Page 8 of How to Capture a Duke

Her mother would dismiss him on the spot.

Olivia did the opposite.

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him.

Chapter Three

Tristan froze as her lips touched his. His first thought was that she tasted of strawberries. His second was that she was kissing him.

Why would she kiss him, believing he was a groom? He’d been careful to give her his father’s Christian name, Caleb. He wouldn’t chance offering his surname and risking the chance she’d recognize him. As far as she was concerned, he was a man with nothing to offer, a man who struggled daily to form words.

But not with her.

His condition had improved as the morning had progressed. He understood that he struggled less with his words, and sometimes not at all, when he was comfortable. But he’d only met Olivia twice. So how was it he could speak more clearly with her?

She’d guessed it about him as well. But how could she know?

He should push her away; instead, his fingers tightened around her waist and tugged her close. She was slender, but he felt her curves against his chest as he held her. It became clear that she’d never kissed before. Her lips remained pressed together, her eyes closed. His mouth grazed her lips, licked the seam between them, and her lips parted on a sigh. Stark hunger arose inside his chest. He must be a blackguard after all to keep kissing her. His tongue slipped inside and tasted her.

Lovely and utterly innocent.

He should tell her the truth. But he had no intention of seeing her again. He was not the one who initiated this. She’d kissed him.

He broke the kiss and frowned down at her. “Why did you do that?”

She licked her glossy lips. “Because I wanted to know what it felt like to have a choice.”

So she wanted a bit of adventure, a choice of her own before she had to return to the manor and perform her duties as a daughter of an earl. He could understand the need for escape, couldn’t he? She wanted a few stolen moments of her own choosing. Who could blame her?

It wouldn’t last—couldn’t. This brief kiss could only be a minor distraction, nothing more. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “And what did it feel like?”

She tilted her head to the side and watched him, her green eyes bright. “Much more than I thought.”

His arms dropped to his sides, and he took a step back. Rather than tempt him further, her answer roused his temper. She should not be here, kissing him, only to leave and stroll Rosehill’s vast gardens with a lord.

His jaw tightened. “Time to return.”

…

Olivia did not regret the kiss. Not one bit. What she did regret was Caleb’s rejection. Despite his aloofness, it would be difficult for her to forget what had occurred. His lips appeared of marble, but they were soft and seductive. And when she’d parted her lips and his tongue had slipped inside, her knees had buckled. Who knew a man could kiss a woman like that?

She was mostly ignorant of what transpired between a man and a woman. Oh, she knew how horses mated, but this was different, so different.

“Olivia!”

She started at the urgency in the tone. Her mother stood in the doorway of her bedchamber.

Olivia reached for her silver-handled brush. “I’m almost ready to meet Lord Elton for our walk. I just returned to refresh myself and—”

“Forget your walk with Lord Elton. The dowager duchess wishes to see you in her parlor.”

Olivia blinked. “Why?”

A tiny wrinkle formed between her mother’s brows. “I do not know. She hasn’t asked to see any of the ladies privately. Perhaps you have caught her eye? Her grandson may be expected.”

Olivia wanted to shout that the duke had already been in residence but held her tongue. She had no intention of confessing she’d spent the morning in the head groom’s company talking about the duke, her social obligations with Lord Elton and Lord Edwards, or anything else. And she certainly would never confess that she’d kissed the man.

Her thoughts turned to the dowager duchess’s summons. What did the woman want with her? Did she know her grandson was in residence and she was seeking a private audience with each unmarried lady in an effort to select the most eligible one to introduce to her grandson?