Page 64 of A Fragile Enchantment

We should never do that again, should we?

Instead, she whispered, “Come in. Quickly,” and ushered him inside. The door latched behind him. “What are you doing here?”

He avoided her gaze. “I don’t know.”

All of her girlish nerves went up in flames. Oh, she could strangle him. He’d kissed her like he meant to make her forget all sense, then left her a confused, flustered, lovesickfool.At the end of it all, she got a mumbledI don’t knowfor her troubles. Kit was so utterlypredictable.Why, then, did she still light up with longing?

She planted her hands on her hips and tried her best to glare up at him. “You don’t know?”

“Maybe I wasn’t really thinking,” he said defensively. “I like you. I like being around you. I had nothing on my schedule this morning, so here I am.”

I like you.Such matter-of-fact simplicity, a new law of the universe. It felt the same as when he’d told her that he’d talk to her if it pleased him, everyone else in the world be damned. But it was not that simple. It couldn’t be.

“But you… I…” Her mind worked too quickly for her to form a single coherent thought. “It would be wise if we kept our distance from each other. The wedding is so soon, and after that, you and I will likely never see each other again. It’s better for us to become strangers again.”

Less risk. Less pain.

He seemed to consider it. He took a step closer to her, then another, until he loomed over her and she could feel the warmth emanating from him. The challenging glint in his eyes made her pulse quicken. “Is that what you want?”

She blinked up at him, perplexed. It should not matter what she wanted. “No…?”

She had meant to saybut.She really had. But the way he lookedat her—enraptured, as though she’d put him under some enchantment—made her forget.

“Good,” he said. “Me neither.”

He kissed her, and she could not help the strangled noise she made—part shock, part relief, part joy. His mouth moved against hers, deliberate and urgent. He walked her forward until her back hit the wall. He braced his forearm beside her head, caging her in, while Niamh clung to his lapels—first for balance, then to pull him in closer. This was not the flashfire intensity of their first kiss, or the aimless languor they’d settled into as the hours had dragged on. No, this was pure intent. He would dismantle her entirely if she let him.

Distantly, it occurred to her that they should probably discuss what onearththey were doing sooner rather than later. What this meant, what arrangement they would have to come to, what precautions they would have to take… But when he angled his hips against hers, she felt just how much his desire matched her own, and the fire in her veins sparked higher. She’d been prepared to deny herself forever, but now that she had him again, she refused to take small sips of him now.

Another knock sounded on the door. They jerked apart.

“It’s me,” called Sinclair.

Kit radiated a murderous aura. “I’ll tell him to leave.”

“No!” Sinclair had warned her quite specifically about howobviousshe and Kit were and if he caught them together like this, it would not instill any confidence. She couldn’t bear his disapproval. She grabbed his wrist and looked frantically around the room for some solution. “Get in the closet.”

“What?” He looked affronted. “No.”

“Just do it!”

“I hear someone else in there,” said Sinclair cheerfully.

She groaned. Too late, then. “Just a moment!”

Kit looked agonized and half-wild, but he huffed out a resignedbreath. He gathered up his hair and tied it loosely back with a practiced ease. Just like that, he appeared aloof and unruffled again. She set to work trying to calm herself down in the meantime. Not much could be done for her reddened lips, but at least he hadn’t disheveled her too much.

“All right,” Sinclair called, “I’m coming in.”

Niamh took another step away from Kit just as the door swung open. She did her very best not to look guilty, but she felt heat rising in her face.

Sinclair took in the scene before him. “You must be joking.”

Kit let out a long, irritated sigh.

Sinclair strode toward the tea set, the tails of his coral overcoat trailing behind him. He poured himself a cup of tea, then selected a biscuit from the display. He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully, and then rounded on Kit. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Hello to you, too,” Kit shot back.