"Obviously if s something."
Her shoulders rose and fell in a self-deprecating shrug. "Percy said the same thing to me. He's a fool, and I know that, but it still hurt. It was just that I thought..."
Blake felt like the worst sort of brute. "What did you think, Caroline?" he asked gently.
She shook her head and started to walk away.
He watched her for just a moment, tempted to let her go. After all, she'd been a thorn in his side- not to mention other parts of his anatomy-all morning. The only way he was going to get any peace was to keep her out of his sight.
But her lower lip had quivered, and her eyes had looked a little wet, and-
"Damn," he muttered. "Caroline, come back here."
She didn't listen, so he strode down the hall, catching up with her just as she was heading down the stairs. With quick steps he positioned himself between her and the staircase. "Stop, Caroline. Now."
He heard her sniffle, and then she turned around. "What is it, Blake? I really should go. I'm sure you can take care of yourself. You said so, and you certainly don't need me to-"
"Why do you suddenly look as if you're going to cry?" '
She swallowed. "I'm not going to cry."
He crossed his arms and gave her a look that said he didn't believe her for one second.
"I said it was nothing," she mumbled.
"I'm not going to let you go down these stairs until you tell me what is wrong."
"Fine. Then I'll go up to my room." She turned around and took one step away, but he caught a handful of the fabric of her skirt and pulled her back to him. "I suppose that now you're going to say you're not going to let me go until I tell you," she growled.
"You're growing perceptive in your old age."
She crossed her arms mutinously. "Oh, for goodness sake. You're being quite ridiculous."
"I told you once that you are my responsibility, Caroline. And I don't take my responsibilities lightly."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that if you're crying, I want to put a stop to it."
"I'm not crying," she muttered.
"You were about to."
"Oh!" she burst out, throwing her arms up in exasperation.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're as stubborn as... as..."
"As you?" he said helpfully.
Her lips clamped into a firm and slightly twisted line as she glared daggers at him.
"Spit it out, Caroline. I'm not letting you pass until you do."
"Fine! Do you want to know why I was upset? Fine. I'll tell you." She swallowed, summoning courage she didn't feel. "Did you happen to notice that you compared me to the plague?"
"Oh, for the love of-" He bit his lip, presumably to keep himself from cursing in her presence.
Not, Caroline thought caustically, mat that had ever stopped him before.
"You must know," he said, "that I did not mean that literally."
"It still hurt my feelings."
He stared at her intently. "I will allow that that wasn't the nicest comment I have ever made, and I do apologize for it, but I know you well enough to know that that alone wouldn't make you cry."
"I wasn't crying," she said, quite automatically.
"Almost cry," he corrected, "and I would like you to tell me the full story."
"Oh very well. Percy used to call me pestilence and plague all the time. It was his very favorite insult."
"You mentioned that. And I will take that as yet another sign that I spoke stupidly."
She swallowed and looked away. "I never put any stock into his words. It was Percy, after all, and he is a dozen different kinds of fool. But then you said it, and-"
Blake closed his eyes for a long second, knowing what was coming next and dreading it.
A slightly choked sound emerged from Caroline's throat before she said, "And then I thought it might possibly be true."
"Caroline, I-"
"Because you're not a fool, and I know that even better than I knew Percy was one."
"Caroline," he said firmly, "I am a fool. A bloody, stupid fool for referring to you with anything but the highest of praise."
"You needn't lie to make me feel better."
He scowled at her. Or rather, at the top of her head, since she was looking at her feet. "I told you I never lie."
She looked up suspiciously. "You told me you rarely lie."
"I lie when the security of Great Britain is at stake, not your feelings."
"I'm not certain if that is an insult or not."
"It is definitely not an insult, Caroline. And why would you think I was lying?"
She rolled her eyes,at him. "You were less than cordial to me last evening."
"Last evening I bloody well wanted to strangle you," he admitted. "You put your life in danger for no good reason."
"I thought saving your life was a rather good reason myself," she shot back.
"I don't want to argue about that right now. Do you accept my apology?"
"For what?"
He raised a brow. "Is that meant to imply that I have more than one transgression for which I must apologize?"
"Mr. Ravenscroft, I cannot count high enough..."
He grinned. "Now I know you've forgiven me if you're making jokes."
This time she raised a brow, and he noted that she managed to look every bit as arrogant as he did. She said, "And what makes you think that was a joke?" But then she laughed, which quite broke the effect.
"I am forgiven?"
She nodded. "Percy never apologized."
"Percy is clearly an idiot."
She smiled then-a small, wistful smile that very nearly melted his heart. "Caroline," he said, barely recognizing his voice.
"Yes?"
"Oh, hell." He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in the most feathery light of kisses. It wasn't that he wanted to kiss her. He needed to kiss her. He needed it the way he needed air, and water, and the afternoon sunshine on his face. The kiss was almost spiritual; his entire body trembled just from the barest touch of their lips.
"Oh, Blake," she sighed, sounding as bewildered as he felt.
"Caroline," he murmured, trailing his lips along the elegant line of her neck. "I don't know why... I don't understand it, but-"
"I don't care," she said, sounding quite determined for one whose breathing had gone way past erratic. She threw her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with artless abandon.
The warm press of her body against his was more than Blake could bear, and he swept her into his arms and carried her through the upstairs hall to his room. He kicked the door shut, and they tumbled onto the bed, his body covering hers with a possessiveness he'd never dreamed he could feel again.
"I want you," he murmured. "I want you now, in every way." Her soft heat beckoned him, and his fingers flew along the buttons of her frock, slipping them through their buttonholes with ease and haste.
"Tell me what you want," he whispered.
But she just shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know what I want."
"Yes," he said, pushing her dress down to bare one silky shoulder, "you do."
Instantly, her eyes flew to his face. "You know I've never-"
He put a gentle finger to her lips. "I know.'But it doesn't matter. You still know what feels right."
"Blake, I-"
"Hush." He closed her lips with a searing kiss, then opened them again with a hot flick of his tongue. "For example," he said against her mouth, "do you want more of this?"