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She gave him an incredulous look, and he gave it right back to her.
“Not that part. I rather know you enjoyed that. I mean this. Us. Everything.”
“Sono del tutto troppo contento, Christopher.”
“I suppose English would be asking too much.” His hand sketched slow circles around the small of her back.
“I’m sorry. I seem to have forgotten the English words.” She grinned into his shoulder and snuggled closer, enjoying the feeling of safety, however precarious and short-lived.
“What a convenient lapse in knowledge. I’ll refrain from reporting your inferior education to your employer.”
Arching her back, she tipped on her toes and pressed her lips to his, imparting all the emotions she shouldn’t feel into her kiss. Every fragile hope and foolish desire passed through the places where her body was connected to his.
“That translated just fine,” he whispered.
And then she looked away because she couldn’t bear the emotion he had placed there for her to see.
Fifteen
It would be a complicated path from this moment of bliss to one where he could trust Sofia wouldn't flutter out of his life like an autumn leaf, taking his overzealous heart right along with her. He would concentrate on placing one foot in front of the other until all the brambles and bogs were behind them.
Already, she was becoming tense in his arms. He could almost feel her shake off the softness and pleasure she had found with him, so he would let her go. But only because she wished it, and he could only convince his body to do so in tiny increments. First he lifted his head, then he untangled his fingers from where they had nestled into her curls. The palm of his other hand slid down her shoulder and arm, following the warmth of her body along her hand and fingertips … until he ran out of Sofia to touch.
“Play a game of billiards with me while you explain exactly what I can do to help.” He folded his hands behind him to keep his fingers from seeking the comfort of her skin. “Do you know how?”
“Si, un po. Jeremy is teaching me. Smashing one ball into the other and getting them into those holes earns me points, yes?”
“There is no smashing in billiards, and don’t play with Jeremy—he cheats.”
Handing her a cue, they strung for break. He won.
“Yellow.”
“Well, it does suit you,” she said.
He resisted the urge to raise the topic of Oliver, taking his first shot instead. Banking the red ball off three sides, it slid neatly into the corner pocket. “Three points.” Another shot to the red ball and he pocketed his cue. “Another three.”
“Will I be playing this game anytime soon?”
Christopher smirked but didn't take his eyes off the table. He was lined up for a cannon and took the shot without responding. “Two points.”
“I'd rather play with Jeremy. He lets me win, even if he does look down my bodice.”
Christopher missed his cue entirely. “Not anymore he doesn't.”
“He’s a harmless pup,” she responded.
“He’s a harmless pup who’s going to be demoted to emptying chamber pots.”
Sofia lined up to take her shot, closing one eye.
“No, don’t close your eyes, and not like that. Here.” Moving behind her, he repositioned her body. She still missed by a substantial distance.
“Leave Jeremy alone.” She glanced over her shoulder. “He’s taken a fancy to one of the kitchen maids but she wants nothing to do with him. He’s heartsick.”
“Well, he can damn well wallow with his eyes directed elsewhere.”
She sighed, and the game continued with Christopher landing another sequence. With every stroke of the cue stick, he felt the subtle shift in Sofia’s attention, her thoughts drifting further from the game and into a place that loomed decidedly darker. He steadied himself for what was to come, determined to keep the conversation and his responses casual.
