She reached out to trace his firm lips with one gentle finger. Just the lightest touch, so as not to wake him—
His hand snaked out and grabbed hold of her wrist. “Sneaking away in the dark, are you?”
A sound that was embarrassingly like a squeak left Iris’s lips, and she dropped her clothes to the floor. “No! I never sneak. But I need to get back to my bedchamber before someone discovers I’m missing.”
He raised himself up on one elbow and gazed at her with sleepy hazel eyes, his full lips curving in a lazy smile as he slowly shook his head. “Oh, no. I don’t think so, sweet.”
“If Violet finds us out, I’ll be…Finn!”
Finn caught her in his arms, tossed her onto the bed, and came down on top of her in a tangle of warm limbs. “Now, what were you were saying?”
His lips hovered over hers, so close, a mere breath away. “I, ah…” Whathadshe been saying? “Oh, that Violet will catch me out, and then you’ll have to explain to Captain West a debaucher lurks under your gentlemanly exterior.”
“Yes, but I only let him loose when I want something.” He touched his thumb to her mouth, his eyes darkening when her lips parted for him. “And I want you, Iris.”
“I see. Do you always get what you want, Lord Huntington?” She bit down gently on the tip of his thumb, making him moan.
“Always.” He slid one long, muscular leg between hers and stroked a large hand over her belly, inching closer to the curls between her legs with each caress.
Iris caught her breath as wet warmth flooded her core. She was tempted to spread her legs and let him pleasure her as he had last night, but as delicious as that would be, there was one small matter she hadn’t worked through.
How did he use the silk scarves?
“Tell me about these dark desires of yours.”
Finn went still, and his body tensed. He was silent for a long moment, then he blew out a breath and flopped over onto his back, covering his eyes with one arm. “There’s nothing so dark about them.”
Iris propped herself on her side beside him and balanced her head in her hand. “I’m not asking you to explain yourself to me, Finn. I’m simply curious. My books described all manner of scandalous things, but Philander never blindfolded Octavia with a cravat.”
She was only teasing him, but he didn’t smile. “I would never hurt you, Iris. You know that, don’t you?”
Iris’s smiled faded. Did he truly believe she was afraid of him? She pulled his arm away from his eyes and turned his face toward her. “Of course you wouldn’t hurt me. I never for a moment thought you would. That’s not why I asked. It’s just… I want to know you, and…” Her face heated. “Give you what you need in the bedchamber.”
“I don’t need it,” he said, too quickly. “Not from you.”
“If not from me, then who?” Iris winced at the jealousy in her voice, but blast the man, if he was going to bind anyone, it was going to beher.
“No, I didn’t mean that. I meant I’ll do without, sweet.”
Iris might be a novice in the bedchamber, but it didn’t take unusual perception to see there was a part of Finn who needed to take command, to dominate. “You like the control of it.”
His jaw ticked. “It’s complicated.”
She ran her fingers over his raspy chin, then leaned forward to kiss away the tension in his jaw. “Explain it to me.”
He ran a rough hand through his hair. “It’s not just about control. That is, it does excite me to be in control of your pleasure, but it’s also about taking care of you, and protecting you, even. It’s difficult to explain.”
Iris thought about that for a moment, then she got out of bed and sifted through the piles of clothes on the floor. When she found what she wanted, she crawled back into bed beside him and held up two cravats. “Show me.”
He stared at her, horrified. “No, Iris.”
“Finn—”
“No. You’re an innocent—for God’s sake, last night you were a virgin, and you’ve only recently decided I’m not a liar. Even if I were to agree to it at some point, it wouldn’t be now. Not when trust is still so fragile between us.”
Iris ran the long length of his cravat between her fingers. He was right. She wasn’t quite ready for that kind of adventure, but perhaps there was another way.
“Do you trust me?”
