Free A Valentine For Christmas - A Regency Novella by Kate Harper Page B

is not as if he seduced me.’
    She would certainly have drawn the line at that . Well, almost certainly. Her mother had raised her most particularly in areas such as unseemly behavior. Just the same, she could not help but wonder what such a thing would feel like, if a brief kiss had caused her to almost swoon with delight. From the rather guarded references in the books she had read, Charlie had suspected that a kiss was well worth doing. But to discover for herself that a man’s mouth could be so pleasant, arousing sensations in her that had made her quite limp with incredulous delight – well, it had been a revelation!
    If the opportunity presented itself, perhaps he would take advantage of her again. She was prepared to believe that it might not happen. If his lordship’s rapid retreat was anything to go by, he believed he had overstepped the mark and would make sure he did not do so a second time.
    Unfortunate, but there was nothing she could do about it other than make overtures of her own and that would never do. It would mean that she was bold and no female of good breeding liked to be thought of as that . It rather limited ones options, really but unfortunately there was no help for it.
    What she could do was continue her investigation into Lord Valentine’s unhappy attitude. With this in mind, she had determined to coerce him into joining the family for the tree decorating ceremony. She had even garnered the support of her mother in this endeavor with her artful observation that, ‘It was a pity his lordship is not here to enjoy such a wonderful tradition.’
    ‘Indeed it is. Such a pity that he has so little family. Do go and ask if he would like to join us, my dear.’
    Which was precisely what Charlie had been angling for, so the response was gratifying. Of course, it was the first time she had seem him since that kiss, which was probably why her heart was thudding rather hard when she knocked on the door of his bedchamber. Not that she would step inside, she assured herself. But it felt scandalous, given their recent history, even to be there.
    Nobody came to the door. After a moment, she knocked again, as firmly as she could. This time she heard footsteps and took a half step backwards. It didn’t do to appear too eager. His lordship opened the door and if there had been one word to describe him it would have been along the lines of mussed, with disgruntled running an easy second. He looked to be in an even worse humor than previously, dark hair ruffled as if he had been running his fingers through it. He was not wearing either a jacket or a neckcloth and his white lawn shirt was open and showed a tantalizing glimpse of bare skin.
    He looked as if he had been lying down and she had woken him.
    He looked like a bear with a sore head.
    He looked sinfully good-looking and her mouth went dry.
    She swallowed and tried to collect her wits. ‘My lord,’ she said cautiously. She had not expected him to be happy at her intrusion and so was not in the least surprised by the surly expression, although the exposed flesh had come as a shock. ‘I am sorry to intrude. Did I wake you?’
    ‘Would that I had been able to sleep. What can I do for you, Miss Weathering? And please,’ he held up a hand, ‘let’s avoid using words such as troubled and help, shall we?’ The tone, along with the words, were decidedly curt.
    Which was all very well but he had kissed her, Charlie thought indignantly. Under the circumstances his attitude left much to be desired.
    ‘Mama asked me to come and invite you to the decoration of the tree.’
    ‘Isn’t the damn thing decorated yet? I thought you said you were doing it earlier.’
    ‘We’re doing it now.’
    ‘Then run along and do it and leave me be.’
    He was being appallingly rude. In the normal course of events, Charlie would have been a little hurt but she told herself that she must make allowances for the man. ‘We would like you to join us.’
    ‘Yes,’ he looked