“I do want you to kiss me,” she said with an emphatic nod, “but…should you not have done it before you proposed to me?”
“No, I already know how it will turn out.”
“You do? How is that possible? What happens if you are wrong and decide you were mistaken about our kiss?”
“Eden, it is never going to happen.”
“Never?”
He nodded. “I am going to like it and so will you. Trust me on this. It will only deepen my feelings for you. Hopefully, it will do the same with regard to your feelings for me. Do you have any idea how long I’ve ached to kiss you?”
She laughed softly. “Apparently not.”
“My fault entirely,” he said, knowing they should have been honest about their feelings months ago. Their deep friendship would be the basis for a good marriage going forward, but it had also held them back and caused needless distress because both of them were so afraid of losing that precious friendship if their feelings were not reciprocated.
He was sorry it had taken heartbroken tears from Eden before they found the courage to reveal what had been in their hearts all along. It was done now and had led to this happy result.
Well, he hoped it would be a happy result. She had not accepted him yet. Why hadn’t she accepted him yet?
“Close your eyes, love.”
She pushed against his shoulders. “Don’t kiss me yet, Connor.”
“I thought we cleared the air. Why don’t you want my kiss?” Being a duke and never being refused by anyone had not prepared him for this rejection. Was she rejecting him? No, he could not be reading her body wrong. A woman’s body was something he knew quite well. Eden still had her arms around his neck and was leaning into him again, exhibiting all the signs of attraction and desire.
“I do want it, I assure you. Have I not waitedagesfor it? But will you be angry with me for wanting my first ever romantic kiss to be a moonlight kiss?”
No, how could he ever be angry with her? She asked so little of him.
“A moonlight kiss it shall be, then.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes, tonight.”
She laughed. “You had better make it worth my while.”
He cast her a rakish smile. “Is that a challenge?”
He was going to kiss her with heat and passion, and all the fire of love in his soul. He was going to kiss her until her legs turned soft as pudding and could no longer hold her up. But she would never be in danger of falling while he had his arms around her to always keep her safe.
She was his to love and protect from this day forward. All he had to do was give Eden her moonlight moment.
Yes, he’d give her moonlight and starlight and every bit of enchantment she deserved to have. Being a Silver Duke had its advantages.
Despite his exaggerated reputation, he did know how to kiss a woman. Eden was going to experience a kiss to carry in her heart forever.
She blushed as he regarded her. “Will it set fire to the pages of my diary? I am going to write down every detail as I describe it in my entry.”
“Yes, love. Scorching inferno,” he said, casting her a steamy look.
Her blush deepened. “I am looking forward to it.”
“So am I,” he said with a chuckle, knowing she was already affected by the rakish smolder in his eyes. But he was affected, too. Despite his experience and familiarity with a woman’s body, he had too much at stake with Eden because he cared for her so deeply. Their kiss needed to end all doubt they were meant to be together for a lifetime. “Eden, you haven’t answered my question.”
“What question?”
“Will you marry me?”
