Never You (Penelope/Colin)

Part 5

He quirked his eyebrow. "Perhaps I'm no longer a gentleman."

"Maybe you never were."

She wanted to offend him but he seemed impervious to her taunts, instead offering her his arm for their walk together. Aggravated, she ignored him and started down the path by herself. Within seconds he was next to her, his long strides now matching her own pace, with Martha following behind them.

"Did you like the lilies?" Colin asked.

"I did not."

He simply smiled. "That's unfortunate. Maybe I'll bring roses in the future."

"Absolutely not!" she huffed. "Mama will get the wrong idea."

"We are friends, Penelope," he reminded her. "Friends give each other gifts. We've exchanged them in the past."

"Never in front of Mama!"

"And I've visited you before," he insisted.

"No, you haven't. We've always only spoken at your home or social gatherings. In fact the only other time you came with flowers was to call on Marina." The grimace on his face made her heart squeeze with envy. Even after all this time simply saying her cousin's name evoked such a strong reaction in him. But as much as the idea of him still harboring feelings for Marina hurt, she wasn't going to let pain distract from her focus. "I can't have you encouraging foolish ideas in Mama's head."

He clenched his jaw, agitated. "Is this really about Lady Portia or are you worried your mystery suitor will get jealous?"

She stopped midstride, turning to level him with a hostile glare. "He knows there's nothing between you and me."

Colin took a step towards her. The blues of his eyes darkened, blazing with emotion. "Even after last night?" His voice was a throaty murmur, his words only meant for her ears.

Her heart quickened, His gaze drifted down to her lips, pausing momentarily, as if he was remembering touching her, the feel of his hot mouth on her skin. And then his sight travelled lower, to where he licked and kissed her chest, and the lovebites he left on her breasts that she had to scrupulously hide behind a scarf this morning lest her mother noticed. The way he was looking at her set her body on fire, she felt it intimately between her legs.

They were surrounded by people, yet it felt like it was only the two of them. As she found herself drowning in the depth of his eyes, the world ceased to exist.

And then the image of his panic-stricken expression flashed through her mind, reminding her of how horrified he was after kissing her.

Instantly she pulled away, turning away from him. She started walking faster, trying to regain her composure in the few short seconds it took for Colin to catch up to her.

"You can't pretend it didn't happen, Pen."

"You're right, I can't. But that doesn't mean I'll allow a moment of foolishness to sway me from what's important."

"I know you. You wouldn't have kissed me that way if you really loved someone else.".

It was the conceit in his words that infuriated her. "Is that so, Colin?" She turned to confront him. "Didn't you proudly claim to have flirted with half the women in London? I'm sure you' kissed many of them. Will you stand there and tell me you cared for all of them? That all those ladies held a special place in your heart? Or will you be honest and admit a kiss can just be a kiss without it meaning anything?"

His eyes narrowed onto her. "Do you expect me to believe our kiss meant nothing to you?"

"Don't treat me like a naïve debutante, Colin. I'm fully aware passion can exist without love."