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Lily attempted a smile as tears slowly trickled down her cheeks. “I never wanted to marry anyone,” she said. “But you… You…”
Daniel wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “Don’t cry, love. I’ll do anything for you. Just tell me what you want. A castle in France? A yacht on the Mediterranean Sea? I’d buy the whole Louvre for you if I could.”
“I’ve no need for more fluff, Daniel,” she said, sniffling. “There are only two things I want from you, and neither will cost you a shilling.”
“Anything. I swear it.” His green eyes penetrated her. “Just tell me.”
Her entire body trembled. Such feelings! They overwhelmed her, and she feared he wouldn’t be able to offer her the two things she desired most—his love, and his fidelity. She couldn’t bring herself to admit what she needed from him. “Just kiss me. Please.”
He complied, pushing aside the remains of their lunch and lowering her onto the blanket. He kissed her mouth tenderly, licking and stroking, whispering her name. She pulled him close, seeking the answers to all her questions. When he held her like this, kissed her, whispered her name as if in prayer, she imagined that he loved her.
And it came to her, as if she had known it all along, that she loved him. Somehow, she knew that she would never have gone to bed with anyone but him. She loved his passion for art and horses, his sense of humor that threw her into fits of giggles. She loved the way he made her body and her heart sing. She wanted to be wherever he was, beside him, helping him. She wanted to bear his children, grow old with him, share everything that she was with him. She wanted him at her side when she strolled through the Louvre, dined in Paris, climbed a mountain in Switzerland.
Somewhere along the way she had given him her heart, and everything had changed.
She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone, yet her heart ached. Could he return her love? And if he wasn’t satisfied with her alone, could she live with that?
He had lavished her with generous gifts, gifts he had known would touch her heart. He had treated her kindly, taking her virginity with great care and affection. Whether they were riding, looking at art, talking, laughing, or making love, a closeness existed between them. Did he feel it too?
“Please let me love you, Lily,” Daniel whispered. “I need you so much.”
“We can’t.” Lily breathed sharply. “Out here. Someone will see.” She sought his mouth with her own.
“It will be all right. No one will come out this way. I promise you.”
“How can you make such a promise?”
His eyes twinkled at her. “Because I have servants on the perimeters of the vineyards, standing guard.”
“I see. So it was your intent to bring me out here and seduce me,” she said coyly. “And now I suppose you expect to get what you want.”
“I don’t expect anything, my love,” he said, kissing her neck and fumbling with her bodice. “I only wish. I want nothing more than to make love to you right now.”
How she wanted him! If she couldn’t have his love, she would take whatever he could offer. Soon she would be his wife, and she would not be able to deny him then.
“Yes, Daniel. Make love to me. I want to feel your body against mine. I want to feel your arms around me. I want to feel you inside me. Please make love to me.”
“God, Lily. I’ve missed you so much.” He opened her bodice and freed her breasts, lavishing them with kisses and caresses. “You’re so beautiful.”
He tugged at one nipple and then the other, her body shuddering. She grasped his cravat, untied it quickly, and began to unbutton his shirt. When she could get no farther, she clutched his jacket at his shoulders, trying to remove it.
“I want you naked, Daniel. Naked on me, while I’m still clothed. Like this morning.”
He smil
ed naughtily. “You liked that, did you?”
“Yes, I liked that a lot. You said you’d do anything for me.”
“I did, at that.” He pulled away from her, removed his shoes, his trousers, his jacket and shirt, and came back to her. “Is this what you wanted?”
“Oh yes.” She sighed, running her fingers across his rippling back, down along the smooth contours of his buttocks. He gasped. “Your body is a work of art,” she said. “I love to touch you.” She reached under him, found his hard arousal, and grasped it.
Daniel sucked in his breath.
“Did I hurt you?”
“God, no,” he said. “But I’m aching so badly for you that I’m liable to spend myself like a lad if you keep doing that.” He pulled her hand upward and kissed it. “I don’t know how long I can hold out, Lily. I need you to be naked under me. I want to feel every part of you. I want nothing between us. Nothing ever.”
