She’d thought she’d managed to hide her true feelings so well. But perhaps that was one of the things she liked best about him—he understood her in a way no one else ever had.
“I was disappointed,” she admitted. “You didn’t seem sincere, and I thought you were like all the others, the ones who looked at me but didn’t see anything but my dowry.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I liked your persistence. And once I got to know you a little better, I realized the real you was far more interesting than the Captain Blake I’d read about in the newspapers.”
“The real me? Who do you think I am?” Dylan wasn’t certain he wanted to hear her answer. She seemed determined to strip away all his masks, and he didn’t want her to see what remained. What would she think when confronted with the sniveling coward who was scared to fall asleep at night because of the nightmares that haunted his dreams?
She squeezed his hand. “You’re lonely. You want someone to care about, and you want someone to care about you.”
He dropped his gaze, stunned by the truth behind her words. “I’m not lonely,” he told her sharply. But he was. Oh, he was. “I’ve had a dozen mistresses since I returned.”
“I know you have. I’ve heard the rumors about the courtesans and the actresses.” If he’d shocked her, she didn’t show it. She just kept on, relentlessly. “But did you care for a single one of them? And, more importantly, did a single one of them truly care for you?”
He thought of Cassandra and the others, how empty he’d felt in their arms. They’d never pestered him about his past, never made him feel anything at all. Instinctively, he knew if he ever made love to Natalia, it would be the most beautiful experience of his life.
“I never cared about any of them,” he admitted, meeting her gaze once again. “But I do care about you.”
“Oh, Dylan.” Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward until they were mere inches apart. “I wanted to do this so badly the last time I saw you.” With a trembling hand, she reached out and cupped his cheek, gently stroking the line of his jaw.
His pulse accelerated at her innocent caress, and it thrilled him that she’d used his given name. Christ, they hadn’t even kissed yet, and he was already painfully aroused.
“You wanted to touch my face?” he asked, tenderly amused.
“Since the first time I met you. But that’s not what I meant.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and then pressed her face against his neck, giving him a fierce hug. “I’m sorry you lost your friends. I wish there was something I could do to ease your pain.”
Shocked by her words, his first impulse was to resist her. He tried to duck away, but she hung on, refusing to let him go.
“It’s all right.” Her soft lips moved against the sensitive skin of his throat. “Just let me comfort you for a moment.”
She wants to comfort me.He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. In the end, all he could do was put his arms around her and hold on.
Closing his eyes, he sank back against the wall and let her warmth and sweetness surround him, reveling in the pure uncomplicated beauty of the moment. He couldn’t remember ever having received such a precious, unselfish gift.
At long last, she pulled away, her cheeks blazing with color, her green eyes hopeful, yet painfully uncertain. God, she was so beautiful. He’d never wanted anything the way he wanted to kiss her.
Leaning forward, he cupped her face in his hands. “Thank you.” He smoothed his fingertips over her soft skin, learning her features by touch.
She went still and stared up at him with those exotic trusting eyes, waiting breathlessly for whatever he chose to do next.
“Tell me to stop.” He feared once he crossed this line, he could never go back.
“No.” She tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear with trembling fingertips. “I want you to kiss me. I’ve wanted it for so long.”
Undone by her words, he closed the distance between them and feathered his lips to hers with infinite restraint. “You are so sweet. I don’t ever want to let you go.”
The poignancy of the moment, of knowing this was the only time he would ever have her in his arms, was a powerful aphrodisiac. He deepened the kiss, tasted the honeyed sweetness of her mouth, and inhaled her startled breath.
Tentatively, she returned his kiss, and he moaned at her passionate untutored response. Her hands fluttered restlessly over his chest and shoulders. He shuddered to think of what it would feel like if she were to touch him lower, where he needed her so much.
The chill breeze ruffled his hair, and the intoxicating scent of roses mingled with her own sweet fragrance. He kissed her as though he would die if he stopped. One fleeting thought entered his mind—I’m not lonely anymore.
Chapter Ten
“Get away from my daughter, you bastard!” The Duke of Clayton’s furious voice jolted through Dylan’s passion-soaked brain like a bolt of lightning. Ice cascaded through his veins as he glanced up and saw the duke closing in, murder in his eyes.
Natalia jerked away and fumbled with the neckline of her gown, which he’d only just managed to lower. But it was too late. Her father had seen everything.
