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The acknowledgment flared in her face She wanted to kiss him, too, and he knew it in that instant She desired him as much as he did her It was all the permission he needed

Sebastian bent forward, savoring the e to plunder Her lips were soft, tre, and cold He let his own breath warasped He caught it with his , a desire such as he had never known And suddenly she was pulling away, shaking her head, pushing at hio, stunned by what he had felt as entlemanly instincts

There was fright in her eyes The knowledge sobered hi her against her will Whatever her birthlady

“My apologies, Miss Greentree,” he said, and didn’t try to hide the regret as well as the apology in his voice The desire to feel her lips under his again was a powerful one

She turned away, presenting him with her flushed cheek

Just then lightning flashed dangerously close to them A heartbeat later thunder roared The rain was back and heavier than before, sweeping across thein its path Sebastian could hardly see otten about the kiss as she hurried along beside him

Francesca Greentree, Aphrodite’s natural daughter Did the heart of a courtesan lie buried beneath Francesca’s plain—and now decidedly dahter of a courtesan Did she revel in the decadence of it, or was she appalled by her own birth? Sebastian considered the questions as he trudged along beside her, trying hard to ignore the exhaustion in his body andweather

“How can anyone live in this bloody place?” he grumbled

“You are not seeing it at its best,” she said, pausing to wipe the rain from her eyes She sneezed

“Bless you,” he muttered

“There!” Her voice was ragged and she was bedraggled, but when she turned to hi with joy Sebastian followed the direction of her pointing finger, peering through the rain Lights A house, and a coe one

“Greentree Manor,” she said “Come on, Mr Thorne, only a little farther!” At thather wild hair about her She seemed completely at home in this hostile world Dear God, but she was beautiful, he thought in astonishht try to pretend she was Francesca was a creature of the storm

“I still want to kiss you,” he gasped, and he didn’t knohether he was shaking from exhaustion and cold, or Francesca Greentree His blood was dru in his ears

“Oh look, the servants cooodness…”

“I said, I still want to kiss you, Francesca”