Page 36 of Victorian Bride

They took the bridles from the horses to let them graze, and set out the picnic. There were cold meats and fish, cheese and fruit and bread. She also happened to know that Lottie had sent leftover chocolate tart. But Kayden did not. That was a surprise. He passed her a plate, and she scooped bits of her favorite dishes onto it, then sat back to eat.

There was something about eating out in the open that made one's appetite greater, Mya thought as she took a bite of smoked fish from Sunday's dinner. Perhaps it was all the fresh air. Or the riding. But the food tasted better than it ever had.

“My compliments to the cooks,” Kayden said, pausing for the first time between bites. “I must admit, I have missed the spreads that Lottie used to put out for parties. This makes up for it, somewhat.” He smiled. “And also makes me regret even more that I did not actually finish dinner with you the other night.”

For an instant, Mya felt anger. He was going to make light of that after all the trouble it had caused? All the hurt? But he was not making light of the incident, she realized in the next breath. He was making a joke at his own expense.

“You missed dessert,” Mya said. “Which is a great pity. I assure you that it would have been an experience to remember.”

“And now you rub it in my face.” Kayden laughed. “How very uncharitable of you, Miss Boyle.”

“Not a bit.” Mya smiled sweetly at him. “If I was going to rub it in your face, I would tell you exactly what ingredients went into it, and how perfectly the flavors of the fruit mixed with the sweet cream and the bitterness of the chocolate.”

“Now you are just being cruel.”

“Yes,” Mya agreed. “Now I am being cruel.”

Kayden set his plate very carefully down, and in the next instant had curled his palm around the back of her neck and dragged her forward into a kiss. Mya very nearly dropped the plate she was still holding, and had to fumble to set it aside so that she could lean forward and return the kiss as hungrily as he had given it.

“Was that a punishment?” Mya laughed when he released her. “Or an incentive to do it again?”

“Neither.” Kayden picked up his plate again, smoothing his hair back into place with a quick slide of his palm. He looked as though he had never moved from the spot where he sat. “It was you, with that little smirk on your face. I could not resist.”

“I will have to wear it more often, then.”

They both fell silent, after that, finishing up their meals and packing up the picnic. Mya then got up and dug into her own saddlebags to pull out the wrapped tart, carrying it back to the blanket. Kayden was lying on his back, staring up at the clouds.

“I thought,” Mya said, “that you might like some dessert.”

He sat up so quickly he nearly ran his face into the tart she was holding out, and Mya had to snatch it back before it was ruined.

“I wasn’t informed that you have a sweet addiction.” She laughed.

“Not sweets. Only that chocolate tart Lottie’s cook makes.”

“This chocolate tart?” Mya teased, holding it out to him once more.

Kayden made a hungry sort of sound that went straight down Mya’s spine to her core, and suddenly she was less interested in food and more interested in getting him to make that noise again. He reached out, and she slapped his hand back.

“Wait. Good heavens. Do you desert your manners entirely in the presence of chocolate?”

“Woman,” Kayden growled. “If you do not share some of that, I swear I will not be responsible for what happens next.”

Mya was laughing too hard to keep the tart out of his reach any longer, and Kayden pulled it from her hands and set it down on the blanket, rummaging in the basket for a knife to slice it with. He cut it so quickly she was a little afraid he was going to lose a finger in the process, but he managed to avoid any carnage and served up two slices, diving immediately into his with a moan that was positively sexual. It was a wonder, Mya thought, that he’d lasted long enough to not just dig into it with his hands.

“It is a lucky thing I didn’t feed that to you in public,” she said, shaking her head. “You would have traumatized someone.”

Kayden didn’t answer. He was too busy eating. Laughing once more, Mya gave up and started on her own dessert at a rather more reasonable pace. Kayden too had slowed, at least, and was no longer imitating some form of desperate beast. Now he was savoring each bite, eyes rolling frequently upward, with the accompaniment of the occasional groan of pleasure, and if he did not stop making those sounds Mya was going to combust.

Taking a leaf out of Kayden’s book, she moaned over her own bite of tart. Kayden’s hand stilled on his fork. Mya, pretending she did not see the pause, continued on, this time making a sound that she knew he would remember quite well from a few nights before. When he looked up at her, she was licking the last trace of chocolate from her fork with the tip of her tongue.

Their eyes met. Mya smiled slowly.

“You,” Kayden growled as he set his half-finished dessert unceremoniously aside, “are unbelievable.”

“Hardly,” Mya said, taking another bite of tart. “I am simply—”

He didn’t give her time to finish her answer before his mouth claimed hers. Mya was more than happy to play along.