bent low and kissed him deeply, then sat up again.
He took her breasts in his hands and caressed lightly, lest she be too sensitive still. She smiled and threw back her head and leaned into it, so he might use his mouth. She moaned freely as he pleasured her, and soon squirmed on his hips.
Again she sat back, a little wild-eyed now, magnificently erotic. She looked down at his swollen cock and ran one finger up its length. He had to fight to maintain control. Proud of herself, she did it again and again, then experimented with a firm caress.
Having jumped off the mountain once, she could enjoy a leisurely second climb. He, however, could not take much more of this. Another time he would let her play as much as she wanted.
He lifted her hips. She understood and took him inside herself. He gritted his teeth as her tight warmth encased him. She began her slow rises and falls. He leashed his need and took what she gave for a good while, but his hunger finally turned savage. He pressed one hand on the headboard behind his head for leverage and took over.
Not so careful this time. He had no choice. His body howled with the need to thrust hard and deep and possess completely. His mind saw future takings in other ways, and those images only drove him on. The release, when he finally accepted it, proved cataclysmic.
She fell on top of him, into his arms, kissing his chest and neck, gripping his shoulders. Within his senseless ecstasy, he thought he heard her scream again.
* * *
They lay in silence for a long time. He was glad she did not need a lot of chatting. The quiet held an intimacy that words might destroy. Finally, however, she rose up on her elbows and looked at him.
“Thank you.” Such depth in her eyes when she said that. “I think you were heroic again, in a different way. Not so careful.”
“Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head. “I liked it. Next time I don’t think you will have to be careful either.”
He had avoided thinking about a next time, since he had no standing to expect one. A new contentment settled on him with her words. She sat up, unconcerned with her nakedness this time, glorious in it, her breasts soft now that passion’s firmness had passed. He looked at her, and felt himself stirring again.
“It is time I left,” she said.
“Leave if you want, but you answer to no one.”
“Beth—”
“She knows where you are.”
“Yes, but—”
“She knew why you came, even if you did not.”
She just looked at him, then swung her leg and slid off his body and the bed.
“Before you dress completely, Minerva, go look out the front window at the place directly across the way where the two buildings meet.”
She pulled the chemise on and padded away. He heard her steps growing fainter as she entered the sitting room. Several minutes later the steps came back.
“When did you see him?”
“Early. Soon after you came.”
“He must have grabbed on to the back of my carriage when it left.”
“That or he jumped across roofs to stay ahead of you. He is fast and knows this town well. If he were not a partner in your inquiries, I might seek to make him one in mine.”
She picked up her dress and shook it out. “I did not tell him to do this. I hope you believe that.”
“It was his own initiative. He also knew why you were coming here, even if you didn’t. So he waits out there, listening, in case you changed your mind and I was not a gentleman about it.”
Her expression fell, as if she pictured the altercation that might have created. “I really should go, so he does not stand there until dawn.”
“You could just open the window and call down and tell him to go home.”
“As if I could do that on a street in this neighborhood.” She laughed and carried her stays over to the bed. “Help me with these, please.”
He sat on the side of the bed and aided her with the lacing. When she reached for her dress he did the same with his trousers and shirt. Together they became civilized again.
He drew her into his arms and embraced her closely. He kissed her, regretting that he would have to let her go. “You should settle this with him and his mother, Minerva. They do not have to trust me or like