Oh Cherry Ripe

“Well, you haven’t found one—an angel, that is,
for no one has ever called me that!”

He looked hard at her face, and she watched the flitting expressions cross his countenance, noting that he was, even in the dim light, quite handsome. However, he raised an eyebrow and said, “What the devil is a beauty like you doing out here alone at night?”
“My horse!” is what she answered as she tried reaching for Bess’s reins.
“Stay here!” the stranger said as he turned and moved gently towards the mare and managed to gather her reins. Bess snorted but made no attempt to run from him as he spoke soothingly to her and led her towards Cherry.
“Your horse,” he said softly.
“Thank you, but you didn’t have to … if you had just let me go, I could have gotten her and been on my way,” Cheryl returned, feeling suddenly shy. Here was this fashionable, handsome rogue, and she felt she must look a fool.
“Ungrateful girl, and after you nearly knocked me down,” he teased. His speech was only slightly slurred but enough for Cherry to raise her brow and regard him with some amusement.
“But I did not knock you down, and you, sir, were the cause for all of it,” she answered, a smile curving her lips. “Whatever were you doing walking about in the middle of the road?” It was a counterattack to save face.
“I? Well, I was looking for an angel, and I found one …” So saying, he had her well into his embrace, heedless of the fact that the driver of his coach watched with some keen interest at his back.
She did not know why, but she was not frightened in the least, although as his tongue probed and found hers with an expertise that made her feel warm and willing, she was surprised at herself. She pulled away hard, although she didn’t have to and lost her balance as he released her immediately. He reached out to steady her, and she slapped his hands away, saying, “Well, you haven’t found one—an angel, that is, for no one has ever called me that!”
With one devilish movement he had her back in his arms, and his voice was husky with the intent of his measure. “Are you not?”
She didn’t have the opportunity to reply, for his lips were already on hers, already parting. His tongue found his way easily and teased with gentle expertise. His hand pressed her body against his own, and she felt a frightening surge of desire.
Cherry was astonished, as much at herself and her reaction as she was at his sudden move. She had certainly been kissed before, often in fact, but this was the first time she had been so totally aroused. He was a stranger—ah, perhaps the excitement of the adventure was at work here, she told herself.
She slapped at his shoulder, and when he released her she felt his eyes look into her hers. She made a face at him and announced in a whisper, “You, sir, are taking a liberty. I am at a loss, for you are taller, stronger, and perhaps wicked enough to pursue this further. If that is what you intend … proceed, for I have always wondered what it would be like to be ravished on a London street.”