Excerpt from "The Glass Stiletto" by Rachel Kenley

Air. He needed fresh air, solitude, and ten minutes where he didn’t have to smile or make small talk with women who wanted to marry him.

Since Teodor knew it was inappropriate to run out of a ball held in his honor, he moved as quickly as he could without attracting undue attention or knocking into someone, a nearly impossible feat. If I can rule a kingdom, I can get out of this room, he told himself as he acknowledged another courtier and returned his gaze to the wall of French doors that were his goal.

When finally he stepped onto the terrace, he gripped the rail and released what felt like his first deep breath of the night. He was as relieved as if he had escaped from a dungeon. The cool air was even better than he hoped, brisk and crisp, and he knew ten minutes was not going to be long enough. Just thinking about returning was making him tense. As he loosened the neck of his shirt, he took another deep breath, looked up at the full moon and asked, “What next?”

As if in answer to his question, a woman appeared on the terrace. He heard her before he saw her. The rapid click of her heels - and he turned to see her racing out of the ballroom even faster than he had. He wondered what, or who, she was escaping from.

She watched over her shoulder at the room she had left, so she didn’t notice Teodor until she banged into him. He caught her arms as she stumbled, and although she glanced at him briefly, her gaze kept darting behind her. Her gown was dark purple, cut low in the front to expose her ample cleavage. She was breathing fast, although from running or dancing, he didn’t know.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Finally she turned to face him and he noticed her expressive eyes and full lips.

He stared at her mouth, and thought he’d imagined it when she said, “Kiss me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“There is no time for begging. I need you to kiss me now.” Without another word, she grabbed his face in her hands, and took advantage of his surprise to turn around so that his back faced the ballroom, as she brought his mouth to hers. Despite all the predatory single women attending tonight’s event, Teodor stiffened at first, but quickly found himself yielding to the pleasant sensations of her kiss.

Her touch was warm and giving. Intrigued both by her actions and his reaction, he dared more. As soon as his mouth opened, her tongue was against his. He could taste the champagne she’d must have sipped earlier. The more he put into the kiss, the more she responded, first with a sigh, then by pressing her body against his.

She was shorter than him by several inches, so he bent to deepen the kiss and wrapped his arms around her to bring her closer. He could feel her breasts against his chest and allowed his hands to roam down her back. By the time he felt her hands thread through his hair, he was hard and ready for her. Tingles she created in his scalp shot down to his cock.

The primary goal of the evening was forgotten. Looking for a wife could wait. He wanted to act on his attraction to this woman. Not even his mistress back in Galenet got him this excited this quickly. Already he was aching to release her breasts from their tenuous captivity and fondle her until she cried out for more.

He was still thinking about how he could get her someplace private when she broke the kiss and stepped back from him.

“Thank you,” she said. “I needed that.”

He tried to kiss her again but she put a hand on his chest to stop him. It was then he noticed her breathing had returned to normal, and she was no longer flustered. His heartbeat raced while hers seemed to have calmed. He didn’t try to keep the annoyance from his voice when he asked, “You needed to be kissed?”

“No. I needed a diversion to keep a lecherous old man away from me. Since you were available, your kiss was the distraction I chose. Many thanks for your kind, if unplanned, assistance, sir. It is greatly appreciated and was a very nice kiss.”

Nice? he thought angrily. It was better than that, much better. He was not

accustomed to being called a diversion, and he didn’t much like it, especially as he was now hungry for more from this woman than a simple kiss. She took a step back and he grabbed her arm. How could she rock him to his core and not be affected in any way? It was maddening.

And she had called him “sir.” Did that mean she didn’t know who he was? If so, she must be the only woman in the kingdom who didn’t, which made her even more intriguing and desirable. Before he could question her, they were interrupted by the sound of a clearing throat.

“Your Majesty,” a deep voice called. Teodor turned to see Vencor, his father’s prime minister, standing at the doors with a familiar expression of annoyed concern on his face. The man consistently had lousy timing and tonight was no exception. “I am sorry if I am interrupting you, but you are needed by His Highness as soon as possible.”

The man wasn’t sorry at all, and they both knew it. “I will be there momentarily,” Teodor answered. So much for the chance to be with someone who didn’t know his title and covet a position as his wife. “As soon as I say goodnight to…”

He turned to address the woman, but she was gone.