Rakes Vow

She could see him considering, matching that against her unwise words. Rapidly, she did the same. 'And your motives,' she grudgingly added. Then she thought again. And frowned. 'At least, some of them.'

His lips twitched. 'Definitely only some of them.'

His voice had regained its purr; a shivery sensation slid down Patience's spine.

'Just to be clear, I take it you rescind absolutely all your unjustified claims?'

He was teasing her; the light in his eyes was definitely untrustworthy. 'Unreservedly,' Patience snapped. 'There! Now what more can you want?'

'A kiss.'

The answer came back so fast, so definitely, Patience's head whirled. 'A kiss?'

He merely raised one arrogant brow, as if the suggestion barely rated a blink. None-too-subtle challenge lit his eyes. Patience frowned and bit her lip. They stood in the open central aisle, nothing within yards of them. Totally unscreened, totally exposed. Hardly a site that lent itself to impropriety. 'Oh, very well.'

Swiftly, she stretched on her toes; putting one hand on his shoulder for balance, she placed a quick peck on his cheek.

His eyes opened wide, then filled with laughter-more laughter than she could stand.

'Oh, no.' He shook his head. 'Not that sort of kiss.'

She didn't need to ask what sort of kiss he wanted. Patience focused on his lips-long, lean, hard. Fascinating. They were not going to get any less fascinating. Indeed, the longer she contemplated them…

Hauling in a quick breath, she held it, stretched upward, shut her eyes, and fleetingly touched her lips to his. They were as hard as she'd imagined, very like sculpted marble. Sensation flared at the brief contact; her lips tingled, then throbbed.

Patience blinked her eyes wide as she lowered her heels to earth. And refocused on his lips. She saw the ends curve upward, heard his low, wickedly teasing laugh.

'Still not right. Here-let me show you.'

His hands came up to frame her face, her jaw, tilting her lips up as his descended. Of their own volition, her lids fell, then his lips touched hers. Patience couldn't have quelled the shudder that passed through her had her life depended on it.

Stunned, poised to resist, she mentally paused. Strong, sure, his lips covered hers, moving slowly, langorously, as if savoring her taste, her texture. There was nothing threatening in the unhurried caress. Indeed, it was beguiling, luring her senses, focusing them on the practiced slide and glide of cool lips which seemed to instinctively know how to soothe the heat rising in hers. Hers throbbed; his pressed, caressed, as if drinking in her heat, stealing it from her.

Patience felt her lips soften; his firmed in response.

No, no, noo… Some small part of her mind tried to warn her, but she was long past listening. This was new, novel-she'd never felt such sensations before. Never known such simple delight existed.

Her head was whirling, but not unpleasantly. His lips still seemed hard, cool-Patience couldn't resist the temptation to return the pressure, to see if his lips would soften to hers.

They didn't, they only became harder. The next instant, she felt a searing heat sweep over her lips. She stilled; the questing heat returned-with the tip of his tongue, he traced her lower lip. The contact lingered, an unspoken question.

Patience wanted more. She parted her lips.

His tongue slid between, slowly, with his customary assured arrogance, quite certain of his welcome, confident in his expertise.

Vane held the reins of his desire in a grip of iron and refused to let his demons loose. Deep, primal instincts urged him on; experience held him back.

She'd never yielded her mouth to any man, never shared her lips willingly. He knew that absolutely, sensed the truth in her untutored response, read it in her lack of guile. But she was rising to him, her passion, her desire, answering his call, sweet as the dew on a crisp spring morning, virginal as snow on an inaccessible peak.

He could reach her-she would be his. But there was no need for any hurry. She was untouched, unused to the demands of a man's hands, a man's lips, much less a man's body; if he pressed too fast, she'd turn skittish and balk. And he'd have to work harder to bring her to his bed.

Angling his head over hers, he kept every caress slow, every plundering stroke deliberate. Passion lay heavy, languid, almost somnolent between them; as he claimed every sweet inch of the softness she offered him, he laced the heady sensation into every caress, and let it sink into her senses.

It would lie there, dormant, until next time he touched her, until he called it forth. He would let it rise by degrees, feed it, nurture it until it became the inescapable compulsion that would, in the end, bring her to him.

He would savor her slowly, savor her slow surrender-all the more sweet because the end was never in doubt.

Distant voices reached him; inwardly, he sighed, and reluctantly brought the kiss to an end.

He raised his head. Patience's eyes slowly opened, then she blinked, and stared straight at him. For one instant, the look on her face, in her eyes, had him puzzled-then he recognized it. Curious-she wasn't shocked, stunned, or thrown into a maidenly fluster. She was curious.

Vane couldn't stop his rakish grin. Nor could he resist the temptation to brush his lips overs hers one last time.

'What are you doing?' Patience whispered as his head bent to hers. Even at close quarters, she could still see his smile.

'It's called 'kiss and make up'.' The curve of his lips deepened. 'It's what lovers do when they fall out.'

A vise locked about Patience's heart; panic-it had to be that-streaked through her. 'We aren't lovers.'

'Yet.'

His lips touched hers and she shivered. 'We never will be.' She might be giddy, but she was quite sure of that.

He stilled, but his confident smile didn't waver. 'Don't wager your fortune on it.' Again, his lips brushed hers.

Patience's head reeled. To her relief, he straightened and drew back, looking over her head. 'Here they come.'

She blinked. 'They who?'

He looked down at her. 'Your harem.'

'My what?'

His brows rose in unlikely innocence. 'Isn't that the correct term for a group of slaves of the opposite sex?'

Patience dragged in a deep breath-she straightened, flicked him a warning glance, then turned. To meet Pen-wick, Henry, and Edmond, all striding up the aisle. Beneath her breath, Patience groaned.

'My dear Miss Debbington.' Penwick took the lead. 'I rode over expressly to ask if you would care to essay a ride?'

Patience gave him her hand. 'I thank you for your kindness, sir, but I fear I've had a surfeit of fresh air this morning.' The breeze was rising, whipping stray tendrils of hair across her forehead, teasing more strands free. Penwick directed a suspicious glance at the large presence looming by her shoulder. Half-turning, Patience saw Vane return Penwick's brief nod with one a great deal more supercilious. 'Actually,' she stated, 'I was about to return indoors.'

'Capital!' Henry pressed closer. 'I wondered where you'd got to. Thought you must have come out for a walk. Be a pleasure to escort you back.'

'I'll come, too.' Edmond beamed an understanding smile at Patience. 'I came to see how Gerrard's doing, but he gave me my conge. So I may as well go in.'

There would, Patience felt sure, have been a fight for the position on her right, to be the one whose arm she took, except that the position was already filled. 'It seems we're quite a party,' Vane drawled. He flicked a glance at Penwick. 'Coming, Penwick? We can go by way of the stables.'

Patience drew in a deep breath, placed her hand on Vane's arm-and pinched him.