Society's Most Scandalous Viscount. Anabelle Bryant

who’d captured her attention and absconded with her person. His deep tenor caused a pleasant prickling of gooseflesh to dot her arms, while her mind raced with the current predicament. Here she stood in the middle of the night, hardly able to see the man beside her though she could feel the heat from his nearness, sense his potent masculinity, hear each exhalation. When he’d set her down, his hands had grasped her waist with strength and gentle agility. A flutter of excitement coalesced with fear and anticipation to send her pulse into a mad race. He may have carried her across the beach, but it was her heart that pounded in response. His body hard as stone beneath her stomach as he’d moved them to shelter, the shifting tension of his muscles against the thin barrier of her wet gown difficult to ignore.

      She’d wished for some kind of adventure. A kiss from a stranger. A bold flirtation. They were guiltless wants. Indulgences before she returned to London and accepted her father’s decisions. Now serendipity offered a chance to grasp hold of an adventure, to create a memory that bespoke of freedom and choice…and pure pleasure.

      Something about the man, his large stature and visceral command, intrigued her on a level she’d never experienced. He drew her to the situation as if she clung to a rope and he merely wound her closer. Deeper and tighter, pulling her into conversation, illicit and rich with innuendo, and though she knew it unseemly, she’d enjoyed it. Worse, she went willingly, any voice that warned she flirted with danger or tempted fate was silenced by her desire to see what might happen next. What he would say or how he might behave. He was tall, strikingly handsome, and absolutely forbidden. Virility rolled off him in waves. She should have a care. She knew better. Still that ever-present undercurrent of wild curiosity suffocated any suggestions made by common sense.

      While she contemplated her reckless not restless behavior, he lit the lantern on the hook by the door and bathed them in the soft glow of the lamp.

      “We need to dry off.” He said the words as if they were an edict to be obeyed, and she nodded her agreement although how they were to accomplish the task remained unknown.

      He wriggled the knob on the door and patted his pocket, although she couldn’t imagine why. Only the groundskeeper and the owner of the manor would retain a key. Then he raised his boot and before she could summon an objection, kicked in the cottage door with a dull thud. He grabbed the lantern from the hook and preceded her, glancing over his shoulder and offering a winsome smile to imply she should follow inside.

      She swallowed audibly. What was she doing? This was insane, yet she’d never felt so enthralled. Some unspoken sensation she couldn’t explain assured she was in no peril, but still how could one be certain? If he desired, this stranger would overpower her with ease proving only a fool should enter the cottage. A rumble of thunder concurred, underscoring her decision to depart. She managed one step backward before his hand shot through the doorframe, captured her wrist, and tugged her into the dry shelter of the room.

      Once inside she barely moved, though he busied himself with an ease that exuded well-worn confidence. The steady rain on the roof seemed to count the seconds, measure her exhalations. She strove to regain a normal breathing pattern. He made a fire in the hearth, lit another lantern, and gathered towels from a closet near the cupboard. For all intents, he did not appear a sex-crazed ravisher who’d lured her inside with the intent to force his advantage and steal her virginity. For some peculiar reason the rash thought hitched her emotions higher and her pulse raced in response, making her head swim with indecision.

      Indeed, she required composure gathering, but the concept was near impossible to fathom. Now that they had light, she noticed every firm muscle outlined through his sodden linen shirt. Her gaze drifted upward over his biceps and broad shoulders to his collar where droplets of rain flicked from the lengths of his long hair to the floor with each movement. He possessed startling handsomeness, his hard-etched features profiled in the glow of firelight, the growth of new whiskers evident on his chin, acting the hero and looking the part, yet one carved of stone. Perfect in almost every way, but not quite alive. The thought struck her as odd, but she had no time to consider it.

      “Dry off or you’ll catch a chill.”

      Another command and she, who usually had a witty retort or friendly reply on the tip of her tongue, accepted the towel and did as she was told, no matter the deep timbre of his voice sounded more brusque than concerned. When at last she’d accomplished the best result possible, he came to stand before her and she stared at the flesh exposed by the absence of a cravat, his collar plastered to his shirt, almost translucent, the pale linen several shades lighter than his skin, which was darkened to a medium brown from sunshine and negligence.

      He stood close. Too close. The hairs on the back of her neck rose in objection, warning that were she to tilt her eyes upward she would be as near to a man, as near to a kiss, as she’d ever been. Her breathing went shallow as if she feared a deep inhalation would overtake the gap between them and somehow close the scant distance separating their bodies.

      Still, she didn’t even know his name. This pirate who’d somehow inserted himself into her plan for carefree adventure and tempted too many things to consider. She should return to the beach and find her way home. If only the weather would ease a bit.

      She didn’t raise her chin. She couldn’t look at him. To look would be dangerous. How easy to get lost in his eyes. What color were they anyway?

      She wouldn’t succumb to the charming tenor of his voice and fall prey to the seduction of his words. He swallowed and she watched the movement of his throat, felt the warmth of his breath against her temple. She thought he might speak, but the moment stretched, bristling with a shared energy, an unknown frisson of tension and potent untapped emotion that radiated between them with unexplainable heat.

      Her body reacted.

      She should feel chilled—damp layers of clothing clung, her hair dripped, her skin cooled—yet instead, warmth drenched her core. A tingling rise of sensation was alive within, ricocheting from point to point, swirling and settling low in her belly with a tremulous tension as if she’d drawn back a harp string and held it extended, taut and stretched tight, quivering, begging to be released but unable to do so, not knowing how. Was this prurient desire? Men of his ilk likely experienced it all the time.

      She had little knowledge of it.

      Not even one kiss worth.

      The realization spurred her to action. To look into his eyes might prove her downfall, but she raised her gaze to his.

      He matched her curiosity. His eyes a rich shade of mahogany, framed by long thick lashes. A flicker of amusement gleamed in their depths and her heart squeezed with panic. What was she doing? Had she lost all sense?

      “I need to leave.” She managed the words despite her constricted throat. “I shouldn’t be here with you.”

      A shadow of some unidentifiable emotion passed over his brow. “The cottage is empty and you can’t leave in this weather.” His reply sounded calm and even, unlike hers. “Aside from the downpour, the lightning is dangerous, and there’s no way you can find your way home in the darkness. I’m not about to venture outside until the rain lessens.”

      His words were reasonable, but her pulse hitched another notch. She had no rebuttal other than a silent wish that he didn’t stand so close or smell so intriguing. The rain brought out a subtle masculine scent, leather and shaving soap, that permeated her memory ensuring she’d never forget the detail. Her eyes skimmed over the whiskers at his chin, blunt and bristly. How would they feel against her fingertips? Her neck? The forbidden thought did little to settle her composure.

      “Perhaps I’ll stand near the fire.” The words escaped as a husky murmur.

      “You may move wherever you wish.” He stepped away to enable her to pass, despite his words issuing a challenge.

      As she did so, she was rewarded with a smile, a flash of white teeth, straight and even. She slanted him a sideways glance, aware of the gleam in his deep brown eyes. For him this seemed a game. A wave of foolishness swamped her, the necessary elixir to at last restore her heart to a normal rhythm. She busied herself with