The warmth, seductive and dizzying feelings that set her on fire.

The heady beat of sensuality, keeping rhythm with the steady pounding of her heart.

And beneath it all, astonishment that she was capable of such an intensity of emotion, hitherto unimagined.

All of these intense emotions, this sudden expansion of her sensory repertoire was astounding, the kind of thing a female reads about and secretly dreads and desires but knows she will never discover, no matter how many pining poets or sensational novels one reads, for such things belong in the imagination, not in reality. Except that sometimes, it seemed, a particular man could come along and change one’s expectations entirely…

His long fingers splayed across her back, pressing her closer. The thin silk of her gown was no kind of insulation from the hard muscled strength of him and she felt weak-kneed and dazed.

All this from a touch, she thought dazedly. Dear heavens, what if he kisses me?

And then he did.

She had never been kissed before but now she discovered just how dangerous such an event could be, for every sense that she possessed seemed to come exquisitely alive beneath the delicate, seductive pressure of his mouth. A man like Kirkwood might be expected to lack finesse but from the first, his lips seemed intent on wooing her, warm and insistent yes, but with a gentleness that, after a moment, made her own soften instinctively in response. His lips were a heavenly revelation and every part of her seemed to swiftly understand what she had been created for; this man, this kiss and this glorious moment. Blindly, she reached up a hand and tangled it in the thickness of his dark hair, which felt springy and vibrant beneath her fingertips. She was intensely conscious of the hard strength of his body, the way the material of his jacket scratched against the delicate skin of her chest and the shift of muscles in the arm that encircled her.

She was hot and cold all at once, as if a sudden fever had taken hold.

Her breasts were heavy, nipples tingling and tightening.

And a great pool of delicious warmth began in the pit of her stomach, spreading slowly, extending out until it enveloped her in a warm, delicious pool of enchantment. It turned her limbs to pudding and she was certain that if Kirkwood had not been holding her so firmly that she would have collapsed in a small, quivering heap.

It was all quite extraordinary.

When the kiss deepened, his mouth growing harder, crushing her own beneath the pressure, she welcomed it, pressing her own against his with equal fervor. She had no yardstick to use as a measure but he seemed to be devastatingly good at this particular pastime, guiding her through the process with unerring skill. When the tip of his tongue flicked her lips, she understood that she should open them, allowing him access to the close warmth of her mouth. The sensation of his tongue tangling with her own escalated the wanton rush of wonderment flooding her body and her free arm reached up to encircle his neck, holding on to him as the storm of emotions he had triggered raged within. She was held so very closely to him by now that she could feel something hard pressed against her and, even though she did not truly understand what it was, the feel of it pushing so insistently through the thin material of her gown excited her even further and she moaned as he continued to explore the soft intimacy of her willing mouth.

Audrey had no idea how long the kiss lasted. She did know that she might have stayed there forever – or for a great deal longer – if it had been up to her but it was Kirkwood who finally broke away and then he did so with an abruptness that left her shocked and dazed for he seemed to wrench himself away from her with considerable effort. She stood there, panting a little, looking up at him dazedly while the fire he had stirred up in her continued to rage and her senses scrambled to catch up to what had taken place. Her sudden release had left her feeling bereft and for a long, aching moment she considered closing the distance between them once again so that he could gather her into his arms again and kiss her senseless for a second time…

For a long time, neither of them spoke, merely staring at each other, the air between them crackling with the same primitive energy that one might find in a summer storm. Audrey had never felt so physically alive. Indeed, she had not known she was capable of feeling the way she did now. It was more than a little frightening.

For a long moment she just stood there, incapable of saying anything. Incapable of moving.  Then Kirkwood seemed to pull himself together. She heard him let out a long breath.

‘Dear God.’ His voice did not sound exactly right. In fact, the two words came out as a husky growl and she could hear the shock beneath it. ‘Miss Hathaway, I have to say that you deliver one hell of a facer!’

The words were enough to shake her free of her stupor. Slowly, a little trickle of icy understanding slid through her. Now that she was free, Audrey was discovering that unnatural heat could easily be replaced by an equally unnatural chill. It was taking some time to sink in but she was finally realizing that she had just been thoroughly kissed. That she had allowed herself to be thoroughly kissed. That she had, quite astonishingly, not only allowed such a man to kiss her, but that she had kissed him back with a passion that she had not even known she was capable of. The knowledge addled her thoughts almost as much as his kiss had.

‘I…’ she began, then stopped. She could not think of a single thing to say. Indeed, ever since this meeting had gone astray – and she could clearly pinpoint the exact moment, for it had been when he had stepped closer, closing the distance between them and sending her thoughts skittering – she seemed to have lost the ability to generate a full sentence. It was little comfort to know that Kirkwood appeared to be singularly disconcerted as well. He made an obvious effort to take hold of himself.

‘Go back to your family, for God’s sake,’ he said, the words strained with a marked difference to his earlier insouciance. ‘In fact, run back to your family immediately! It is the safest course of action all round, I think.’

‘I don’t know how I -’ she broke off again. Really, she could not collect herself! Her thoughts were flittering like a swarm of butterflies around her head but she felt the first intimations of shame and knew that a great deal more was to follow. The folly of the last five minutes – or however long that kiss had gone on for – was going to envelope her in all manner of unpleasant emotions but at the moment she felt a kind of numb astonishment. It was akin to that moment when one stubs one’s toe on something unyielding; you know it is going to be very painful in a matter of moments but your brain hasn’t yet caught up to the fact. She stared up at him, trying to understand how a perfect stranger – or more, an imperfect stranger – could have aroused such a tempest of sensation within her. She collected herself with an effort. ‘Surely you do not consider that I am to blame for this. You should not have touched me.’

He looked back at her, expression inscrutable, although his dark eyes revealed a disturbing heat. ‘I am well aware of that now.’ He still sounded very peculiar. ‘But it had seemed like an excellent idea several minutes ago.’

‘Mr. Kirkwood, I do not know what happened!’ she blurted the words out in a rush. It was no more than the truth. She must have been mad.

‘No, why would you?’ his voice softened a little. ‘Think no more of it. I take full responsibility. Just go, before I compound my idiocy.’

‘But -’

‘Go,’ he said softly but with a surprising amount of force. His eyes were twin dark fires in the shadows. ‘Now.’