On the afternoon of her third meeting with Owen, Alex had decided to be daring and adventurous. Daring was called for because time was quickly running out. The Rutherfords’ ball was to be held tomorrow evening, and she and Owen had already agreed that it was the perfect venue to put their respective plans into action. He would dance with her and thus draw the fickle attention of the ton in her direction, and she would put in a good word for him with her sister, thereby giving him an opening that he could then use to employ the newfound knowledge he had of Lavinia’s likes and dislikes.
Alex briefly wondered if Owen would arrive bearing a rock. That might be awkward. She hoped she wouldn’t bear witness to that particular bit. She mostly hoped Lavinia wouldn’t fly into one of her rages at the sight of such a gift, whereby Owen might tell her where he got the idea and expose her entire charade. It was dubious, to be sure. But Alex didn’t have long to contemplate it. She’d been waiting in Cassandra Swift’s ballroom only five minutes before the door opened and Owen appeared, wearing chocolate-colored breeches, black top boots, white shirtfronts and cravat, and a dark gray waistcoat. His hair was neatly slicked and the gleam in his blue eyes told her he might just be interested in being bold today, too.
“Good afternoon, my lady,” he said, bowing at the waist to her.
“Good afternoon, my lord,” she replied, falling into a deep curtsy.
“Are you in need of champagne for today’s lesson? Or perhaps port?” He grinned at her.
“I think I can manage without spirits today, thank you.”
Owen made his way across the wide expanse and came to stand near her. “If you have anything important left to tell me about Lavinia, I suggest you do it now before the Rutherfords’ ball.”
Alex nodded. She’d been expecting this question and she was prepared. “Yes. There is one thing.”
His eyes met hers, clearly interested. Alex wished for the hundredth time they didn’t have to discuss Lavinia so often. Though she supposed they wouldn’t even be here together if it weren’t for Lavinia. Confound it. Alex folded her hands in front of her serenely. “Lavinia, er, she doesn’t like horses. Don’t bring them up.”
Owen’s eyebrows went up. “Horses, you say?”
“Yes.” Alex glanced away. “She’s frightened half out of her wits by them.”
“There’s nothing to be frightened of in a horse.”
“I know that and you know that, but for some reason, Lavinia detests the creatures.” Good thing Alex wasn’t standing outside, closer to the possible lightning.
Owen’s voice was resigned. “Very well. I’ll ensure I don’t bring up horses. Or at least show no affinity toward them.”
“That’s probably best.” Alex nodded.
“As for you, you’re already a proficient flirt and a skilled dancer. I’m not certain what else to show you,” he said with a laugh.
Alex took a deep breath. This next part was especially daring. But daring was the order of the day. “I have an idea.”
He turned his head toward her. “What’s that?”
She squeezed her hands together. “It’s a question, really.”
“Yes?” he prodded.
Alex chewed on her bottom lip. She couldn’t even look at him when she said it. “What should I do if a gentleman becomes too forward?”
“We already went over this—”
“No,” she said, her ears burning. “I mean too forward.”
He eyed her cautiously.
“What if he attempts to kiss me?” she finally blurted.
Owen’s eyes rounded. “Slap him,” he said, his voice taking on a threatening, angry tone she’d never heard before.
She smoothed a curl away from her forehead. “What if that doesn’t work?”
“Knee him between the legs. Then come find me. I’ll handle the wretch for you.” His voice was thunderous.
A thrill rushed down Alex’s spine. His offer was positively tempting, but she needed to follow through with this line of questioning. She had a plan. A daring one. “What if he succeeds?” she ventured, smoothing her gloved hand down the front of her lavender gown. “In kissing me, I mean.”
Owen’s head snapped up. His face had hardened into a mask of stone. “Has that happened before?”
“No, of course not, but then again, I haven’t been flirting before. What if I’m superbly effective? I want to ensure that I’m prepared for success.”
Owen’s hand clenched into a fist. “If some overly eager blighter tries to get you alone, say no. He won’t kiss you in public.”
“Are you quite sure?” Alex prodded.
“Entirely. I’ll call him out myself since your brother is still not of age.”
Another thrill shot down her spine. Lord Owen Monroe calling out an overly eager suitor on her behalf? Who would ever imagine? Well, besides her.
Alex cleared her throat. “There is one man whom I’d quite like to kiss me, but—”
“Who?” The word shot out like a crack against the nearest wall.
Alex stumbled over her words. Perhaps she shouldn’t have said that. “He’s the—I mean to say—He’s—”
“Forgive me,” Owen replied. “You’re speaking of the chap from whom you’re hoping for an offer, of course.”
All Alex could do was nod. “Yes, but if another man, a man I don’t want to kiss me, tries to do so, I’d like to be prepared.”
His eyes narrowed on her. “Prepared how?”
“I think I should practice, if you’d be so kind.” She did her best to maintain a straight face.
Owen scowled. “Practice? What do you mean?”
Alex twined her fingers together and rocked back and forth. “I mean that you should try to kiss me and I’ll practice my reaction.”
Owen’s blue eyes widened once more but just as quickly reverted to their normal size. “I’m not certain—”
She crossed her arms over her chest matter-of-factly. The only way this would work was if she pretended it was all merely part of the lessons. She needed to act as if it were nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. “Honestly, Owen. You cannot teach me how to flirt and then leave me to fend off a possibly lecherous suitor on my own with no training whatsoever.” She tapped her slippered foot on the parquet floor.
He scratched his head, but she could tell by the dawning look of acceptance on his face that he was coming around to her way of thinking. Excellent.
“Very well.” He sighed. “I’ll try to kiss you and you can sidestep me and slap me with your fan. Of course, this should be done only in the most extreme set of circumstances, and again, I highly recommend you do not go anywhere alone with anyone who might make such an untoward advance.”
“I understand completely,” she assured him, trying to quell the nerves that had raced through her chest ever since he’d uttered the words “I’ll try to kiss you.”
Owen straightened his cravat and squared his shoulders. Then he faced her, puffing up his chest and waggling his eyebrows in a comical manner. “You look so ravishing this evening, Lady Alexandra. Your beauty has enchanted me, and I fear I’m overcome with my passions.”
She couldn’t help her laugh. “Overcome with your passions?”
He cracked a smile. “Don’t make sport. I’m certain many a chap has said worse. Not me, of course. I have much more style than that, but I’m guessing at what a sop would say when he was about to make an indecent advance upon a lady of stellar reputation.”
Alex gave him a skeptical once-over. “Do you mean to say you’ve never made an indecent advance?”
Owen’s grin was unrepentant. “Certainly not. I’ve made more than I can count, but never on a lady whose reputation was at stake.”
Her laughter continued. “Never on someone like me, you mean?”
“Precisely.” He bowed.
“Very well, carry on.” She fluttered her hand in the air. “What were you saying, Mr. Suitor?”
He tsked her. “Aim higher. He should at least be Lord Suitor.”
She shook her head at him. “Fine. What were you saying, Lord Suitor?”
“My passions. I am overcome by them,” Owen said in a louder-than-normal, overly dramatic voice that made Alex shake her head and laugh again.
“And what do you propose to do about them? Do you intend to declare yourself?” she asked.
He pulled her into his arms, and Alex abruptly stopped laughing. Her breath caught in her throat.
“No. I intend to do this.” Owen’s mouth swooped down toward hers. Alex knew … this was the moment she was supposed to sidestep him, was supposed to move away, deliver a crushing setdown, slap him with her fan, slap him with her hand. Both hand and fan were at the ready, even. But the moment his mouth moved toward hers, all she could think about was feeling his warm lips against hers. She didn’t move away, not an inch, and Owen’s mouth met hers in a hot, tangled kiss.
At first it was as if a tiny bolt of lightning froze them together. The shock of it caused them to root to their respective spots. But then Owen moved his lips, and Alexandra’s hands slipped up his shirtfront and around his neck, anchoring him to her. His mouth shifted over hers. Her lips parted and his tongue boldly stroked inside. Alex’s knees buckled.
Owen’s large hands were there to catch her and instead of pushing her away, he pulled her up against his hard, muscled body, and Alex moaned. Owen’s mouth slashed over hers, and his tongue slid inside her mouth again and again, owning her. He groaned, too, and Alex clung to him, afraid she would fall to a heap on the fine floor if she let go of his strong neck. He smelled like expensive cologne and a hint of smoke and wood spice. She laced her fingers together behind his neck and leaned up into the kiss even more.
When Owen finally pulled away, he was breathing heavily. So was she.
His eyes were wide with surprise. “You didn’t move.”
“You kissed me.” She pressed a hand to her chest, hoping to correct the fact that she couldn’t breathe properly. What a kiss that had been! Entirely knee-weakening. Just as she’d hoped it would be. Just as she’d dreamed it would be. Ooh, perhaps being daring was an acquired skill. She certainly liked it so far.
“I kissed you because I thought you were going to slap me.” Owen eyed her as if she were some exotic species of animal he’d never seen before.
But the unspoken words hung in the air, too, along with the lust from their kiss. He’d kissed her far longer and with far more aplomb than he’d needed to in order to simply be staging a kiss from an overactive suitor. She wanted to ask him why he hadn’t stopped, but at the same time she didn’t want to know. She couldn’t bear it if he told her he hadn’t wanted to kiss her. No. She would just leave it alone.
“I forgot to slap you,” she admitted.
They stared at each other. Attraction leaped between them. Alex looked away first. What else could she say to him?
He scrubbed his hand against the back of his neck. “I suggest you take my original advice. Stay away from suitors who ask you to go anywhere with them alone.”
All she could do was nod jerkily and press her burning lips together.
“Do you have what you need to court Lavinia?” she asked with a slightly shaking voice.
“I think so.”
“The ball is tomorrow night,” she breathed. That was an idiotic thing to say.
“Do you think you can employ what we’ve discussed?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Is the man whom you fancy going to be there?”
“Yes,” she breathed. Unexpected tears stung Alex’s eyes at the thought of their meetings here in Cassandra’s ballroom coming to an end. What if everything Alex had told him didn’t work? What if Lavinia changed her mind and fell madly in love with him? What if her parents forced Lavinia to marry him regardless? Oh, there were so many possibilities. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted him for herself. Why had she thought any of this was a good idea?
Because she’d wanted to spend time in his company at any price. That’s why.
“Me, too,” he replied. “I’ll see you there.” He pulled her hand up to his lips, and Alex closed her eyes to savor the feel of it. “Save the first dance for me.”