back into the private wing unchallenged. Once there, she leaned heavily on the door and closed her eyes. Dear God, that had been close. But her disguise had worked. Vasili was still none the wiser.
She made her way back to her own suite. Despite what Wolff had said, he didn’t truly expect her to go to his chamber. Did he? But what of his promise last night to make love to her if she was sober?
Anya untied her mask and let it drop onto the desk. She was sober now. Her blood was still pounding in her ears, her hands shaking in reaction to the near miss. She felt full of pent-up energy, like an overwound clock.
A masculine tread sounded outside her door. She swept it open and came face-to-face with Wolff, his fist raised to knock. He dropped his hand and studied her face. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Petrov didn’t recognize me. But you’ll have to find someone else to do your spying in future. I won’t tempt fate again.”
“Agreed.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a tiny cork-stoppered bottle. “I have a present for you.”
Anya took it. It was barely an inch long, the kind of bottle used for perfumed oils, with a thin glass tube protruding down into the clear liquid it contained. Anya sniffed it. “What is it? Perfume?”
“No. It’s a measure of Lagrasse’s tincture.”
Anya smiled in delight. “For me? Thank you! You don’t know how much safer I’ll feel, knowing I have this on my person.”
“My pleasure.” His gaze roved over her and an appreciative smile curled his lips. “Have I mentioned how fetching you look in that dress?”
“I believe so.”
“You’d look even more fetching out of it.”
Anya sucked in a breath, and his wicked gaze clashed with hers.
“You’re sober tonight, Miss Brown. Will you let me show you pleasure? I promise you I can.”
How was any woman supposed to refuse an offer like that? Anya wanted nothing more than to throw herself into his arms and scream “yes!” but a thread of conscience nagged at her. If he knew she was highborn, he’d probably run a mile in the opposite direction. She shouldn’t bed him under false pretenses.
Yet this was the perfect opportunity to take what she wanted without fear of repercussions. Unlike every other man who’d made advances toward her, he wouldn’t be sleeping with her to improve his social standing or to trap her into marriage. There was no ulterior motive. His only goal would be to give and to experience pleasure.
She swallowed. At least she could tell him some part of the truth. “I … I once had a bad experience with a man.”
His eyebrows met in a dark scowl. “Who? When?”
“It doesn’t matter. But it made me … cautious.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. He looked furious on her behalf. “Did he force himself on you?”
“No. But he would have, if my friend hadn’t come to my aid. I was made very aware of my own helplessness. I didn’t like it.”
Anya stared into his eyes and spoke from the heart. “I don’t think you men truly understand the enormous level of faith women put in you at any given moment. With very few examples, you are stronger. You can simply take what you want. So any time a woman is alone with a man, she must trust that he won’t use his superior strength to take advantage. She must hope that he has a core of honor, of decency, not to abuse his position.”
“Do you trust me?”
She didn’t hesitate. Maybe she couldn’t trust him with the full truth of her identity, but with her body, yes, she trusted him implicitly.
“Yes.”
“Good. Because I would never do anything to hurt you. We can go as fast or as slow as you like.”
Anya took a deep breath. “Then, yes. Show me pleasure. Please.”
Wolff exhaled, then sent her an amused look from beneath his brows. “We’ll get on a lot better if you actually let me into your room.”
With a start, she realized he was still standing out in the corridor. She took a step back.
He crossed the threshold and closed the door.
Chapter 24.
“Why don’t we start with the basics?” Wolff said softly, stepping close.
Anya nodded.
“I believe I’ve told you how much I like kissing. You should know I’ve made quite a study of it.” He moved closer. “Historically speaking, we have the Romans to thank for the widespread practice of it. In Roman society, when, where, and how you kissed