A Gentleman Says "I Do" by Amelia Grey Page A

Catalina leaned into his body. His hands circled her waist, slid to her back, and suddenly she was caught up against his strong chest. Her arms automatically wound around his neck. Wondrous curls of unexpected pleasure came instantly alive inside her, and she melted against him. She had often dreamed of being held in a man’s powerful embrace, her breasts flattened against his wide chest, but she hadn’t been able to imagine just how heavenly it actually felt.
    Catalina gasped over and over again as his tongue brushed hers, teasing her with featherlight contact. His gentle hands and strong arms pressed her closer and closer to the warmth and hardness of his body.
    It was a heady, powerful experience, but all too soon, his lips left hers. His arms relaxed around her.
    With a ragged, husky voice, he whispered, “I think we may have tempted fate enough for one afternoon.”
    He let go of her slowly. The magic of the moment was broken. Catalina inhaled a deep breath and stepped away from him, too, quickly putting the lawn chair between them.
    Had she actually told him she was eager for another kiss? She cringed inside. What had made her say such a thing? And to this man!
    She cleared her throat and said, “Why did you say you came to see me?”
    A half chuckle whispered deeply from his throat. “A kiss will do that to you.”
    “What?” she asked with genuine curiosity about what he thought.
    “Make you forget everything but the moment of the kiss.”
    “Yes, I believe that’s true.”
    “But to answer your first question, remember, I wanted to make sure you weren’t too upset about Lord Truefitt’s column.”
    “Yes, right, and no, as I’ve told you—” She realized she was mumbling. “I’m… curious about something, Mr. Brentwood.”
    “Yes?”
    “Did you—?” She cleared her throat. “I mean, do gentlemen feel the same extraordinary sensations women do when they are kissed?”
    He stepped closer to the chair that separated them. “You are asking if I felt the same way you did just now.”
    She swallowed hard, not sure she really wanted to know the answer, but nodding her head anyway.
    His gaze locked onto hers. “Yes, Catalina. My God, yes.”
    “I’ve read about this, this magic, this desire between a man and a woman, but I never could have imagined how it actually feels.”
    “It’s quite intoxicating, is it not?”
    “Exhilarating and invigorating, too,” she answered softly. “Thank you for kissing me.”
    “It was my pleasure.”
    Iverson’s gaze swept easily down her face and then back up to her eyes. His smile was so sincere she started to reach for him.
    Catalina heard the back door open. She looked up to see Aunt Elle coming down the steps, wrapping her shawl about her shoulders. Catalina let out a wispy breath of relief. Her aunt was just in time to save her from saying something she would regret. She had been just about to ask Mr. Brentwood to kiss her again.

Seven
    We have met the enemy and they are ours.
    —Oliver Hazard Perry
    Miss Catalina Crisp had set him on fire.
    He really shouldn’t have kissed her until his grievance with her father was settled, but her allure had been impossible to resist. Even now, as he stood on her front stoop, pulling on his gloves, he was reluctant to leave. He wanted to find a reason to go back inside, get her alone, and kiss her again. But he would have to wait to see her until later tonight at Lady Windham’s party. She drew him as surely as when the hot days of Baltimore’s summers had beckoned him to the waters for a cooling, refreshing swim.
    When he’d first met her, had he really told her he would grab her father by the neckcloth and threaten to break his fingers?
    He shook his head and grunted a laugh. That was not his finest moment. Though in truth, if he’d actually found the man at home, instead of his daughter, he would have threatened Sir Phillip in some way.
    Obviously, old habits die hard.
    Because of his temperament, being