“You’ll have to show me what you mean to do. I’ve no wish to fumble in the dark.”
“You won’t. I’ll pleasure you while you watch the stars.” He released her, shook out his greatcoat and laid it out on the grass. Then offered his hand. “Come. You’ll look at the heavens. I’ll look at you.”
She slipped her hand into his, a mirror of their first dance. Nothing had been the same since. Nothing would be again once she surrendered to him.
He guided her down onto his coat, warm and scented with leather and him, then lay beside her and drew the wool blankets over them.
“What do you love about the stars?” he said.
She gazed up at the vibrant canopy, relaxing a little, which she suspected was the plan. “Problems seem insignificant against the vastness of the heavens.”
He came up on his elbow, his fingers tracing the neckline of her plain blue dress. “Is that why you invited me here? To help me forget about vengeance? Or to seduce me in this celestial setting?”
A shiver ran through her. Whether from his featherlight caress or the ache of anticipation, she could not tell. “Are you seduced?”
“You know damn well I am.”
“Do I?”
“My steely reserve is the only thing stopping me from rolling on top of you and forgetting every promise I made.”
She had to bite her tongue lest she offer every encouragement. “Have you ever made love beneath the stars?”
“Never. You make me forget who I’m meant to be.”
It was a compliment he didn’t try to hide.
The secret she needed.
“Then perhaps you should show me the scoundrel I met in Lord Templeton’s ballroom. He kissed like he was starved of breath.”
“You want to taste sin, angel?”
“You know I do.”
He was on her in a heartbeat, claiming her mouth in a savage kiss that sent ripples to her toes. He rolled half over her, the unmistakable hardness of him pressing against her hip.
She felt the breeze whisper over her stockings a secondbefore his hand followed, his thumb tracing a slow circle at her ankle.
His hand slid higher, that devilish thumb finding the hollow of her knee. One touch. That was all. Yet she felt him everywhere. The taste of chocolate with every glide of his tongue. The burn beneath his fingers. The persistent throb between her thighs.
She thrust her hands into his hair, deepening the kiss as she arched into him. A silent plea she dared not voice aloud.
He heard it.
His hand stilled at her knee, fingers flexing. “Have a care, love. I’m fighting to keep my need in its cage.”
She could sense power pulsing beneath his clothes, but there was nothing of the beast in him tonight. Never had she felt so safe, so cherished, with a man most considered lethal.
“Kiss me and I shall try to curb my enthusiasm.”
“Don’t try too hard. Just be mindful of my condition.”
How could she not be mindful when the thick ridge of him pushed against her?
The smile inside her deepened. She had done this to him.
“Any doubts?” he asked.
