Kate didn’t reply. Instead, she rose from the bed to pull on a thin lawn nightrobe then sat cross-legged on the bed to face him. ‘How can you possibly say you are not a good person? Youdefended your brother when he was a child, and I guess you’ve been his rock ever since.’
He laughed. ‘His rock? The man never stops chiding me.’
‘Only because he cares for you, Dan! Do you know that I’ve met him?’
‘He told me so, yes.’
‘Did he also tell you that he was the one who encouraged me to buy something special to wear to the Darrows’ party?’
‘He did. The scoundrel.’
‘No, he was kind! He told me not to be cowed by you, because beneath your steely exterior, you hid a kind heart. And he also said that you had a strong belief in seeing justice done. So there!’
Dan raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. He was also laughing. ‘Believe me, I’ve really no idea how he’s worked all that out.’
‘It’s because heknowsyou! And as for your poor mother, how do you know she wasn’t desperate to get back to you, desperate to see you and your brother again?’
He sighed then. ‘It’s no good, Kate. You’re a sweet and lovely lady, but you cannot convince me that I can change.’
‘Not ever?’
When he didn’t reply, she shrugged and rose from the bed. After walking to the window, she parted the curtains to look out. ‘It’s a beautiful evening,’ she said softly. ‘The air is so clear that I can see some fishing boats far out at sea.’
Dan rose to his feet and began pulling on his shirt, breeches and boots. She watched him and said, without expression, ‘Are you leaving?’
‘No,’ he said. ‘I most definitely am not.’ He walked across the room to gather her in his arms and lowered his forehead to hers. ‘Come outside, beautiful Kate,’ he said softly, ‘and dance with me one more time in the moonlight.’
With those few, poignant words, Kate felt hollowed out by her emotions. How could he do this to her? How could he cast this spell over her, so that every moment with him made her more certain that her entire life was being changed for ever?
She tried to smile. ‘With no music?’
‘That may be so,’ he said, holding up one hand. ‘But we shall manage.’
He helped her to put on her shoes and gown again, laughing together over his brief struggle with her buttons, then he led her outside into the cobbled courtyard, where the night air was heady with the scent of roses and everywhere was silvered by the moonlight. He took her in his arms, he began softly humming a waltz tune, and like last time, he whirled her round, he lifted her and kissed her until she was breathless and dizzy with desire for him once more.
Especially when he stopped and held her even closer.
‘Kate Summerby,’ he said, ‘I told you I am not a good person. But I needed, oh, God, how I needed to be reminded that someone like you exists.’
Then he led her back inside up to her bedroom, and the magic began all over again.
This time he undressed her swiftly. He kissed her all over, and she kissed him back. She tried to undress him too, but she struggled with the unfamiliar buttons of his breeches and laughing, he undid them himself. ‘There is no rush,’ he murmured, kissing her forehead. ‘We have all night.’
All night,she repeated to herself.All night.Once more she felt the unspeakable pleasure as he entered her, once more she trembled as the delicious waves of fulfilment shook her body and her soul.
And if she knew, as she finally lay sated in his arms, that she had given her heart to this man, then it would be a secret he must never, ever know.
Dan woke before Kate the next morning. He eased himself out of bed and gazed down at her as she lay there with her silken hair spread out across the pillow. He thought,how gorgeous she is. Were the men who’d either ignored her or treated her badly during her Season quite blind?
Of course, she had been led ever since her illness to believe that she was undesirable because of her slight impediment—but that, to him, was part of her uniqueness, because she had developed such strength, such courage in the face of adversity.
Just then she stirred slightly and her mouth seemed to hold a secret smile. Something tugged at his heart, making him feel protective. Possessive. Oh, damn it. What had he done?
A night to remember, that was all she had asked for. Never before had any woman stipulated the terms of a relationship with him so precisely, yet never before had he encountered a woman so dangerously close to making him forget his resolution to never fall in love. Already his desire was rising again as he remembered how it had felt to possess her body and to sense her trembling with the power of her release.
Hell. He could very easily get back into bed with her right now and make love to her in all the ways he could think of, for endless hours. But instead, he woke her gently and when she opened her sleepy, gorgeous eyes, he told her he was leaving.
She pulled herself up against the pillows. ‘So soon, Dan?’
