick blew out a shaky breath and broke the silence. “That was a great deal more kiss than I bargained for.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Patrick, old boy!” Hereford called to him as he came down the stairs. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“Hello, Hereford. Is something wrong?”
“No, no. Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “I wanted to apologize for arriving so late. Georgiana wanted to come, but after all the work of getting ready, she decided she was too tired. I promised her you would understand even if she missed the only party you’ve thrown in years.”