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Originally he’d intended to fly to Savannah, but given their limited time together thus far, he thought a four-hour drive might give them the chance to get to know each other and prevent them from saying something that would tip his mother off to their scheme.
“Around ten?”
She agreed without argument, and he realized how many times he’d imposed his will on her today. Not that she lacked a spine. She had demonstrated a strong one when she had turned him away from the lingerie department.
Instead, she had a way of flowing around him, letting him be in charge yet voicing her opinion on the things that mattered to her. He found it a welcome change from the women he’d dated who issued ultimatums, and his mother, who charmed with a stick in her hand. Yet he sensed if he pushed her too hard, she would just melt away.
“Ten it is.”
* * *
In the morning Simon knocked on Caroline’s apartment door and entered at her greeting. The shabby condition of the building should have clued him in to the quality of her apartment, but the tiny, garden-level studio dismayed him.
Neat and organized, the single room held a double bed, a small desk that doubled as a dining table, a love seat and a chair. Mismatched appliances lined one wall. A dingy carpet covered the floor.
The clothes occupying the two suitcases he’d bought her probably cost more than all the furnishings and fixtures combined. He hadn’t appreciated the desperate level of her finances until now. It disturbed him to think about her living here. Bars on her windows kept out intruders, but was she safe? He wanted to tell her to pack, that he’d find her a better place to live, but knew she’d refuse his help. He’d never met a woman who needed saving more than Caroline.
A sparkle near the window caught his eye. Eight crystal figurines sat on the windowsill, their faceted surfaces capturing sunlight and casting miniature rainbows on every nearby surface.
“Swarovski crystal,” Caroline said, emerging from the bathroom. She wore gray tweed slacks and a pink silk camisole. The matching tweed jacket lay beside the coat. She smiled when he made a spinning gesture with his finger and twirled for him. “Starting when I was ten, my mother gave me one each Christmas.”
Something about the way she looked at the figurines told him how important they were to her. But why only eight?
He pulled the engagement ring out of his pocket and crooked his finger at her. “Come here.”
When she drew within reach, he caught her left hand and slid the diamond ring onto the third finger. She gasped at the ring’s size and sparkle as he closed his fingers over hers. Without considering his actions, he turned her hand palm upward and placed a kiss at the base of her finger where the ring rested. Her hand gave a little jerk as his lips touched her skin. His pulse hitched.
He dipped his thumb into her palm. The urge to claim her in a more elemental manner tugged at him. “And so you’re officially my fiancée.”
“For the next two weeks.” She looked embarrassed the instant the words were out.
He echoed her words. “For the next two weeks.” He slid his fingers deep into the silken locks behind her ear. She stilled at his touch, a quieting of her muscles that spoke of tension. He soothed her with a murmur. “Relax. We’re supposed to be engaged. You can’t be skittish around me.”
She filled her lungs and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. Questions brimmed in the quiet depth of her misty green eyes. “Then touch me so I can get used to you.”
Now he froze.
Had any woman ever met him with such honesty and openness?
The small studio apartment grew even more confining. The bed’s undisturbed appearance mocked him. He knew the sheets would smell like her. He’d like for the sheets to smell like them both.
He counted twenty thumping heartbeats before he felt confident he could proceed slow enough to stop with a single kiss. He turned her toward him and caressed his knuckles up her arm to her shoulder. She had incredibly soft skin. Her fragrance drifted past his nostrils, reminding him of exotic tropical locales and warm sandy beaches. He feathered her cheek with his fingertips and her lashes fluttered down. The air in her lungs flowed out in an inaudible sigh that tickled his skin. Simon tucked his thumbs beneath her chin to lift her lips to an angle he could reach.
He filled his senses with her, watching color rise in her cheeks, listening to the catch in her breath that told him he disturbed her. She stood passive in his grasp, yet she’d captured him. He had only to taste her to be completely caught in her spell.
Something tightened in his chest, igniting a groan. He dipped his head and brushed his lips against the corner of her mouth, gliding along her lower lip where he paused to draw its tender plumpness into his mouth.
Although she had stood unmoving until now, suddenly she answered his call. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she tipped her head, offering him a better angle to fuse their mouths together. Her immediate surrender filled him with fierce satisfaction. Steps away, her neatly made bed called. Trailing his tongue along the sensitive flesh inside her lip, Simon ignored the temptation, satisfied to ply her with long, slow kisses and test the chemistry that bubbled between them.
He quickly discovered the price of satisfying his curiosity. Desire slammed into him, fast and unsettling. He stabbed his fingers into her hair and feasted on her mouth. Her body quivered like a tightly strung bow, anticipation riding every muscle.
Control was slipping from his grasp with every thud of his heart. Either he claimed what she offered, or set her free. Her lips clung to his as he drew away.
He gathered a breath, amazed at his shaky state. “I think that went well. We won’t have to avoid all the mistletoe my mother has hung around the house.”
She ducked her head and peeked at him through her lashes, a very pleased smile tugging at her luscious lips. “Any more kisses like that and we’ll set fire to it.”
He laughed, feeling gloriously full of life and power, and gestured to the bag from the jeweler. “Those are for you as well.”
