Page 24

He gave a short, unsteady laugh. “I fear I underestimated the condition.”

“You should have asked more questions,” she teased.

He swallowed hard. “I suspect I should have asked fewer.”

Amelia smiled and brushed her fingertips along his jaw, feeling the faint roughness of evening stubble. His gaze followed hers to his mouth, and for once she had no desire to devise a clever remark. The wit that had armored her all evening simply fell away, leaving something simpler and truer. She wanted him.

The admission felt simpler here, seated on his lap. His hand warmed her back and spread wide between her shoulder blades. No one was watching. She hadn’t agreed to a future, and she had no reason to hide what she had chosen. The truth of it filled her, light and clear as a bell. “I think,” she said quietly, “I should like to stop playing.”

Dominic’s expression changed, the amusement draining away into something intent and tender. His thumb moved once against her waist, slow and reverent. “And what would you like instead?”

She had spent so much of her life considering how to make an answer acceptable before she gave it, shaping and smoothing every word. This one required no alteration. It rose from somewhere deep and certain, and she let it come. Amelia leaned closer, letting her lips brush his as she spoke, feeling his warm breath mingle with hers.

“I should like you to kiss me until I forget we were keeping score.” He drew her nearer, and she went willingly, her eyes drifting closed.

Five

Dominic had forgotten everything before Amelia settled on his lap. He had forgotten who had proposed the wager, which forfeits remained unclaimed, and whether the sandglass was still running. With her mouth against his and her hand warm at the back of his neck, he realized none of those things deserved another moment’s thought. The whole of the world had narrowed to the soft pressure of her lips and the faint scent of jasmine rising from her skin.

He kissed her slowly at first, giving her time to settle closer. He spread his hand carefully over her back as though she might startle. Then she slipped her fingers into his hair, her nails grazed his scalp, and a shiver ran down his spine. Whatever restraint he had became far less dependable.

Amelia answered him without hesitation. Her lips moved beneath his, eager and soft. She made a small sound, half sigh, half hum, and his hand gripped her waist more firmly. The silk warmed from her body and slid beneath his palm. He wanted to hear that sound again. He wanted the room quieter and the space between them smaller.

She drew back just far enough to look at him, her breath coming quick and warm against his mouth, her eyes dark and luminous in the firelight.’ I believe you are succeeding.”

“At what?” His voice came out rougher than he meant.

“Making me forget,” she whispered.

Dominic brushed a pale curl away from her cheek, marveling at the softness of her skin. “Then I had better continue.”

Her skin warmed beneath his fingertips. He kissed her again, and this time she turned fully toward him. One hand rested against his chest, directly above his heart. It was hammering, and he knew she must feel it. The shift brought her closer than either of them had managed during their game. Her body pressed against his, and he lost the thread of every thought. Except the extraordinary pleasure of having her there…

When they finally parted, she stayed close, her forehead resting against his. Their breath mingled in the narrow space between them. Her breathing was quick and uneven, with a soft catch at the end of each exhale. His heart beat hard in his chest. Almost like he had never held a woman before. It was a clumsy, joyous pounding that left him slightly dizzy.

“You have become quiet,” she murmured.

“I am attempting to collect myself.”

“Must you?” she asked.

The question was gently given, with enough mischief in it to make him smile. A warm, dazzled happiness bloomed in his chest. He drew back to see her face, memorizing the flush on her cheeks, the slight swelling of her lips, and the loose curls clinging to her temples. “I suspect you would prefer that I remembered how to speak.”

“I might allow you a brief interval,” she teased.

His lips twitched. She was perfect. “How generous.”

“I have been told I can be agreeable when properly motivated,” she said.

He laughed, and she smiled as though his pleasure belonged partly to her. Perhaps it did. He had arranged the evening hoping to amuse her. She had made him laugh more readily than anyone had in weeks, and the realization settled in him, startling and sweet. He rested his hand over hers, where it lay against his waistcoat.

“Have you enjoyed yourself?” he asked.

Amelia glanced toward the open carpet and the abandoned ribbon, a soft light in her eyes. “What do you think?”

“I would like to believe you have,” he said softly. “Your kisses suggest you enjoyed it very much.”

“That may be a good indicator,” she told him. “Especially as you have kissed me in several places.”