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with him as well as herself, Rose watched him walk away, but took pains not to let her contentment show. It would only give the gossips something to twitter over, and she knew better than that.
    “Promise me you won’t fall victim to his charms, Rose,” Eve murmured near her ear.
    “You needn’t worry, Eve,” she replied, patting her friend’s hand. “I’m not the green girl I once was.”
    And that was truth as well, because the girl she once was never would have been so suddenly sure of a man’s interest. Nor would she consider using that interest to her own advantage—not in any harmful way, of course. She may no longer be green, but she wasn’t an “arse” as Eve so eloquently put it.
    But still, if Grey didn’t want her, then he wouldn’t mind if someone else did. Would he?
    Chapter 5
    A nticipation kept Grey from eating much at dinner Thursday evening. Only the fact that his cook was so adept at her job made the meal palatable at all. Like a lovesick boy, his stomach churned and twitched as the hands on the clock refused to move fast enough.
    It was just past eight o’clock. In another three hours he would see his lovely mystery lady.
    She would stoke, and eventually bank the fire within him, and make it possible for him to get through a dinner without wanting to take a bite out of the young woman sitting to his left, close enough to taunt, but too far away to touch. Not that he could touch her even if she was closer—Camilla might frown upon such liberties being taken with her daughter.
    No man in his right mind could blame him for entertaining thoughts of setting Rose on top of the dining room table and shagging her senseless. Anyone who saw her in her dinner gown of soft peach and tea-dyed lace would think she looked good enough to eat, especially with the candlelight deepening her cleavage and highlighting the soft swells of her breasts.
    They hadn’t spoken much in the last few days—not that he was avoiding her. Rather, it seemed the opposite. Had he done something to offend her? For the life of him he couldn’t think what that might be. And yet, despite knowing that it was probably for the best that they didn’t spend much time together, he couldn’t help but feel…disappointed.
    He hadn’t been aware of staring, but when her questioning gaze locked with his, Grey felt as though he’d been smacked upside the head by the open palm of idiocy.
    “Is something troubling you, Grey?”
    He loved the sound of his name on her tongue, and hated that he loved it. She made him weak and stupid. One sweet glance from her and he was ready to drop to his knees.
    It wasn’t love. It wasn’t even infatuation. It was pure unmitigated lust. He could admit that. Hell, he embraced it. Lust could be managed. Lust could be mastered. And lust would eventually fade once she was out of his care and out of his life. That was the cold, hard, blessed truth of it.
    “I was wondering if you were eagerly anticipating Lady Shrewsbury’s ball tomorrow evening?” How easily the lie rolled off his tongue as he lifted a bite of poached salmon to his mouth.
    She smiled softly, obviously looking forward to it very much. “I am. Thank you.”
    Camilla shared her daughter’s pleasure judging from her coy grin. “Rose has renewed her acquaintance with the honorable Kellan Maxwell. He requested that she save the first waltz of the evening for him.”
    The fish caught in Grey’s throat. He took a drink of wine to force it down. “The same Kellan Maxwell who courted you during your first season?”
    Rose’s smile faded a little. No doubt she heard the censure in his tone, his disapproval. “The same,” she replied with an edge of defensiveness.
    The same idiot who abandoned his pursuit of Rose when Charles lost everything and scandal erupted. The little prick who hadn’t loved her enough to continue his courtship regardless of her situation.
    “Mm,” was what he said out loud.
    Rose scowled at him. “We had no