Her head bolted upright.
“This means nothing,” she announced, firmly this time.
He nodded. “You mentioned.”
“But I’m not opposed to doing it again.”
His eyes widened, then crinkled at the edges. It should have been arrogant, not seductive. It was both.
“Are you negotiating?” he asked.
“No one consulted my opinion before you first turned up,” she reminded him. “The arrangement was ten days, and those terms stand. But...”
He arched a brow. “But?”
“We can spend the remaining three days doing anything we want.” She took a deep breath, then added meaningfully, “Everythingwe want.”
His gaze was hot and his breath ragged. “You have no idea what I—”
“I want it, too.” She touched his face. “I want it with you.”
He took a shuddering breath as if her words alone were enough to endanger his thin grasp on control.
“I am a blackguard,” he began, “but even I shall not force you to the altar—”
“I’m not going to the altar,” she interrupted.
“—by deflowering you,” he finished firmly.
She loosened his cravat, barely recognizing the shameless temptress she’d become.
“You’re a botanist,” she teased. “Who else should deflower me?”
“No one else,” he growled and crushed her mouth to his.
When they finally broke apart, she asked, “Is that a yes?”
He groaned. “It’s a... ‘never make irreversible decisions using parts of your anatomy other than your brain.’ There is nothing I want more than to make love to you, here, now, tomorrow, the next day.” He rose from the bed and pulled her to her feet beside him. “But before that happens, I want you to be very, very sure.”
As much as her passion-drugged body begged to differ, he was probably right.
“That... was a very un-scoundrelly speech.”
“I have my moments,” he admitted. “You still shouldn’t trust me.”
“I don’t need to trust you,” she reminded him. “You’re leaving, and I’ll never see you again. When the ten days are finished, we will be, too.”
She expected the words to fill her with power, or at least relief.
Instead, all she had was an unfurling, unquenchable longing formore.
Chapter 11
The Eighth Day
Eli jotted a few technical observations in his notebook before turning his attention to the next poorly located plant in the castle conservatory. Well, most of his attention. The back of his mind never strayed from Olive.
It shouldn’t sting so much that she didn’t care for him the way he cared for her. It wasn’t even a surprise. Their history was fraught, and this was hardly a proper courtship. It wasn’tanything, as Olive kept pointing out.
