Was this entirely proper?
“Are you glad you came to Scotland?”
“I don’t know,” she said, finally. “I met my grandfather, but I know when we leave here I’ll probably never see him again. I don’t want to find someone only to lose him.”
His smile surprised her.
“Have I said something amusing?” she asked.
“What you’ve just described is life itself, Sarah. Not very much about life is permanent. We find friends only to lose them. We find lovers only for them to prove inconstant. We assume we’ll always be young and healthy, and yet time delivers its own blow.”
“That sounds horribly dour, Mr. Eston.”
His smile deepened at the use of his surname.
“Not at all, Lady Sarah. The lesson is to celebrate what we have, when we have it. Love as if you will never love again. Share each moment with a friend. Never take your life for granted or your health. Wring from each day all the laughter that’s in it, all the adventure you can stomach, all the emotion your heart can hold.”
She listened to him in silence, then glanced away. “I think it’s easier to hide yourself away rather than to be hurt repeatedly,” she said.
“I never said it was easy living in the moment, Sarah. It takes courage.”
“I am not certain I’m that brave,” she said.
“While I’m absolutely certain you are.” He picked up her hand and studied it in silence. “Do you regret last night?” he asked finally.
She looked at him, shocked. “No.”
“Are you certain?”
“Is that horrible of me?” she asked. Her own voice sounded small and tiny and frightened. She cleared her throat. “Is it wrong to want to feel joy and pleasure?”
“That’s called life, Sarah,” he said, smiling.
What had he said?You and I shall have a love affair.At the moment, that was exactly what it felt like. He smiled at her, and her heart felt absurdly light, as if he were capable of washing away grief with an expression.
He stood. As he stretched out his hand to her, the towel dropped to the floor.
Oh my.
What a truly mesmerizing sight, especially the way his manhood seemed to grow as she stared at it, as if it were a giant waking and stretching.
She took his hand and stood, reaching up to touch his shoulder below the scratches.
“Did I do that?”
He glanced at the mark and smiled. “I’m more than willing to be wounded in the art of love, Sarah.”
With that, she allowed him to lead her to their bed.
She looked as if she were torn between running away and pulling him after her, propriety vying with decadence. She bumped against him, her skirts enveloping him, her breasts against his chest.
A gasp escaped her.
“Are you well, Sarah?”
She nodded, her hair brushing against his bare chest. He tried not to shiver at the feel of her breath against his skin.
“I didn’t hurt you last night?”
