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He cleared his throat. “You want the flame to consume the entire foot of the cigar, leaving red embers glowing and warming it up.”

She nodded, watching as he demonstrated every step as he spoke.

“Then, you put it into your mouth, hold the flame just above the foot of the cigar, and draw on it gently. Continue rotating the cigar, as you want the same amount of fire to consume every part of the foot. It needs to be ready… hot.”

Beatrice swallowed. “And then w-what?”

“Once the cigar is lit, inspect the foot.” He showed the foot of his cigar to her. “The entire edge should be evenly glowing red. If any areas haven’t caught fire, gently blow on the unlit sections while rotating the cigar. Like this…” He blew gently, encouraging the even glow of the foot of the cigar.

He’d lit dozens if not hundreds of cigars in his time, but in the intimate atmosphere, with Beatrice sitting on his lap, it felt different.

Adam put his cigar into his mouth. Beatrice’s gaze followed it and then she licked her lips. Damn.

Adam’s cock rose to attention, his entire body going taut. A little lesson in lighting a cigar, an intimate gaze—that’s all it took for him to grow hard these days.

This hadn’t happened to him since he was an untried youth. Embarrassing.

“Your turn.” Adam’s voice came out hoarse, and he puffed out the cloud of smoke to distract attention from himself and his suddenly arisen needs.

“So, I hold the flame an inch away?” She glanced at him, cigar in one hand, tinder box in the other.

“Yes.” He took the cigar from her. “Light the flame.” As she did, he handed her cigar back and tilted it at forty-five degrees, the warmth of her fingers and the softness of her skin making him realize that perhaps touching her was a bad idea. “And hold it like this.”

Or maybe it wasn’t a bad idea. She was the one who insisted on experiencing passion. Perhaps, they could engage in the passionate activity at least one more time…

“Now put it between your lips.”

Beatrice complied, wrapping her rosy lips around the cigar and causing Adam to imagine other erotic things she could put between her lips.

But instead of lightly roasting the foot again, she managed to burn it. So, when she inhaled, she immediately dissolved into a coughing fit. Thank God, a distraction from his lewd thoughts.

Adam laughed as he put her cigar away. “Here, try mine instead,” he said when she stopped coughing.

She grimaced. “I don’t think I want to.”

“You need this item crossed off, don’t you?” He raised a brow.

She wrinkled her nose adorably. “I tried it and didn’t like it.”

“How about this?” Adam inhaled the smoke then leaned in and kissed her lips, slowly exhaling into her mouth.

He pulled away, and she sat there frozen before dissolving into a coughing fit once more. “It didn’t help.” Her voice was cracking as she continued coughing.

Adam chuckled and put his cigar away as well. “You tried, that’s the main thing.”

She turned toward him, her eyes red from coughing. “I agree.”

She looked at him, her gaze growing heated. “What now?”

What now, indeed?

Adam stared into Beatrice’s eyes. He had thought about their situation nonstop for the last few days. But more intensely since the night of their race… the night that ended with passion.

And he’d come to several conclusions since then.

First, he decided that he could not, under any circumstances, hand her to Lansdowne after everything they’d gone through. That was just not going to happen. Not only was he an old, lecherous ne’er-do-well, but he had already hurt Beatrice! There was no telling what he’d do once he got her forever.

After learning of Beatrice’s bruises, Adam had decided to make the old man’s life hell. But he couldn’t do that and, at the same time, resign Beatrice to the fate of being his wife.