The words sent a shiver racing down her spine, pooling low and hot. “Your care?” She tried for lightness, but her voice emerged husky, betraying her. “You’re not my father.”
“No,” he agreed, the single word rough, almost a growl. His gaze flicked back up to hers, dark and intent. “Thank God for that.”
Silence pulsed between them, while fireflies drifted lazily around their shoulders, their soft glow reflected in his hazel eyes, turning them molten gold. He was so close she could smell bergamot and warm male skin; her fingers twitched with the urge to reach out, to trace the shadow of stubble along his jaw, to discover how it would rasp against her throat, her breasts, and the tender skin of her inner thighs.
Deena swallowed, fighting the pull.
“What is this place?” he asked quietly.
She turned slightly, acutely aware of how near he still stood. “Dominic and I used to sneak out here on summer nights when we were children. Just to watch the fireflies. Away from nurses, tutors… and all the expectations.”
He moved to her side, gaze sweeping the meadow before settling on her face again, softer now but no less intense. “It’s beautiful,” he said, the simple sincerity catching her off guard.
Her throat tightened. “It was my favorite place to feel… free.”
“Free,” he repeated, voice low. “And tonight? Do you feel free now?”
Deena met his eyes, her breath shallow. “I’m not sure yet.”
His mouth curved in a slow, dangerous smile. “We could find out.”
Heat flared through her. “Do you want to continue our conversation?” she asked, forcing steadiness into her words.
Austin’s gaze sharpened, the smile deepening. “Refresh my memory. What, exactly, were we speaking of?”
Her cheeks burned. “We were… comparing scandals.”
He laughed softly, the sound brushing over her skin like silk. “Ah, yes. Yours, incredible as it seems, was innocence cruelly punished.” His eyes flicked back to her lips, lingering again. “Mine are usually the opposite. Deliberate. Thorough. Very… satisfying.”
Deena’s breath hitched. “You make it sound like a virtue.”
“Only when both parties agree,” he murmured, leaning in just enough that she felt the heat of his words against her cheek. “Do you ever wonder what it might’ve been like to give in to temptation?”
Deena’s heart slammed against her ribs. She should step back. Should remind him of every reason this was impossible.
Instead, she held his gaze, voice barely above a whisper. “Every woman wonders, Austin. Some of us just admit it.”
“So, admit something to me.”
She felt that familiar flutter she got whenever she was near him. “Lady X on the rug,” she managed. “That was… very vivid.”
“Toovivid?” He leaned in a fraction, voice dropping to a murmur that brushed her skin like silk. “Or do you want more detail?”
Her breath hitched. “Austin…”
“Tell me something, Dee,” he pressed while tucking a loose curl behind her ear. His fingertips grazed her cheek and lingered. “In Paris… did you ever taste something like what I described?”
“Taste what exactly?”
“A kiss that made you forget your own name?”
Deena blushed. “Of course not.”
His thumb traced the shell of her ear, feather light. “Never?”
“I lived carefully,” she whispered, hating how breathless she sounded. “I had to.”
“But did youwantto?” His voice was pure seduction now, low and coaxing. “Did you ever lie awake, wondering how it would feel to be kissed until you couldn’t think?”
