The Debutante's Ruse by Linda Skye Page B

herself ensconced in the heavy damask curtains adorning a window—and encircled tightly by the stranger’s strong arms. Isabella furtively glanced up into the stranger’s face and met slate-gray eyes which clearly communicated his intentions. To further impress the warning upon her, he leaned in and lightly placed two fingers against her lips. She nodded slightly, bowed her head and fought to quell her slight trembling at being so suddenly pressed to a man.
    Isabella had never been so near a man in her life, and she felt her cheeks burn at the proximity. With every short breath that she took, she inhaled the scent of his sweat and cedar musk. She could feel every line of his hard body against her own: thigh against thigh and chest to chest. She could even feel the pounding of his heart under her open palms.
    Isabella stilled. The men were about to pass, and the stranger’s shoulders still moved with heavy panting from his prior exertions, rustling the curtains with every exhale. Moving with painful slowness so as not to disturb the fabric concealing them, Isabella reached up to cup his cheek in one hand to draw his attention downward. His eyes widened fractionally as she pressed her bosom against his chest, her small fingers splayed across his collar bone. And then, she took one deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her green eyes, bright even in the dim light, begged him to understand as her breathing grew soft, still and silent. He followed her lead, mimicking her rhythm and following the rise and fall of her breast with his own.
    The footsteps passed them but did not fade away into the corridor. Instead they paused. Three sharp raps on a door followed.
    “Lord James?” The governor called, knocking again.
    The stranger’s hands tightened around her waist as the governor called out again. Isabella twisted her fingers in the material of his loosened shirt, wordlessly urging him to stay silent.
    “Maybe he’s already left for the ball?” Arthur muttered.
    “Most likely,” The governor replied, “Shall we meet him there?”
    “I shall join you presently,” Arthur said, “Allow me to fetch my sister from her rooms. I did not see her at the beginning of the ball, and it would not do for her to miss his lordship’s eye.”
    Their footfalls faded from earshot as they went back the way they came, and Isabella breathed a sigh of relief. She tried to step away, only to find the stranger’s arms as bands of steel around her, his gray eyes alight with interest. His hand went for the thin cloth covering her face, but she caught his wrist with nimble fingers. To her surprise, he did not seem perturbed at her scandalous disguise, nor by the fact that he had a possible criminal locked in his arms. Instead, his expression was only curious. How strange , Isabella thought as her eyes traced the outline of his attractive lips, how intriguing.
    “Who are you?” He asked, searching her gaze.
    “Do not ask questions you do not wish to answer yourself,” she hissed, twisting in his grip, remembering her mission.
    “Come now,” the man whispered, drawing her even closer, “Surely I am entitled to some morsel of information for hiding you from the lord of this manor?”
    “Must I remind you that you were hiding as well?” Isabella murmured against his ear, letting her hands slide down his arms.
    “True,” he acquiesced, “But I simply must know who you are.”
    The stranger’s arms tightened as he spun her around, pressing her back against the cool window pane. He gently pushed his hips into hers, pinning her in place with his weight. Isabella gasped at the new sensation and pressed her palms against his bare chest. The man pressed his face into her neck and inhaled deeply, his hands skimming the shapely contours of her sides. As his fingers trailed from her ribs to her hips, Isabella lost the ability to think. A slow-burning heat began in the pit of her stomach, spreading like syrup through her limbs. When he tugged at her