She let out a ragged breath. “Oh, Connor. Yes, they are. Perhaps at one time I might have found a man who loved me for myself, but that time has come and gone. I only have myself to blame for rejecting everyone. I was a coward, afraid to be wrong and lose everything. And I seem to have lost the most important things anyway.”
Her voice was shaking as she continued, and he knew she was going to cry.
Groaning, he put his arm around her. “Eden, I cannot bear to see you this unhappy. Why will you not believe a man can love you for yourself?”
But he knew the answer already. This girl had been raised unloved.
“Let’s not talk about this here and now. It is too painful, and I am already struggling not to turn into a watering pot.” Her voice was thin and punctuated by sniffles.
“All right, love.”
Gad, why had he let that slip out?
He had hired an orchestra for the evening, and they were now playing a waltz. The strains drifted on the wind to their private corner of the garden. “Come on, Eden.” He tried to nudge her to her feet, but she resisted.
“What are you doing?” she grumbled. “I don’t want to go back inside yet.”
“I have no intention of taking you back inside.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“You’ll see. Trust me.” He took her hands in his, drew her to her feet, and then wrapped an arm around her waist.
He was pleased when she made no effort to extricate herself from his grasp, especially since he had drawn her closer than was proper. “I still don’t understand what you are doing,” she muttered, her voice a soft whisper against his ear.
He inhaled the scent of her skin, that mix of apple and jasmine or cinnamon that was so intoxicating to his senses. “The orchestra is playing a waltz. I am standing in a moonlit garden with the prettiest girl at my party. I am going to dance with that girl. Is it not my privilege as host?”
Moonbeams reflected off her eyes and made them sparkle. “You genuinely want to dance with me?”
“Yes. What is wrong with that?” He placed his palm flat across the small of her back and took her hand in his. “Any objections?”
She laughed softly, her melodic lilt falling gently upon his ears—a welcome relief from the inane giggles he had endured all evening long.
“Have you ever danced in the moonlight before, Eden?”
“No, this is my first time,” she admitted, easily following his steps as he guided her with expert skill around the flowerbeds.
“My first time, too,” he said.
She looked up at him. “Really?”
“Yes—why are you so surprised?” He kept to an easy pace as they twirled in time to the music. There were a few torches lit in the distance that were meant to keep the garden moderately illuminated. Nights were dark out here, even when the moon was bright. Quite often, a mist or clouds obscured the moon.
But not tonight. It was a perfect night. Moonlight seemed to follow Eden with her every step.
He wanted to kiss her.He wanted to kiss her soft mouth and never stop kissing her.
“You are a Silver Duke, Connor.”
She gave her lip a light nibble that had the alarming effect of shooting flames through his body. “And your point is…?”
Another soft nibble like that and he would lose all control. Fortunately, she stopped.
“You have a rakish reputation,” she said, pursing her lips.
This was almost as bad as nibbling. He wanted to kiss her more than ever.
“Do you expect me to believe you have never danced with a woman in the moonlight? Among all the ladies you have met and seduced in London, are you going to tell me not one of them has ever danced with you like this? Well, I suppose they have done more than merely dance with you.”
