“It feels as if days have passed since this morning.”
“An eventful stretch of hours for certain.” The smile she wore held no real amusement.
“Tess,” he told her softly, “I need to know what you’re thinking.”
He drew closer and it seemed a victory when she didn’t pull away. His breath caught in his throat when she reached out to run her finger along the buttons of his shirt.
“I’m thinking that something I told myself could be simple is now very complicated.” Her eyes glowed in the lantern light, but Dom could only see a stew of emotions he was afraid to interpret. “I was a fool to think it.”
“It needn’t be complicated.”
“Of course it is. My feelings for you are more than I wanted them to be.”
Dom smiled. “Forgive me if I’m quite happy to hear that.” He reached for her then, cupping her cheek. “Tess, you may believe I’m the man that all of them believe I am—”
“You know I don’t. I’ve already told you as much. You’re more than that.” She smiled up at him. “A great deal more.”
“And you are the only woman who’s made me want to be more than some ridiculous caricature of my father.” He drew in a breath because he felt suddenly at sea, unsure of how to say all that was weighing on his heart. “I hardly remember the man I was before I met you.”
She looked into his eyes, studying his features as if weighing his words. “We said this would be temporary,” she whispered.
“I don’t want it to be. Do you?”
“No.” She shook her head, then looked away from him. “But I can’t fathom how it would work. You’ll leave. Go off on the next adventure.”
“Not without you.” He cupped her face in both of his hands, bent until their lips were a breath apart. “You are myfirst thought when I wake and in my dreams all night. You say you cannot fathom how it would work. I cannot fathom my future without you in it.”
He kissed her, praying she’d respond as eagerly as she had every other time. Yet it was more than every other time—more hunger, more passion, more need—as if both of them had been waiting to unleash the feelings they’d held at bay.
Dom clasped her nape, aware he’d dislodged pins, though neither of them seemed to care. She slipped a finger between the buttons of his shirt, as if desperate to touch his bare skin, and he took full of advantage of the low neckline of her gown, licking, tasting, nipping the softness of her neck.
“Dominic,” she moaned when he tugged at the edge of her gown so that he could kiss the swell of her breast.
Fingers sunk in his hair, she urged him closer.
“Ah, there you are,” Sofia Van Arsdale called from the terrace doors.
If it weren’t for the perfection of having Tess in his arms, he would have growled his irritation at the interruption. He kept his back to the American, helping Tess to right her gown, then turned, sheltering her as well as he could from Miss Van Arsdale’s view.
But the young woman was already striding right up to them.
“Ah, and Miss Hawthorne.” She glanced at each of them, and it was obvious the moment understanding dawned. She let out a little chuckle. “I see. I’m not sure what my father will make of this.”
“If your father takes issue with how I conduct myself, then let him say as much to me,” Dom told her. What was between him and Tess was none of the Americans’ business, and it had not impacted their work on the dig in any way.
“I have something I must say,” Tess said and then steppedout to face Miss Van Arsdale. “I’ll forestall any concern your father might have. I hereby leave my post as advisor to your father’s treasure hunt. Neither of you seems to care much about the history anyway.”
“Tess, you needn’t—” Dom started.
“No, I want to. If I can’t stomach their treatment of the artifacts, then I shouldn’t be taking their money.”
He wasn’t sure if she was saying he should do the same, but he understood how she felt.
“I’m going home,” she told him. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“I’m coming with you.”
Tess flashed a soft smile, and he started toward her.
