Raphael froze in place, caught off guard by the sudden press of her lips against his cheek. Of course, he’d been kissed plenty of times in the same place, by plenty of different girls, but this was… different. Not better, and definitely not more sensual or meaningful, but different in that Raf hadn’t expected it at all—not after being insulted by a drunken idiot, not after fleeing from him and dragging her along  by the arm. He blinked as she pulled away, and yet again Raphael found himself at a loss.

And then, as quickly as a finger snap, he recovered, unwilling to let the moment be tarnished by a lack of wits.

He gripped her free hand and brought it up to his lips. He brushed his lips against her knuckles, lingering there in the same way he did when he was trying to rob a debutante of her breath. His gaze was locked on hers, overcome with a sudden sense of familiarity although he was certain he’d never met her.

“Of course,” he murmured, and then, pulling away, let her hand fall from his grasp. “Shall I escort you back? Or should we continue the hunt for your brooch?”

---

Whatever she’d been expecting herself to do, it most certainly wasn’t THAT. Still startled by her own actions as she stepped back, she could only gaze at him as he picked up her own hand. His eyes never left hers, and she found herself stricken by how the light seemed to skim over his blue eyes at just the perfect angle. She felt the flush creep up into her cheeks again and did her best to remember he had no idea who she was.

Frankly she wasn’t sure who had just kissed him either. Whatever possessed her to do such a thing likely had taken half her brain for the night.

He let go of her hand and she felt the weight of her arm again; this time though, it felt much lighter and she tried not to dwell on why the reason for that was. “Inside, I think.” She said softly. “I think it’s been enough time that perhaps it’s almost past the time for the brooches.”

Plus, she needed a drink.

---

There. He could see it on her face when she looked at him: the look he’d been trying to get to appear on her face all night long. Never before had it taken to long to charm a woman he’d set his sight on, and it was a relief that this woman was not somehow immune.

Raphael nodded and pulled back to a respectable distance before offering his arm to her. “Shall we?” he said, one corner of his lips tugging into a half smile.

---

So this was how Raphael Malfoy turned on the charms for all those debutantes. Rowan dropped her free arm to her side, tempted to flex her hand and change her mind. But despite all that had happened that night, it would give him cause for suspicion. It was a masquerade after all, and he would never have to know her identity.

She might as well spend the rest of the night in this charade until the very end.

---