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"Why not?" She raised one brow in challenge "Do you seek to use it against me?"

"As if I would ever allow anyone else to see it"

Possessiveness Clear as day He was possessive over her Amelia was both startled and pleased

"Why does Lord Ware not see you as you wish to be seen?" he asked, finally approaching

His tall for her heart racing There was soant in the way he ently with his determined stride Power leashed and clad in a civilized veneer It made his allure even more seductive, made her want to see him unrestrained and free His features were austere, his beautifully etched lips enticing her to kiss him

That is what I want, she realized suddenly That is why I needed to see hi to be honest with hitime companions"

"Is it not a lovea few feet away

"I should not answer that"

"And I should not be here You should not have lured me"

"You had me followed"

He shook his head "No Jacques took it upon hi Town I need distance froresses any further"

"How can you leave? Are you not haunted by our dance in the garden?" Her hand lifted to the sapphires at her throat "Don’t you think about the kiss we shared?"

"I cannot cease thinking of it" He pounced and caught her hard against hi in hi"

She felt his gaze heating her mouth She licked the lower curve and breathed in the scent of his skin He s instinctive inside her stirred in response

"Do it," she goaded, her chest ainst his with rapid pants

Montoya whispered a low curse "You do not love him"

"I wish I did" Tentatively, her hands slipped beneath his coat and settled at his waist His skin was hot, so feverish, she could feel the heat through his garments

"Is your heart already taken?"

Her exhale was shaky "In a fashion"

"Whythe feeling of being stripped bare by his questions

He stared down into her upturned face "My visage is not one you would wish to see"

She was deeply disquieted by the finality in his tone The feeling of incertitude disturbed her to the point that she released him and attempted to step back He held fast

"Let us settle this now," he said, reaching up to brush callused fingertips along her cheekbones "What do you want from me?"

"Did you approach me because of St John?"

Montoya shook his head "My motives were simple I saw a beautiful woman I lost all sense of manners and stared, which ize That is all" His hands cupped her spine and stroked doard, arching her into him

He was so hard, so solid, A to him and touch him without impediments Only one o, she would have said her ability to enjoy such an e had passed with Colin Now, she knew that wasn’t true

How extraordinary to have found Montoya

Or more aptly, how extraordinary that he had found her

"That nightYou recognized that others were co," she pointed out

"I did" The line of his lips hardened "I am a man encumbered by a tainted past It is why you should not send for me"

"You did not have to conize covert signals that most aristocrats would fail to notice Who was he?

The corner of his mouth twitched with aertip She could not see any deforh the eyeholes of the mask or around his htly exotic slant and a mouth made for sin The curvature, shape, and fir hi with hiht be able to bear it

She touched the edge of the mask "Let hly, then caught it again and kissed the back The press of his lips left tingles, even through her glove "Trust me It would be difficult to bear the truth of it"

"Is that why you will not court me?"

Montoya stilled "Would you wish me to?"

"Do you feel this way about aze dropped to his throat where she watched him s hard "I have felt this way about only one other man, and he is lost to me, as your love is to you"

Suddenly his ehtened, and he pressed his lips to her forehead "You have mentioned a lost loved one before," he rasped

"So It is unbearable I do not understand why I feel so vividly about hiht return, as if some part of me expects him to" Her hands fisted in his coat "But when I am with you, I think only of you"

"Do I remind you of him?"

She shook her head "He was vital and unrestrained; you are more subdued, but in aprimitive way" Her smile was sheepish "That sounds silly"

"The pri his jaw against her temple He was so close, the siddy Joy, hot and sweet, filled her The sensation of being alive after years of nuuilty for that, burdened by a sense of betraying Ware, but she could not fight the attraction to Montoya It was too strong, too heady and intoxicating

"I would be willing to explore it" she offered shyly

"Are you propositioning h that she adored froh one worked to hear again Already her ht ain"

"No" He cupped her nape and held her cheek to his chest, wrapping his big body around her It was safe in his e? A derisive snort escaped her Hours of kissing and hugging She was deranged