Page 41 of The Pleasure in Persuasion

The unease and regret in his eyes disappeared, and pleasure sparked to life in its place. “Good,” he said softly. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

He drew closer until the tips of his boots grazed hers, and then his hands began to move, skating up her forearms as his gaze fell to her mouth. “Lily,” he said, his voice deep and rough. “May I kiss you?”

Slowly, she tipped her head back, trying not to appear too eager, though she knew if Frederick could hear the beating of her heart, he would know precisely how eager she was.

His mouth brushed hers, exquisitely soft, and she clasped her hands together to keep from grabbing his shirt and hauling him in like some sort of brute.

She could not control her lips, however, and she met his kiss with unrestrained enthusiasm, fitting her mouth to his, and laving his bottom lip with her tongue.

“Touch me, Lily,” Frederick demanded, his voice gruff as his own hands swept down her back and gripped her waist.

The command excited her, and she obeyed with alacrity, skating her palms up his chest to his shoulders, feeling the heat, the muscle, through his rough cotton shirt.

His breathing seemed rough, too, as if her touch aroused him, and he kissed her harder, held her tighter, tangling his tongue with hers. He urged her back against a smooth wooden post, pressing his body into hers, and Lily snaked her arms around his neck, holding him to her, deepening the kiss with a strangled groan.

She felt him everywhere, her breasts, her thighs, the tingling in her belly blossoming into a potent ache begging for relief.

“Frederick, my God…” She gasped the words into his mouth, and he grunted his agreement before taking her lips again, gliding his hands down her back to cup her buttocks.

He trapped her against him, and a whimper escaped Lily’s lips at the contact, the press of his lower body an exquisite torment. She squirmed, rubbing her aching flesh against the hard ridge of his erection, intensifying both the ache and the pleasure.

She was losing all semblance of control, over this moment, over her body, and she gloried in the loss. She reveled in it. And she never wanted it to end.

“Lily, dear? Where have you disappeared to?”

Gran’s voice intruded from outside the barn, penetrating the haze of lust clouding Lily’s mind—and judgment. She slid her arms from around Frederick’s neck and blew out a slow breath to calm her heart and cool her flushed cheeks.

“Well,” she said, her voice unsteady, “as much as I would love to stay here with you all day...” Or forever. “...we really must get to work. There is much to do today.”

Frederick, looking thoroughly ravished with his mussed hair and boyish half-smile, nodded and said, “Yes, boss.”

Lily sidestepped out of his arms and in the direction of the door. “If you need me, I'll be in the vegetable garden.”

“Yes, boss.”

Battling a smile, she tore her gaze from his and turned to leave, but then Frederick’s strong arms snaked around her waist and eased her back against his chest. He nuzzled her neck, his warm lips sending shivers of pleasure prickling across her skin.

“Frederick,” she said with a gasping laugh, “you have to let me go.”

He nipped her earlobe gently with his teeth, making her gasp again, and then he whispered, “Yes, boss.”

His arms slipped from her waist as he stepped away, taking his delicious warmth with him, and Lily was certain this was the only time she had ever been disappointed to see an order obeyed.

She turned to face him, and he smiled at her, looking so devilishly handsome she couldn’t keep from popping up on her toes and pressing a kiss to his smiling lips.

“You are incorrigible,” she scolded with a smile.

And then she scurried out of the barn before he could tempt her to stay again.

“There you are,” Gran said as Lily stepped into the inn’s front hall, where her grandmother was sweeping. “I thought you had disappeared on me.”

“I’m sorry, Gran,” Lily said, shutting the door behind her. “Frederick is here, and I was showing him what needs repairing in the barn.”

“Ah. Well, that explains the long absence, and that dreamy smile on your face.”

Lily blushed. “What dreamy smile?”

Gran sent her a chiding look. “It won’t do, dear. I know a young woman in love when I see one. Especially when she happens to be my favorite granddaughter.”