The prior day, he’d been so excited to have her arrive. It was obvious he was still besotted. What might he be prepared to do about it? She was positive about what she wanted—a proposal of marriage—but how could she convince him that he wanted it too?
She studied his handsome face. Even though it was dark out, there was enough light filtering in that she could see him clearly. It wasn’t fair for him to be so attractive. He appeared younger and more content when he was sleeping, and she never got tired of looking at him.
He must have perceived her heightened attention, for he woke up too. He laid a palm on her cheek and asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Much better—now that I’m with you.”
“What time is it?”
“I suppose dawn is approaching.”
“Your expression is so serious. What are you thinking about?”
“I’m worrying about where we’re headed.”
“I have a few suggestions about that,” he said. “I don’t believe I can walk away from you again. I have to take steps that guarantee you’re glued to my side forever.”
She assumed he was referring to marriage, but how was she to be sure? Should she inquire as to what he meant? She had no notion of how to begin that discussion, but she suspected they ought to engage in it before they went any farther.
He closed the distance between them and kissed her, so he removed any opportunity to debate the issue. She jumped into the embrace, and it quickly grew heated and out of control.
Gradually, he guided his hand down her body and slipped it under the fabric of her robe. She was naked underneath, and she should have grabbed his wrist and prevented any exploration, but she didn’t.
She was breathless with anticipation, her anatomy alive and on fire in an intensely dramatic manner. He could do many delicious things to her, and she would relish every one of them.
Would she stop him? She doubted it. Their current situation, where they were alone in an isolated bedchamber—and she was undressed—made it seem as if any mischief would be permitted.
He deepened the kiss and started massaging her breast, pinching the nipple, and causing such a ripple of elation to shoot through her limbs that she was bewildered by the raucous sensations being induced.
Much too rapidly, the encounter escalated past any limit she should have allowed. He rolled on top of her and played with both nipples, which was too riveting to describe, and she was anxious to learn where it would lead.
He drew away and nibbled a trail down her neck, to her chest. Before she realized his plan, he sucked a nipple into his mouth and nursed at it. The agitation produced was so shocking that she was afraid she might explode. It felt that debauched.
He kept on for ages, arousing her, tormenting her, as his curious hand wandered down her stomach, then lower. A finger glided through her womanly hair and into her sheath. He stroked it in and out, in and out, as his thumb touched the spot at the vee of her thighs.
Suddenly, she was pitched into a wild, exotic spiral of ecstasy, and she seemed to be flying to the heavens. She raced up and up, reached a peak of sorts, then tumbled down.
As he caught her, he was preening in a completely male fashion that was incredibly annoying.
“What was that?” she sputtered when she could speak again.
“That was sexual pleasure,” he told her, “and a very fine example of it too.”
“Can it occur every time a man and woman are together like this?”
“It can—if the couple is physically compatible. And if the man is adept at performing on a mattress.”
“Am I. . . with child now?”
At her naiveté, he smiled affectionately. “No. You’re not with child. There’s quite a bit more to it than that.”
“How does it happen?”
“It’s difficult to explain.”
“Was that a ridiculous question? I’m twenty-four. I should probably have some idea of what transpires.”
“There are no ridiculous questions, and I find your innocence to be very charming. I spend my nights around so many dissolute scoundrels that I forget there are virtuous people in the world.”
She chuckled, figuring she should be embarrassed by how she’d just carried on, but she wasn’t. She was simply calculating how quickly she could persuade him to bring on the wave of ecstasy again.
“I didn’t know that was possible,” she said.
“We don’t tell you virginal maidens how fun carnal conduct can be. If you had the slightest clue, you’d never behave yourselves.”
“We shouldn’t have done this.” She halted and grinned. “But I’m not sorry.”
He grinned too. “Neither am I.”
He slid off her and onto his side, so they were nose to nose. Her robe was open at the front, so her torso was crushed to his.
“I think I have to marry you,” he abruptly announced.
He looked so glum that she laughed. “Was that a proposal?”
“I guess it was.”
“You could sound a tad more enthusiastic. Men marry every day. It won’t kill you.”
“I merely thought I’d always be a bachelor.”
“And I always thought I would be a wife, so if I’m to stay with you, then matrimony is the only path that will satisfy me.”
He physically kicked himself under the covers. “I’m being an ass, and I apologize. Let me rephrase my comment. Caro, will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest man in the kingdom and say you’ll be mine?”
“I suppose I have to. You’ve had your wicked way with me, so I’m damaged goods. It’s you or no one, so I don’t have any choice.”
It was his turn to laugh. “Could you please sound a tad more eager? If I’m prepared to stop being single, you have to at least pretend to be glad about my horrendous sacrifice.”
“I was being a snot,” she said, “and
