She was surprised again, he could tell, by the intimacy of his touch. But if he had his way, she’d be experiencing his touch much more frequently.
“Athena, I must ask you something.”
Her fingers brushed against his shirt, exposed by his openwaistcoat. None of them had dressed for swimming today, but they were still equally informal.
“Ye can ask,” she murmured in agreement.
Be my mistress.
But now that he had the opportunity, his words floundered. How could he ask something so intimate, so potentially life changing, without being certain what her answer would be?
“May I kiss you?”
It wasn’t until he saw the heat pool in her hazel green eyes that he’d realized he’d asked the question out loud, and winced at his awkwardness. He sounded like a schoolboy, infatuated with his first woman.
“I appreciate ye asking permission, Cash.”
The gentle way she said it made him wonder if there’d been men who hadn’t asked.
He swallowed. “And?”
“And I think I would prefer—if ye dinnae mind—ifIkissed ye. I have been rather proud of my restraint thus far, to tell the truth.”
He stopped breathing. That was the only explanation for why his lungs suddenly felt too tight, and it felt as if he were floating above his own body. He watched, somewhat in a daze, as she lifted her hands to cup his cheeks, before pulling him down toward her.
When she brushed her lips across his, her eyelids fluttered closed as if she were experiencing ecstasy, and he damn near moaned out loud.
But then she kissed him again, and his breathwhooshedout of him, and he sucked in another breath so quickly, he almost went light-headed. But he quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. When her breasts crushed against his chest, she made the most enticing little mewling sound of want, and the knowledge went right to his cock.
She kissed like a woman who knew what she wanted—a woman who knew whathewanted. No shrinking violet was she; Athena’s lips and tongue kept pace with his until they were both gasping with need.
Cash couldn’t ever recall a kiss such as this one; a kiss which took him to a state of arousal so quickly he became dizzy. Or perhaps it was from the way all the blood in his body had dropped to his penis.
Yes, that’s likely it.
Dear Lord in Heaven, but Athena could kiss! He knew he’d be hard-pressed to contain his desire for her, hard-pressed not to lay her right down on the riverbank and open her blouse and tease her nipples—would they be as pink as he imagined?—and taste her skin.
But he couldn’t. Not with their sons—their innocent, trusting sons—so close by. Only the knowledge of Callan and Matthew, sleeping peacefully on the blanket, helped Cash maintain some semblance of control.
It was difficult, but he managed to force himself to release her, to ease his hold on her. His only consolation was, when he pressed his forehead to hers in an effort to steady his heartbeat, her breathing was just as labored as his.
It seemed to him speaking would mar the moment, so he didn’t. Instead, he focused on the way his palms pressed against her warm back, and the way her fingers caressed the side of his neck, and the way he could still taste her sweetness on his tongue.
“Tomorrow?” he finally murmured.
She straightened, then peered up at him. Slowly, her lips—swollen and well-loved—curled into a smile.
“Tomorrow,” she agreed.
CHAPTER 3
Suddenly, this summer wasn’t quite so difficult after all.
Up until now, Athena had done her best to hide away at Newfincy Castle with her father and the staff, ignoring his not-so-subtle hints that they should be at their neighbor’s house party. Da carried a bit of a flame for the widowed Countess Dumpkins, and Athena suspected it was reciprocated, so it was no surprise he pressured his daughter into joining in as well.
When shedidparticipate—usually leaving Callan at home, but sometimes allowing him to tag along just to remind herself and the rest of Society that she refused to play by their rules—she took refuge among the few friends she’d made.
Olive L’arbor had married Athena’s brother Phineas, and they were off on an archeological adventure to the Holy Land. Her sisters Willow and Hazel were still attending the house party with their brother Ash, as was BonnieOliphant, a bookish young lady who had big plans for her life. Her sister Tiffany had recently married Athena’s brother Lysander, and as a result, had come into possession of the most incredible medieval manuscript.
