but then my grandmother would have surely seen through my plan.” It made no sense, but she could not seem to stop herself from telling him any of this.
“Yes, I can see where that would make her suspicious. Still, I think it would be very difficult for you to conceal your beauty, Miss Armstrong. Even with spectacles.” His appreciative gaze caused her skin to tingle.
Caroline gently shook her head and protested, “Besides, I’m too old to interest anyone. I’m twenty-two already!” Why was she confiding in him? How did he make her feel so at ease? Yet it was good to share her feelings openly with someone. She had held the burden of too many secrets for far too long. What did it matter if she told a stranger anyway?
He grinned at her, feigning shock. “As old as twenty-two, are you?”
“Yes…I’m almost a spinster for certain. No one could possibly be interested in me.”
“I think you would interest many young men in that ballroom, Miss Armstrong.”
Although the look he gave her caused her stomach to flutter, Caroline stated emphatically, “Well, Mr. Woodward, I can assure you that I have no interest in marrying anyone in that ballroom.”
“Aha!” he declared in triumph, eyeing her keenly, challenging her. “Then it’s just this particular ballroom that holds no interest for you.”
She scoffed at him, “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Now wait a minute, Little Miss I-Don’t-Want-a-Husband. I think we have just come to the real reason that you say you don’t want to have a Season. It’s not that you don’t wish to marry. It’s that you don’t wish to marry anyone here.” Alex grinned knowingly, like the cat that ate the canary. When she made no response to the contrary, he continued with his theory. “I believe that there is a someone. Someone who is not here, whom you are very interested in marrying. This would also explain your sadness this evening. Am I correct, Miss Armstrong?”
“No, Mr. Woodward, you are not correct. In fact, far from it.” She uttered the words coolly, belying the fact that she was a little unnerved that he had so nearly guessed her secret. He knew way too much about her already, and she couldn’t afford to divulge any more information. Instead she turned the tables on him. “Why are you here tonight, Mr. Woodward? Are you looking for a wife?”
“Lord, no!” He looked at her slyly and raised one eyebrow. “Not in that ballroom, anyway. But what makes you think that I’m not married already?” he asked, his eyes lingering on hers.
“You don’t act as if you are married.”
“And just how does a married man act?”
“I’m not sure exactly”—she regarded him carefully—“but I have the distinct feeling that they don’t act the way you do. I have the impression you’re hiding.”
“Now what would I possibly be hiding from?” he asked with a charming grin, which caused her heart to skip a beat again.
“Most likely you are hiding out here to avoid the husband-hungry ladies and their mothers in the ballroom.” Glancing up at those dangerous eyes, she thought he certainly was handsome enough to have all those women falling at his feet.
“You are absolutely right, Miss Armstrong,” he conceded easily. “I am only in attendance tonight to fulfill a promise. I’m out here because I am most definitely trying to avoid the ladies in the ballroom.” After a moment, he added, “Now we know each other’s secrets.”
Idly running her fingers along the cool marble railing, she whispered, “It seems we do.”
“So here we are, the pair of us, out here hiding in the dark. Two people who don’t wish to marry”—he gave a sly wink—“anyone in that ballroom.”
Exasperated, she shook her head slightly and grinned at him. “You won’t give my secret away will you, Mr. Woodward?”
“If you promise to call me Alex and I can call you…Caroline, was it?”
“Caroline,” she repeated.
“Well, Caroline, since we know some secrets about each other, we should be on a first-name basis, don’t you think?”
“I think, Alex, that we have a deal then,” she agreed with a teasing smile, looking up at him. He reached for her, gently taking hold of both her small hands. She let out a little gasp of surprise, but she did not pull away.
Tiny tingling sensations began to build inside her as his hands held hers. Oh, she definitely should have left her gloves on! For now she could feel his warm skin and his strong yet soft fingers that held her gently but with a firm pressure. It was difficult to breathe because her heart was beating so rapidly. She had the oddest feeling that something very special was happening. She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes, those dark eyes, and had the sensation that she was suddenly falling off a very, very steep cliff.
His voice was a whisper. “Shall we seal our secrets with a kiss?”
CHAPTER 2
Without a second’s hesitation, he pulled her closer, lowering his mouth over hers. When his lips touched hers, Caroline felt a shock go through her entire body, as if someone poured liquid fire directly into her veins. His lips were hot, searing. They moved deliberately, purposefully, intently over hers. He tasted faintly of some spice she couldn’t name. She was unable to breathe and was overwhelmed by him, yet did not want the feeling to end. There was a tingling and a tightening sensation deep down in her stomach. Her mouth opened of its own volition, and he seductively slipped his tongue inside. She accepted him readily, savoring the taste of him, maneuvering her tongue to meet his. Slick. Warm. Swirling. Amazing. This was no hurried kiss. He was taking his time with her.
His hands, having released hers, slowly, deliberately slid up the length of her bare arms and shoulders, softly caressing her warm skin. Like a whisper, his fingers paused at the back of her neck, stroking, barely touching the sensitive area. She trembled in response to the feel of his hands on her body, her neck, her skin. Then his hands moved leisurely down her spine, pressing her body full against his. Her arms, which had been hanging motionless at her side, suddenly found the will to reach up and encircle him, drawing him nearer to her.
Caroline knew it was highly improper for this man to kiss her. She should not even be out here alone with him at all, let alone confiding her deepest secrets in him, laughing with him, allowing him to hold her hands so intimately. Her grandmother would be scandalized at the very thought of Caroline in the dark with this man. A stranger, no less! With the exception of his name and that he did not want to get married, she knew nothing else about him. She knew only that she responded to this man on some level. That she could trust him somehow. He would keep her secret safe.
The thought that her behavior was scandalous vaguely entered her mind as his kiss deepened in intensity, causing that thought to flutter away much like a feather in a puff of a breeze. She couldn’t seem to keep a coherent thought in her head at all. She could do nothing except kiss him back. And feel: his lips, his tongue, his hands, his heat. Alexander. His name tumbled over and over in her mind. Alex, Alex, Alex.
Pressing herself closer against his chest, her hands traveled behind his head, hesitantly touching his thick, dark hair. A slight moan of pleasure escaped his mouth, and he pulled her tighter, causing her to melt completely against him, her breasts crushing against his chest.
