“Off.” His expression turned provocative and measured. “Unless you’d rather I removed them for you. I’m good at that.”
He reached for the fingertip but she pulled her hand away, unrolling the kid glove from her hand. “You needn’t threaten me.”
“It was an invitation, Princess.” His voice grew deeper, as if he were physically touching her.
Her skin flushed at his words, and she removed the other glove, setting it aside. Inside the clock, she saw gears and a large spiral-shaped coil of metal.
He brought her hand to touch the part. “That’s the mainspring,” he informed her. The prince leaned over her shoulder as he pointed out the other parts of the clock.
He could have been speaking Greek, for all that she remembered of the names. Instead, she was conscious of his physical form, and the way her body nestled against him,almost in an embrace. When she breathed, she could smell the male scent of his skin. It felt strange to be this close to a man, particularly one who believed that they would one day be intimate.
Her hands trembled as he guided her hand to one of the clock parts. “Do you see this gear?” He pointed to a smaller grooved circle. “It slipped out of alignment. I want you to see if you can move it back into place.”
She fumbled with the tiny piece, and the prince was saying something about where it was supposed to go. Instead, she found herself studying his hands and the way his fingers moved over the pieces.
“That’s it,” he praised, when she locked it into position. “Now, if you’ll hold it there, I’ll tighten it.”
She held the gear in place, and his fingers brushed against hers as he made the adjustments. The gentle pressure of his hands both frightened and fascinated her. Never before had any man been so close to her, not without the intent to harm.
After the prince had finished fixing the clock, he didn’t move away. Instead, his hazel eyes regarded her, as if he wanted far more than she could give. This was madness. Just being near him made her breathless, and she didn’t like feeling this way.
“You’re trembling,” he murmured. “What are you afraid of?” He caught her hand in his, and the warmth of his palm against hers did nothing to abate her nerves.
“I’m afraid of you,” she admitted. And the way he made her feel inside.
When she pulled her hand back, he made no move to stop her. His mouth tightened, as if he didn’t like what she’d said. Even if it was the truth.
Karl fitted the remaining pieces back together and wound up the clock. When he tilted it up and swung the pendulum, she heard the rhythmic ticking.
“It works.” She hadn’t truly expected it to. But there was a sense of satisfaction in having fixed something that was broken.
She reached for one of her gloves, but the Fürst took it from her. “Of course it works. I can fix anything.”
She sent him a doubtful look. “Not anything.”
He picked up her fallen glove and stroked the exterior, as if he were caressing her skin. “With the proper instructions, yes. Anything.” One by one, he fitted her fingers within the glove, and slowly eased it over her palm. The sensation of her fingers sliding against the soft leather caused an echoing ripple over her body. She didn’t know why he was intent on touching her, but even the slightest gesture sent her senses on edge.
“I started taking things apart when I was a child,” he told her, reaching for the second glove. “Anything I could find. I wanted to see how everything worked.”
“Why?”
“Because it was more interesting than reading about it. And some would say I’m good with my hands.” The wicked look in his eyes suggested that he was no longer speaking of taking things apart.
Serena couldn’t stop her mind from envisioning his hands moving over her bare skin, awakening her to the pleasures of the marriage bed. The nearness of him, the way he tantalized her with the barest touches, made her all too aware of how bold he was. Already she had almost no ability to control her responses. Distance was what she needed.
She pulled her hand from his and went to stand by the fire. “Who taught you to fix mechanical things?”
“The gardener, Herr Pflicht. After I tried to build a steam engine out of a tea kettle.”
A smile tugged at her mouth, despite her efforts to stop it. She could almost envision Karl as a young boy, experimenting with a tea kettle. “Did it work?”
“It sank to the bottom of a rain barrel. Cook was furious.”
Her smile softened. She could imagine the mischief he must have caused.
The prince came over to stand before her. “Did you ever get into trouble as a girl?” he asked.
“I wasn’t allowed to do anything improper.” Her days were spent with lessons or learning how to behave like a princess. Any slight misbehavior had earned her time spent locked up in the library.
