“Our next kiss, Mr. Stanton? What makes you think there will be a next kiss?”
“As I said, some things you just know.”
Another bout of heat whooshed through her. Good heavens. It was time to end this interlude before their next kiss happened right now. Turning, she strode to the flat rock where she’d placed her robe. After slipping her arms into the sleeves, she tightened the sash around her waist. When she turned around, he stood not two feet away. She drew in a sharp breath, and her head filled with his delightful, musky the scent.
“Andrew,”he said softly.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Just now you called me Mr. Stanton. I’d prefer you call me Andrew. Just as I’d prefer to call you Catherine.”
She’d called him that to put a bit of emotional distance between them, but she doubted her ability ever to think of him in such formal terms again. Not now that she knew the texture of his skin. The silkiness of his hair. The sensation of his tongue stroking hers. And she could not deny that she liked the sound of her name coming from his lips. Amazing how simply dropping the word “Lady” changed… everything.
“I suppose we’re on a first-name basis now. Very well… Andrew.” His name tasted decadent, luscious upon her tongue.
He reached out and clasped her hands in a warm grip. “Are you sorry about what happened between us, Catherine?”
She shook her head. “Not sorry. But…”Her voice trailed off, unable to find the right word to describe the jumble of emotions careening through her.
“Scared?” he guessed. “Confused?”
Botheration, when had she become so transparent? “Do you have clairvoyant capabilities, Andrew?”
“Not at all.” He lifted her hands, one at a time to his mouth, his gaze never leaving hers. “I only suggest those because they are some of the things I’m feeling.”
“Scared? You?” She meant to laugh, but the sound came out as a breathless sigh when his tongue brushed the center of her palm.
“Terrified is actually closer to the truth.”
The fact that this strong, virile man would admit such a thing touched her in a way she couldn’t describe. “Why?”
“I’d say for the exact same reasons you are.”
“Because as pleasant as our kiss was, you’re not sure it was a good idea?”
“No. I think it was a good idea. And Catherine, our kiss was much more than ‘pleasant. ’”
“Must you disagree with everything I say?”
“Only when you’re wrong. And you’re wrong to describe what happened between us with a bland word such as pleasant.”
Well, she certainly couldn’t argue with that. “Why are you scared?”
He said nothing for several long seconds, clearly considering how to answer her. Finally, he said, “I’m afraid of tomorrow. I’m afraid that once we leave here, once we go our separate ways for the rest of the night, that when I see you again tomorrow you’ll have forgotten what we shared here. Or if not forgotten, then you’ll have decided to ignore it. I’m afraid you’ll look at me with coolness rather than heat in your eyes. I’m afraid that you’ll stop what we could share together before it’s even had a chance to start.”
She cleared her throat. “I don’t think there is anything I can say right now to allay your fears. But I can assure you that I will not forget what we shared this evening.”
A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Something else for us to agree upon, for I will not forget it. Not if I live to be one hundred. Now you tell me-what are you confused about?”
She toyed with the idea of lying. Or simply leaving. But it was most likely best that she should speak her mind. “My mind and my common sense are telling me to walk away and not look back. Everything else in me, however, does not want to do that. I am not a naive, virginal miss, and I know where this… flirtation could lead. However, I’ve more man just myself and my desires to consider. Therefore, I have a great deal of thinking to do. And decisions to make.”
“As do I.”
“Indeed? What sort of decisions do you have to make?”
A hint of deviltry sparkled in his eyes. “I must decide how best to entice you to make the decision I want you to make.”
Matching his mischievous tone, she said, “You realize, of course, that arrogance is a most irritating character trait that will certainly not tip the scales in your favor during my decision-making.”
“I spoke not out of arrogance, but out of honesty-a trait most people appreciate and find admirable.”
“Are you saying you intend to seduce me?”
“I’m saying I intend to court you.”
Catherine’s heart skipped. A ridiculous reaction to a ridiculous statement. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
He raised his brows. “You’d prefer not to be courted?”
“There is no point in your doing so.”
“So you’d prefer simply to be seduced.”
“Yes. I mean no! I mean, oh!” She stepped away from him and pulled her robe tighter around her. “You are so-”
“Irrepressible? Irresistible?”
Amusement she couldn’t deny rippled though her, and her lips twitched. “I was going to say irritating.”
“I must confess, I like my choices much better.”
“Yes, I’m certain you do.”
“Why is there no point in me courting you?”
“Courting is a precursor to marriage, and as I’ve no intention of marrying again, your efforts would be wasted.”
“A man cannot court a woman simply because he enjoys her company?”
“Do you enjoy my company, Mr. Stanton?”
“Andrew. And yes, I do. When you’re not being so prickly. Although, I must admit that I enjoy your company even when you are prickly. I just enjoy it more when you’re not.”
“I am not prickly.”
“If you don’t think so, clearly you do not know the definition of the word. Between that and not knowing what a surprise is, I think it might behoove me always to keep a dictionary in easy reach.”
“Is this your idea of courting me? Irritating me until my head hurts?”
“No. However, I don’t see that it makes much difference as you’ve said you don’t wish to be courted.”
Catherine bit her lips, not certain if she were more amused or vexed. Shooting him an exaggerated frown, she asked, “Do you know who is more annoying than you?”
His eyes twinkled with clear amusement. “No, but I’m certain you’re about to tell me.”
“No one, Mr. Stanton. I’ve never met anyone more annoying than you.”
“Andrew. And how fortunate that I so enjoy being in first place.”
He smiled, a beautiful, full smile, complete with the enticing dimples that had her pressing her lips together to keep from responding in kind. Botheration, where had her irritation disappeared to? She shouldn’t feel like smiling. She was supposed to be irked. Annoyed. Why then did she feel so utterly… charmed?
Clearly it was time that she took her leave of him.
She stepped forward, but he stopped her by lightly grasping her upper arm. All vestiges of humor left his eyes, and he reached out to trail a single fingertip down her cheek. “I think we shared something good here tonight, Catherine.”
A tingle tripped down her spine. How did he elicit such a strong physical reaction from her with just the whisper of a touch? Although she desperately wished it otherwise, she could no longer lie to herself and deny that she found this man irresistibly attractive.
Now the only question was, what did she intend to do about it?