He’d done any number of other wicked things—gaming, drinking, dallying with ladies of the demi-monde and the occasional widow or bored wife. He was no pillar of ethical behavior by any means, but he’d never ruined an innocent.
Not until Tilly.
He rose from his chair, rounded the desk and came toward her, one slow, deliberate step at a time until he was so close he could inhale her scent of fresh air and gardens, and a hint of lavender soap. Heat curled inside him, a pulsing beat low in his belly.
She gasped when he knelt before her. “Kit?”
“You’re wrong, Tilly. Ididcompromise a young lady. A lady with beautiful blue eyes who, by some mysterious stroke of fate came into my garden at night, just when I needed her the most.”
She gazed at him, her eyes a dark blue in the flickering firelight. “You never…you didn’t compromise me.”
“But I did, Tilly. In the eyes of theton, I did. We were here alone, and I kissed you.” He reached for her, cupping her soft cheek in his palm. “Don’t you remember?”
She didn’t answer, but she did remember the kiss, every moment of it. He saw it in the way her lips parted, and felt it in the shiver that went through her.
“I compromised you.” He dragged his thumb over her cheekbone. “But I won’t abandon you, Tilly.”
She sucked in a quick breath. “You can’t mean—”
“That I want you as my countess? That is what I mean. I want it more than anything.”
“B-because of the curse?”
He wouldn’t lie to her. “It began that way, yes, but it’s no longer just about the curse. It’s…you’re…” God, his hands were shaking. “You’re not like any lady I’ve ever met, Tilly. You’re honest, and brave, and you make me wish I were a better man.”
It wasn’t a declaration of love—not quite—but it was as close as he’d ever come to one.
She looked down, but he caught her chin, and raised her face to his. “Why did you come here tonight, Tilly?”
“I don’t… I shouldn’t have.”
“It’s not too late to go.” His hand fell away from her face. He wouldn’t try and stop her if she fled. He’d let her go, and pretend he hadn’t seen the desire in the midnight depths of her eyes, a desire that both thrilled and terrified him at once.
But that wasn’t what she did.
She must know, just as he did, that this moment between them was inevitable. It had been bearing down on them since their first stolen kiss on the night they’d met.
And you couldn’t outrun fate.
She stayed where she was, her gaze holding his. His heart thrashed madly in his chest, because he was going to kiss her, and she was… dear God, she was going to let him, was trembling for him as the moment unfolded between them.
One second passed, then another, her warm breath drifting against his cheek, and every inch of her quivering as she waited for his touch.
But he didn’t kiss her mouth, Instead, he pressed his lips to her ear. “Why did you come here, Tilly?” he rasped.
“I wanted…”
“Yes?” He grazed her earlobe with the tip of his tongue, warmth exploding in his belly in a thousand bright sparks when she shivered against him. “What do you want?”
She put her palm on his chest. She was trembling, but she didn’t push him away. She let her hand linger there, and he counted his heartbeats as the silence stretched between them.
“You,” she whispered at last. “I wantyou.”
He froze for an instant, then he let out a long, slow sigh. “If I were the man I should be, I’d send you away, but I can’t, Tilly. I want you too much.”
He kissed her then, his mouth taking hers, teasing at the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue until she opened for him with a gasp. He plunged inside, groaning as she met him stroke for stoke, dizzy from the slick caress of her lips. “So good, Tilly. So sweet.”
She didn’t speak, only clung to him as desire surged between them, her head falling back as a helpless moan tumbled from her lips. Her fingers curled against his chest, fisting his linen shirt. “Oh, please.”
