Free How to Capture a Countess (Duchess Diaries 1) by Karen Hawkins

“Though I wish I could, I cannot go back in time and repair the past. But I haveapologized and very sincerely, too. As sad as it is to say, there’s nothing more to be done about it.”
    His gaze narrowed. “So little, so late.” He climbed another rung, his chest brushing her hip in an alarmingly intimate way.
    Rose tightened her grasp about the side rail and held her book to her chest like a shield, her traitorous body tingling alarmingly. Gulping, she took a nervous step up the ladder, away from the six-foot-two temptation.
    Undeterred, Sin followed. “The world would be shocked if they only knew what really happened that night, wouldn’t they, Miss Balfour?” He climbed up another rung and suddenly his face was level with hers, his chest against her shoulder.
    She looked directly into his eyes and any words she might have said in her own defense were lost. His eyes were streaked with gold that gave him a faintly lionlike appearance. And as she looked into his eyes, she was torn by two desires: to run away from him as fast as she could, and to lean against him and absorb the shivery pleasure simply touching him gave her.
    She was astounded that being close to him still had that effect on her; she had to fight the impulse to press against him and once more feel his lips on hers—
    Stop that, she told herself severely, her face heating at the boldness of her thoughts. If only she could takeanother step up the ladder—but his arms were now on either side of her.
    Trapped, she cleared her throat. “People didn’t cut you direct, did they?”
    “They didn’t shun me completely, since I’ve a title and a place in society, as well as a fortune.”
    “Then why do you even care—”
    “Because they mocked me, Miss Balfour. For months after, I was called Lord ‘Fin.’ ”
    Rose had an instant memory of him climbing out of the fountain, a lily pad upon his head, water streaming down his face. To her horror, from deep inside her rose a giggle.
    She didn’t mean to laugh, but being nervous always gave her the giggles, and the thought of this powerful, seductive man being called such a ridiculous name tickled every bone in her body.
    As she giggled, Lord “Fin” glared all the more, which made her even more nervous and made her laugh even harder.
    “Oh yes, laugh, Miss Balfour,” Sin snapped. “Laugh as you did that night. For it is that very laughter that revealed you for the scheming harpy that you are.”
    His icy tone sobered her laughter back to a faint but persistent giggle. “I’m very sorry to hear about the Lord F—” She waved a hand, not trusting herself to say it out loud for fear it would set her off again. “Truly, I had no idea.”
    Sin didn’t know what offended him more: the fact that after shoving him into a fountain and then laughing in his face, Rose Balfour had blithely left him to face the mess made by her actions, or that—after learning of the indignities he’d been forced to suffer—she had the audacity to stand here now and laugh again.
    “Just as I thought,” he snapped furiously, wishing he could simply throttle her and be done with it. “Your actions were deliberate; you knew what you were doing when you left me to face the scandal. You knew your absence would look damning!”
    Her laughter faded, though her eyes twinkled as she said with a bit of exasperation, “I knew no such thing! What on earth could I hope to gain by such a stratagem?”
    “Revenge, Miss Balfour. You were angry that I didn’t respond to your childish attempts to seduce me.”
    “Of all the silly— Lord Sinclair, you are being far too dramatic. I didn’t plan on embarrassing anyone. All I wanted was to kiss you. That, I’ll admit to doing. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve regretted it ever since.”
    He stiffened. She’d regretted it? Meanwhile, he was being dramatic? He was so furious he didn’t know what to say. For years he’d been imagining the satisfaction he would feel at