“I missed you.”
She nodded but was staring in the vicinity of his pale gray necktie.
“It was unkind of you to leave without saying goodbye or telling me where you were going.”
“I know,” her voice was husky. “If I spoke with you, you would have asked all sorts of questions. Or tried to stop me.”
“Alice, I don’t care if you are a lady or a governess. You know that, don’t you?”
“I suppose so.”
He released one of her hands so he could tilt her chin up and look into her eyes.How he adored her clear, interesting eyes!They reminded him of the solid strength of all nature — rocks and trees and ancient beings.
Except at that moment, he could see the glittering of unshed tears.
“Tell me,” he said.
After a moment, she swallowed. “I missed you, too. I thought I would never see you again.”
He didn’t wait. Adam leaned down and kissed her, reveling in the familiar jolt of warmth and desire. She felt it, too, by the way her hands came up and her fingers clasped his jacket, holding him in place.
When he slanted his mouth across hers and demanded access with a sweep of his tongue along her soft lips, she leaned against him. Opening her mouth to his gentle assault, at the same time, she laced her fingers behind his neck, holding on to him as if her life depended upon it.
No one was going to interrupt — no Lady Susanne nor Lady Beasley, no butler nor assembly room manager. And she no longer had a governess’s morality to protect.
Nothing and no one outside of the two of them mattered. Adam lost track of how long he explored her mouth, caressed her tongue with his, and felt her ardent reciprocation.
“Alice,” he said against her mouth. “MyAlice.”
Was she?In his heart, he felt she was. But she was an enigma, and he had no idea if she—
“Take me,” she whispered. Then added, “Upstairs.”
He drew back, thinking to sweep her into his arms, but she grabbed his hand, gave him a shy smile that set his blood to boiling, and led the way.
Chapter Thirteen
As soon as Alice drew him into her spartan room and shut the door, she looked at it through the eyes of a future earl and gave in to nervous babbling.
“It’s not fancy, nothing like the room I grew up in. Actually, the room I grew up in is along the hall, but Mrs. Georgie didn’t want me to stay in it as it is entirely changed. She thought it would make me sad, but I don’t mind any of this. Not even this plain bed.”
Alice circled the room, pacing from door to window to bed and back again. While she spoke, Adam stood in the center, his gaze following her movements, although his eyes had darted to the bed at its mention.
“I am glad not to be playing the part of a governess anymore. The family was kind, and the Beasley girls were attentive enough most of the time. But I lacked the temperament and patience. And at times, I—”
“Alice,” he said, his voice soft and sensual. “Come here.”
She swallowed and joined him, toe-to-toe on the floor that had no carpet, and she knew for herself how cold it was under foot at night.
“We don’t have to do anything at all. I am simply happy to be with you again.” But one of his hands was stroking her arm and the other her back, sending waves of desire pulsing through her.
“I want you,” she said, glad she could be completely honest at least in that regard. “I am no longer a governess with a reputation to uphold, and being a widow has some benefits. I am ... autonomous.”
He cracked a smile. “That’s a good word for a city, but I have never heard a woman describe herself as such.”
“Independent, then. Free to make my own decisions. And at this moment, I choose to be with you. As long as you recall I am not a virgin, nor a simpering innocent.”
“I don’t give a damn about deflowering virgins. I care only whether there is any other man in your heart.”
