“And I am the daughter of a woman who once sold healing salves in a village called Escafeld.”
He gave a slight shake of his head. “I have met your mother, and this description does not do her justice.”
Esme shrugged her shoulders, her body molding into his. “Nonetheless, it is true.”
“I have seen at least ten summers more than you,” he whispered against her head. “Mayhap more than that.”
“Then I will benefit from your wisdom and experience.” She reached up to place her hands on either side of his rugged face, loving the raspy stubble beneath her fingers. “So, I am younger and wealthier than you would prefer. I can do naught to cure the first, although the passage of time will come to my aid, God willing.” She caught the flicker of a smile across his lips. “For the second, the solution is simple. I will leave my wealth behind me.”
He gave a sharp intake of breath. “I cannot ask you to live a life of hardship.”
“I would rather live with you, in some drafty shack, than with some lord I do not love, however grand his castle.”
Adam rested his forehead against hers and blew out a breath. “I do not live in a drafty shack.”
She lifted her chin, so her lips skimmed his jaw. “So much the better then.”
“I do not live in a castle, either.” She felt his muscles brace when she kissed him again. “Well, in truth, I do. But ’tis not mine.”
Esme allowed her hands to roam over his broad shoulders, enjoying the way he shifted against her. “Do you have any further objections?”
He shook his head, closing his eyes and seemingly surrendering to her touch. “None that I can think of in this moment.”
“Then kiss me,” she breathed.
His kisses, back at Ember Hall, had been featherlight and gentle, but now Adam claimed her lips with a passion that left her with little doubt over how much he wanted her. Esme’s feet rose out of the suction of the mud as he hauled her closer toward him, his hands roving over her silken gown and setting her body on fire. She no longer felt cold, she no longer felt anything except the need to have his lips and his hands on her, bringing her tolife in a way she had never before experienced. When his palm came to rest over her breast, she gasped out loud.
“Esme,” he said in a strangled voice. “You will be my undoing.”
Her hands had intentions of their own, tugging up his shirt and exploring the warmth of his hard, muscular body. The flat planes of stomach were a revelation, as was the part of him now pressing against her hip. A delicious tension twisted in her core as she met his smoldering gaze. Keeping her eyes fastened upon his, she traced her fingers on a downward path, knowing she had met her mark when his breathing caught in his throat.
He said her name once more, then seized her shoulders and rained a shower of hot kisses along her neck until his lips met the lacy edge of her gown. His fingers fumbled with the impossibly tiny buttons keeping her from him, and she wasted no time in reaching up to help. As soon as her gown sprang open, he freed her breasts with gentle fingers and feasted his lips upon them.
She wound her fingers in his hair and pressed him closer to her, as the twisting sensation in her core grew stronger still.
“Adam,” she breathed.
A mistake.
The sound of his name seemed to break the spell of their embrace. With one final, lingering kiss on her collarbone, he straightened up and held her against him. His heart thudded loudly inside his chest, just like hers.
“Why did you stop?” She could not help the petulance in her tone.
Adam took a deep, shuddering breath. “Because I am yet to meet the Earl of Wolvesley. When I do so, I want to look the man in the eye, without having to hide the fact that I have taken great liberties with his beloved daughter.”
She threw him an arched look as she re-fastened the buttons on her gown. “All I can say is I hope you get this meeting over with soon.”
Adam’s laughter echoed through the trees as he held her close once again. “So do I, Lady Esme.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Despite the grandeurof his surroundings, Adam felt light of heart as he returned to the guest chamber which Mirrie had shown him to earlier. He had feared that once he left Esme’s side, darkness and doubt might claim him once again. But it seemed that her brightness and confidence had broken through the clouds that had haunted his horizons for too long.
I am daring to dream.
And what a dream it was.
His boots sounded heavily on the polished floorboards as he wound down a wide, well-lit corridor. But instead of the intricately woven tapestries hanging from the plastered walls, instead he saw Esme’s face; her blue eyes and her corn-colored waterfall of hair.
