“And then what?” she was compelled to ask.
Dev touched the corner of her mouth with his thumb. “Then, I think you and I can begin to get to know each other.”
“Dev…” She pressed her cheek into his hand. “…are you real?” She laughed. “Is any of this real?” If only… If only she could believe it.
She could easily guess the details of their scheme, and she could not disillusion him.
Yet.
She knew that all of it was only a dream.
But she could not tell him. It was too mortifying.
She would have to tell Lord Harold, eventually. Harold.
Her husband.
Before he did anything drastic.
“Sophia,” Dev breathed. One of his hands had moved to the back of her neck, his other caressing the small of her back.
She tilted her head back and parted her lips.Kiss me.
She did not need to say the words. He would hear. He would know.
And he did. He knew exactly what she needed — exactly what she wanted. But how? Why?
So perfect, soft and searching and then confident and giving. His taste evoked safety, comfort, and desire all at once.
She was one of the lucky ones. Millions of women in this world would never, not in their entire lives, experience the magic of a kiss from Captain Devlin Brookes.
She would take as much as he would give her today. For eventually, he would know the truth. He would discover she was a fraud.
Good Lord, she was as much a fraud as her fiancé.
She and Lord Harold were likely perfect for each other. But she would not think about that now.
She would savor her captain, surrender to his touch, allow him to believe that she too, was his dream.
Dev pulled away and buried his face in her neck. His height required that he bend his knees to do so, even though she stood on her toes to accommodate him.
“God, Sophia,” he breathed again, “we need to be patient. We need to wait.”
No one had ever considered her wishes so thoroughly. Not that she had suffered overtly, or been neglected, but no one had cared much to know what she wanted, or what she needed. An overwhelming sense of love filled her.
It was too soon, far too soon, she knew, but the words escaped anyhow.
“I love you.” She felt him stiffen. She needed to explain! “Not in a silly, whimsical feminine way, but because you would save me. And not because of how you make me feel, but for the goodness within you. Your heart, it speaks to me. You give me a foolish hope. And for that, I thank you.”
By now he had raised his head and was watching her closely.
She touched his face and memorized his features.
Tiny creases around his eyes indicated that he’d laughed whenever given the chance. She studied his nose… strong, aquiline, his cheekbones, and the dark whiskers already threatening to reappear. She would one day remember his dear sweet lips and his concerned brows.
He grasped her by the shoulders, sensing her melancholy. “Have faith in me, Sophia. Everythingwillwork out, and yet you are looking at me as though I’m headed for the grave. Believe me. Believe in me? Won’t you?”
She nodded for him.
