I trust you.
The words echoed off the bricks and rocks surrounding them. If she trusted him, then she would marry him, wouldn’t she?
The thought reminded him of the addendum he’d had his solicitor draw up, which stipulated that she’d maintain most of her rights—rights women typically relinquished upon marriage. His intentions were possibly more binding than the actual document, but one couldn’t exactly override the law. It was the best he could do.
He’d meant to go over it with her before but had decided to wait until they were alone.
Which they were now.
And yet, it wasn’t something he was willing to bring up tonight.
A cool breeze brushed his face, and a second later, she sidled up behind him.
I trust you.
No, tonight was not about contracts. Magical energy swirled around them. Hunt slowed his steps. He wouldn’t rush her. He wouldn’t rush any of this.
Tonight was theirs.
Both her hands were on his back now. Rather than ask where they were going or complain about the chill in the air or the dark, she simply followed him.
“I hear the sea,” she said. She was so close behind that Hunt could feel the tremor that rolled through her.
He stopped and turned. “It’s safe,” he said, leaning toward her. “This entrance has been here for hundreds of years.”
With the added height from her place on the step behind him, her eyes were nearly even with his. A cool gust of wind swooshed up the stairs, this time causing her hair to come loose and curl around his jaw. The silken strands caught a few of his whiskers, and he did nothing to dislodge them.
“Did you play here when you were younger? Pretend to be pirates?”
“Not with the girls, but with Damien and Edgeworth and a few other chaps.”
“I cannot think your mother liked that.”
“She never knew.” He laughed softly. “At least I don’t think she did.” Hunt contemplated the logistics of kissing her right there, with the torch in one hand and several steps to go before reaching the bottom.
With his luck, he’d step wrong or light her hair on fire. Kissing her here was not a good idea.
And yet her mouth was too tempting for him to resist.
Holding the torch away from her, he propped his other hand against the wall and trapped her there.
“It’s safe,” she echoed his words. “People have done it for hundreds of years.”
Her voice provided the map to her mouth. “Hundreds of years,” he whispered before settling his lips on hers.
Her soft moan vibrated through him.
“Just one more,” she mumbled, curling her hands around his neck.
“So sweet,” he said. But she was more than that. She was beautiful and smart and clever and brave. Made for him. That’s what she was—his other half.
Turning his head to deepen their kiss, he wondered how in the hell he’d gotten so lucky. He’d expected her to be a trial, a chain around his neck, a curse that would forever remind him of his father’s treachery.
But she was none of those.
His cock strained against his trousers, and his mouth hungered to taste her everywhere—her throat, the valley between her breasts, each tip.
But he couldn’t do that here.
