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himself.
    By the time he’d caught up
with her, she’d burst outside and was striding across the grass toward a line
of oak trees. Dusk had fallen and the moon had begun to give off a ghostly
glow. She appeared almost ethereal, like an angel or maybe a ghost. Either way,
she was far out of his reach—from another world.
    “Lila,” he called.
    Her shoulders dropped, and he
heard her huff.
    “Lila.”
    He touched her shoulder
gently, aware he shouldn’t be admiring the way her hair was coiled high in
beautiful ringlets and how he longed to unpick every pin and watch them spill
about her shoulders. Now was not the time to be imagining her golden hair
against her skin. Nor was it the time to be wondering what her neck would taste
like.
    Sweet, like her, perhaps.
    When she turned, there was
no sweetness. Her eyes were filled with annoyance.
    Spicy, then. He smirked. Or
maybe a little bitter at present.
    “I have been trapped in my
room for days. There was no need for you to embarrass me so.”
    “Embarrass you? In front of
those men? Highly unlikely.” He took a step closer, and she folded her arms. “You
were gambling with the worst rogues in England, Lila. They could tell tales
that would shock even the hardiest of women. I doubt they cared much about me
speaking with you.”
    “Speaking? Is that what it
was? Because it sounded very much like you were scolding me, Ash, and I won’t
have it.” She even did a tiny foot stomp. He wouldn’t tell her he found it
adorable. “I won’t have it,” she repeated.
    “Forgive me, I did not mean
to speak to you so. But you should not be spending time with those men or
gambling.”
    “I suppose because you
believe it’s not ladylike.” She lifted her chin, daring him to say as much.
    He could be a fool a lot of
the time, but he was not that foolish. “I cannot say I’m all that
bothered by whether your behaviour was ladylike or not, but I do care if you
are safe.”
    “Why, Ash?” Lila sighed. “Why
do you care so much? I know you blame yourself for this, but to go through all
this, to drag me away from my family and even risk their wrath? Why?”
    He tightened his jaw and
stared into those emerald eyes. They sparkled in the moonlight, much like they
did all the time. Even in anger, her eyes were animated, excitable. Entirely
the opposite of him and his slothful behaviour. He could never claim to be
excited by life.
    But she excited him.
    “I won’t see you harmed,” he
said tightly.
    Disappointment shuttered her
gaze. But why did she care what he thought of her? After all, he could not very
well admit that she had plagued him since the moment he had set eyes on her.
That she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on from that first
moment. That, deep down, he’d known in his bones there was something magical
about her, that he would happily die for a stranger. It was all too strange. If
he told her that, she’d likely be terrified and run away. Then he would not be
able to protect her.
    “I suppose I am a mere duty.”
    “No,” he said softly, not
really even intending to release the word.
    Her lashes fluttered in
surprise. “What am I then?”
    Ash contemplated her for
several moments, his jaw clenched so tight it hurt. “Too beautiful,” he told
her. “Too lovely. Too amazing.” Bloody hell. He hadn’t meant to say that
either. “Every man in there is enraptured with you, and I don’t like it.”
    She stared at him, her gaze
searching his. “You’re jealous.”
    Fingers curled into his palm
until they hurt. He nodded.
    Lila inched closer. He was
aware of everything. Of the way her breaths misted slightly in the air. Of how
they sounded in his ears. He could hear the swish of silk, the pound of his
heart. See the smoothness of her skin and the sparkle in her eyes. Sense the
warmth of her body.
    “You have no need to be. I
am not interested in any of those men.”
    Ash uncurled his fingers and
lifted his hand, palm open. He wondered if