To Romance a Charming Rogue

puzzlement.

“I shouldn't think so.”

Her frown deepened. “If some unknown assailant is trying to do the prince harm, I would very much like to discover the culprit so he can be stopped. Laz-zara could be seriously hurt.”

“I would like to know as well,” Damon declared. “As long as he is courting you, you could be in danger. ”

Her eyes widened a little. “You are worried for my safety?”

“Is that so incomprehensible, Elle?”

His tone had softened a measure, and Eleanor felt her own defenses slacken. “No, I suppose not.”

“I dislike you associating so closely with Lazzara,” Damon said. “If these attacks keep up, you could be hurt. And I won't stand idly by and let that happen, Eleanor.”

He held her gaze, making her suddenly aware of her near state of undress and the tangled covers on the bed.

“Thank you for your concern, my lord,” Eleanor hastened to say, “but you should go. You shouldn't be here,” she repeated.

Showing no signs of preparing to leave, Damon smiled crookedly. “You must at least give me credit for resourcefulness. You wouldn't allow me a moment of privacy with you, so I was forced to take drastic measures. It wasn't easy, climbing that damned oak tree outside your window.”

Eleanor was surprised to hear herself laugh softly. It was deplorable how Damon could make her laugh when she should be irate at him for risking her reputation.

“See,” he said casually, “you admire a man who can keep you on your toes.”

She tried to hide a smile. “If you are fishing for compliments, you will grow old and gray before I add to your conceit.”

Damon shook his head as he drawled in a wry tone, “I may not have the opportunity to grow any older after tonight. My valet will have my head if I have ruined my new coat. Cornby sets great store in turning me out as a gentleman of fashion.”

He looked little the worse for wear, she thought, other than his sable hair was more tousled than usual.

“Then again,” Damon continued more affably, “you might rejoice at my demise.”

“Of course I would not rejoice.” Her desire to smile vanished. She certainly did not wish for Damon's demise. She just didn't want him anywhere near her, especially when she was at such a disadvantage.

“Seriously, Damon, you must leave. You said you didn't want to put me at risk, and your simply being in my bedchamber could cause a scandal.”

“True, it could.” Yet instead of acceding to her request, Damon shifted his weight so he was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking as if he intended to stay put. “But I believe you owe me an apology first for accusing me so unjustly.”

“Very well, I apologize. Now, will you please go?”

“I fancy I deserve a better one than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you need to kiss me.”

Eleanor's heart missed a beat. He was demanding a kiss as an apology?

“Come here, Elle,” he murmured when she stood rooted to the floor.

At the husky note in his voice, her mouth went dry. She absently licked her lips, and when his gaze instantly fixed on her mouth, Eleanor recalled the particular advice in Fanny's book about licking her lips to appear kissable.

She most certainly did not want to appear kissable to Damon!

“I am not about to kiss you,” she stated emphatically.

“If not, you should be prepared for the consequences. I am willing to wait all night if need be.” Damon cocked his head. “What will your aunt say in the morning if she discovers I have spent the entire night with you?”

“You are a complete and utter rake,” Eleanor said feelingly.

“I won't deny it,” Damon replied, unchastened.

Her exasperation rose. She should have known that getting rid of him would be difficult. Damon was the very definition of “trouble”-and the most provoking man alive.

“I believe I have changed my mind,” she muttered. “Your demise might indeed be welcome after all.”

“Now that is the Elle I know and love.”

The amusement in his voice made her ball her hands into fists. “You do not love me! You never have!”

Strangely, his expression sobered… softened even. Yet he didn't relent. “A kiss, Eleanor. That is my price for leaving.”

Still resisting, she refused to budge. “You do realize how shameless it is to insist on kissing a woman against her will?”

Damon's features softened even further. “It isn't shameless of me, merely tactical. I mean to remind you again of the sparks that are missing between you and your prince.”

So that was his purpose, Eleanor thought, torn between frustration and understanding. Damon was still determined to prove how weak her attraction was for her royal suitor. And again, he was giving her no choice but to comply.

What vexed her more, though, was how tempting she found the prospect of kissing him.

Even worse, Damon seemed to know how she felt.

He was watching her, his eyes bright with purpose, while the silence between them suddenly felt charged with magnetic currents.

A tremor ran down Eleanor's spine as she felt the dizzying pull of him.

“I am waiting, Elle,” he murmured.

Hearing that low, sensual, velvet-edged voice only weakened her resistance further.

Eleanor dragged in a breath. When she reluctantly moved forward, Damon took her hand and drew her between his spread legs, flush against his upper body.

She was quiveringly aware of him… the heat of his powerful torso, the feel of her breasts pressed against his hard chest. Her nipples were pebbled and sensitive, and she had difficulty catching her breath as her heart began lurching against her ribs.

Then he cupped her derriere, drawing her even closer, so close that his breath caressed her mouth, brushing sparks across the surface.

But there he stopped. “Well?” Damon asked.

“Well, what?”

“You are to kiss me, remember?”

He tugged her arm with enough pressure to bring her down into his lap so that she sat sideways on his hard thigh.

Knowing he wouldn't give up until she capitulated, Eleanor pressed her lips to Damon's quickly. Even that brief contact fluttered her insides, but he frowned in disappointment.

“As an apology, that tiny peck is hardly adequate. My wounded vanity needs soothing. It still stings something fierce.”

“Then it will continue to sting. I wouldn't have the faintest notion how to soothe your oversized vanity.”

His eyes gleamed. “Allow me to show you how it is properly done…”

His hands closing on her shoulders, Damon laid Eleanor back so that she was sprawled on the bed with her lower legs still draped over his thigh.

Caught by the mesmerizing intensity of his gaze, her pulse beating wildly in her throat, Eleanor held her breath as he slowly bent down to her and bestowed a probing kiss against her lips. When his tongue slid inside her mouth in a slow and thorough invasion, she very nearly moaned.

Breaking off eventually, Damon lifted his head enough that he could see her face.

“Just as I said… sparks,” he murmured, his voice decidedly more husky.

She felt them, too… the embers exploding wildly inside her.

Then he stopped speaking altogether and bent his head again to resume his delectable attentions.

It was sheer madness to respond, Eleanor knew, yet she opened to him fully. How could she resist the aching