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upward as he quickly unbuttoned the placket to assist her. When the hard length of him sprang free, she blinked. She wanted to show him the same pleasure he’d shown her. But how? She touched his smooth skin with a tentative slide of her fingers. He allowed only a moment of this before he pulled her hand away and moved over her, poised between her legs. She could almost feel the brush of him against her. Yes. He could have her. She was beautiful and his.
    “Devil take it! Damned bloody nose!” He snarled as he crawled off her, pulled up his breeches, and stalked across the room uttering a string of profanities—with one hand covering his face. She wiped away the single droplet of blood he’d left on her bare shoulder. All she could do was watch him go as she sat up and tugged her gown back down over her knees—alone and beautiful.
    ***
    The sore nose and blackened eye had been worth it. He’d put himself to rights and retrieved the mask he’d gone in search of in the first place, while Suzanna repaired her hair and shook the wrinkles from her dress. Her burnished gold hair had been twisted into an elaborate knot on the top of her head and pinned with feathers when he’d first spied her on the stairs. Now wisps of hair fell around her masked face, reminding him of how she’d looked sprawled across his bed.
    Holden smiled down into Suzanna’s upturned face as he spun her around the dance floor. She fit perfectly in his arms, even if she did have to take an extra step every now and then to keep up with his long stride as they danced. She was small in stature, yet her body was lush with all the right curves. The way she kissed him with those full red lips and encouraged his attention had been his undoing. He shouldn’t have let things go so far, but what sane man would have stopped with a willing masked lady in his bed?
    They hadn’t been able to complete what they started tonight, but he was sure there would be time for that later. She wasn’t going anywhere. His hand slid lower on her back, pulling her past what would have been the point of decency if they’d been waltzing in any typical London ballroom. But they were in the country and wore masks, which somehow made it acceptable behavior.
    God bless the invention of the masquerade ball. Holden had always been amused at the liberties a proper lady would allow simply by covering her cheekbones. Suzanna had yet to remove her lace-trimmed black mask but it suited her somehow. Her eyes, the color of falling autumn leaves, seemed to glow within the shadows of the mask.
    “What do you find so amusing?” she asked.
    “You.”
    “Really?”
    “You sound surprised.”
    “I am—a bit.”
    “You shouldn’t be. This is certainly the most memorable masquerade ball I’ve ever attended.”
    “I imagine most masked balls don’t include being kicked in the nose by a lady’s grand entrance.” She laughed, the sound reminding him of raindrops falling on metal. Where had this delightful woman come from? She was part lady, part angel, part bawdy temptress, as far as he could tell. He wasn’t aware that the combination had ever been attempted on English soil before.
    “No, I believe you are unique in that respect, Suzanna.” He laughed and spun her to the side of the room with a flourish just as the music ended.
    She stopped spinning and looked up at him with a laugh lingering on her lips. She was intoxicating. Her small fingers were still curled within his from their dance. He wasn’t inclined to release her and she didn’t seem to mind. No one seemed to notice their connection because of the rather large crush in the ballroom. Aunt Penelope would be pleased, and with Suzanna in his grasp, he was rather pleased as well.
    “Would you like a drink? The unmasking will occur soon and then the champagne will be in short supply.” A drink and then he would slip her away—to the gardens or back to his bed? He would have to wait and see how she responded to the