“I shouted at you the moment we met.”
“And yet I still wanted to kiss you.”
Tess’s chuckle made him feel lighter, and he pulled her closer.
“I want to be your lover, and I will abide by whatever rules you set. That’s how much I want you.”
“And we’ll always be honest with one another?”
“Yes.” He hoped the immediacy of his response reassured her.
“We should keep it secret.”
He nodded. “We can do that.”
“And we should state now that it is temporary.”
“I...” Dom understood that she did not want to allow herself to hope as she’d likely done in the past. And he’d never shied from declaring the temporary nature of a liaison... until this moment.
“You’ll leave and it will end,” she went on, “and I’d rather state it clearly now.”
His jaw tightened, but he nodded his agreement. If she wanted it, he’d accede to her wishes.
“After all, this won’t be some grand love affair.” Tess seemed to try for lightness, but Dom heard the thread of bitterness in her tone.
What had that bastard done to her? He wouldn’t ask tonight, wouldn’t demand she dredge up that pain in this fragile moment. But he’d be damned if he let it keep her from any kind of pleasure or happiness now.
Dominic loosened his hold on her, unease suddenly overtaking him.
“Have I offended you?” she asked in a way that tugged at something deep inside him.
Reaching out, he barely resisted the urge to pull her close again. Instead, he gently set her at a distance and then stepped away from the tree.
“Dominic, tell me what’s wrong.”
How could he tell her that what he wanted was to find the rotter who’d hurt her and beat him to a pulp? That he wanted to shower her with affection and soak her in pleasure so thoroughly that whatever still ached inside her would heal? That he didn’t want to talk of the ways they’d end when they hadn’t even yet begun?
Pacing a small path a few strides away from her and then back again, his boots crushed apple blossoms on the path and the sharp, sweet scent of spring filled the air.
Tess waited patiently.
Not a grand love affair? She deserved a bloody spectacular love affair. And more.
He wanted to give it to her, but it terrified him too. Terrified him that he may not be the man who could give her all she deserved.
But God’s teeth, nothing in him could even fathom rejecting this gift she was on the cusp of offering him. Yet even now, he knew he wanted more than just her body.
What she was doing, offering to take him as a lover, took courage when she’d been burned so badly once before. He would prove to her that she could trust again, unleash her passion, declare her desires with someone who would never deceive her. Never hurt her.
Turning, he strode back toward her with renewed purpose. A fiery resolve took hold of him. He strode close enough to feel the warmth of her body, yet he didn’t touch her. She was the most potent of distractions, and he wanted to make himself clear.
“I’ll abide by your limits and whatever boundaries you wish to set. We can sneak about in secret. We can declare here and now that all of what will happen between us will only last for a time, but...” He cupped her cheek in his hand, tipped herhead so that he could look into her eyes. “What’s between us will be bloody grand. I mean to leave you breathless, Tess, and so damned well-pleasured that you’ll be without a single thought in your head except of when I will touch you again.”
Tess inched up on her toes as if desperate to kiss him.
He was as eager as she, but he worked to steady his breathing and arched back an inch, his gaze boring into hers. “Your desires will guide me. Your wishes will be respected.” He needed her to understand at that moment, at the outset, she would be heard. “I do not take what you’re offering lightly. I mean for you to feel cherished, Tess.”
He stroked his thumb along the satiny curve of her cheek. “Understood, my siren?”
