“How much of my thoughts do you hear?” he risked asking. Not because he was worried, but because he wanted to know. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted her to tell him everything.
She hesitated a moment and he squeezed her hand. Then she sighed. “It depends. Most of my life I’ve relied on my amulet, and even when it ran out of power I had a habit of constantly tracing the glyph to boost the magic as much as I could. When it is inert, though, what I pick up depends on how contained the people around me are. For example, I almost never hear anything from Madeleine. She’s so controlled, I’d have to actively push into her thoughts to hear anything. But even when people are practically shouting their thoughts, my ability tends to come and go in waves.”
“That makes sense, if you’ve never learned to control it.” They reached the door to Nicholas’s room, and he pushed it open, waving Sadie inside ahead of him. Their current conversation wasn’t exactly conducive to the mood that had led them here, but he wouldn’t take back his question for the world. He wanted every sort of intimacy with Sadie, not just the physical.
He closed the door, and then she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “Thank you.”
He held her close, knowing this was a moment of comfort rather than desire, but not understanding what had prompted the hug. “You’re welcome, but can I know what I’m being thanked for, so I can do it again in the future?”
“Everything,” Sadie whispered against his chest. “I should probably tell you that I’m picking up a lot more of your thoughts now than I normally do… and, well, you are wonderful.”
He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “Then you must not be seeing everything I’m thinking.” Because having her here, in his room? It definitely stirred less than noble thoughts. And now that he was talking about it, those thoughts were closer to the surface, and she probably was seeing them.
She pulled back and bit her lip, and there was nothing nervous about the action. No, this was anticipatory. She looked him up and down, her brown eyes even darker than usual. “Even those thoughts are wonderful, though I could go for more of you naked in them.”
“I’m hardly going to daydream about myself when I could be imagining you.”
She unbuttoned his jacket and waistcoat and slipped her hands inside, over his abdomen, with only the thin material of his shirt separating their skin. “Then I’ll just have to find a different way to get the view I want.”
Nicholas didn’t care how desperate it made him look, he tore out of his jacket and waistcoat in a blink. With Sadie’s heavy-lidded gaze on him, with the promise of her touch, he wouldn’t pretend to have patience.
She laughed, then stepped close and ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. “You are plenty patient. Otherwise, this would have happened two weeks ago.”
He shook his head and gripped her wrist, holding it so her palm was splayed over his heart. “No. If I had gone to bed with you then, it wouldn’t have been like this. You might’ve given me your body, but nothing else. You wouldn’t have responded to my very thoughts.”
Her breathing turned sharp, and he swooped in for a kiss before she could apologize or ask again if he really was okay withher magic. By the time the kiss ended, he had unbuttoned her gown, and her attention was on the way he pushed it down, until the bodice caught on her crinoline.
He ran his hands back up her sides, hating that her corset remained as a solid barrier between them, then traced the edge of the ribbon that held her amulet at her throat. His fingers made their way to the knot at the back of her neck. “May I, Sadie?”
He knew the charm wasn’t pulling in any power at present; it was nothing more than an inert pendant, but having Sadie stand before him without it would be even more compelling than seeing her in the spring.
She swallowed, and he watched the way her throat moved as his fingers continued to play over the knot.Yes.
He began picking at the ribbon, then realized Sadie hadn’t answered aloud. He paused, not sure if he was supposed to have heard that thought or if it was another instance of her power slipping out of her control. He wouldn’t respond to her thoughts unless she confirmed he was supposed to. “Was I meant to hear that, Sadie?”
Her eyes went wide. “You heard me?”
“You whispered ‘yes’ in my mind.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
He pressed a finger to her lips, cutting off her apology. “Don’t apologize. I told you I want all of you. Don’t hold back with me.”
Her lips didn’t move, and her answer reverberated through his mind.Then yes. Yes, Nick.
An image followed, and he saw himself standing behind her. She wore nothing but that ribbon and pendant, and he held her pressed close with one hand on her abdomen, his other trailing up between her breasts to grip the agate. With a single tug, he tore the necklace off and threw it to the ground.
He groaned. “I’m fairly certain the ribbon wouldn’t break that easily, but I approve of the rest of that idea.”
He slipped behind Sadie and started on the laces of her corset while she dealt with the tapes holding up her crinoline and petticoats. Soon she was stepping out of everything, but instead of leaning back against him as she had in her fantasy, she turned to face him and reached for the knotted ribbon herself.
He swallowed. Seeing her actively choose to remove the amulet was even better.
Spirits, she was beautiful. She didn’t need silks and ribbons as adornments.
She dropped her necklace to the floor, and her voice whispered through his mind once more.Are you saying this is what I should wear to supper from now on? It might give Abigail ideas.
Nicholas laughed. “Spirits save us from Abigail deciding nudity is proper evening attire. And no, I don’t want anyone but me to see you like this.” He stepped forward and placed his hands on her hips, then leaned close and kissed her.But I wouldn’t object to you sharing a private supper with me dressed like this.
