a Gothic tale where the heroine sneaks into the forbidden tower at night. She had always wondered about the "fate worse than death" that the heroines feared in those novels. Now she knew what it was.
By the time they reached the top of the stairs, they were practically running. As Tyler had expected, Ben was waiting for him. But Ben had only to take one look at the two of them before reaching for his coat.
"Stay over at the house and keep an eye on the kids. We'll be back in the morning."
Ben nodded his head, gave Evie's flushed cheeks a wicked look, and departed without a word. They heard him clambering down the stairs as they closed the door.
Suddenly inexplicably shy, Evie couldn't look Tyler in the eye as he took her shawl. She looked down at the gown she had changed into and realized Tyler was looking there, too. She had worn one of her more daring dinner dresses, and without the shawl, she suddenly felt very exposed.
"This time, I want to see all of you, Evie." Tyler tipped her chin up with his finger until she met his eyes. "Are you having second thoughts?"
Evie shook her head. She could easily drown in the tenderness of Tyler's eyes right now. Maybe he did love her, just a little. That wasn't just lust reflected there; she was sure of it. She raised her fingers to the tie he had donned before coming to dinner.
"I'm your wife. I want to be a good one." She undid the tie and reached for his collar button.
Her reply wasn't what Tyler wanted to hear. He didn't know what he wanted to hear; he just knew a vague disappointment. But she wasn't arguing, that should be enough. If she was just playing another one of her roles, that shouldn't trouble him. He would take her any way he could get her.
They undressed each other slowly, exchanging tentative kisses at first, then growing more greedy as need overcame propriety. Evie felt the rush of cool night as Tyler lifted her out of the puddle of her petticoats and gown, but it was as nothing to what she felt when he removed the rest of her undergarments.
She stood there in nothing, with even her stockings and garters at her feet, while Tyler looked his fill. The single lamp threw shadows over the walls. Tyler touched her breast, and she sucked in her breath, but she didn't retreat.
"There isn't an angle or plane on you. You're all curves," he murmured wonderingly, exploring the circle of her breast before dipping lower, to the inward curve of her waist.
He still wore his trousers. Evie didn't think that quite fair, but she was willing to be patient. She wanted to be able to paint Tyler just like he was now. She wasn't certain she could do justice to the way the light glinted off the golden-brown hairs on his chest, or if she could manage the ridge of muscles beneath, but she wanted to try. It would be much safer to paint just the upper half of him. She didn't think she dared even think about the lower half.
As if he had followed the path of her thoughts, Tyler pulled off his belt. "I'm ready anytime you are."
Evie cast a quick look downward, then back up again. He was smiling at her embarrassment, but his fingers continued to work at his trouser buttons. She backed toward the bed. "Tyler." She licked her lips nervously. Every nerve in her body was tingling with the need to have him touching her again, but they had a lot of unfinished business. "I don't have..." She hesitated, no knowing how to say what she needed. "Starr said I'd need..."
Tyler backed her toward the bed. "I don't keep vinegar and sponges in my room, Evie. We'll find those another day. I'll take care of myself this time." He pulled something out of his trouser pocket before he stripped the trousers off.
Evie wasn't paying any attention to what was in his hand. She had never really seen Tyler in an aroused state before, and her eyes widened into saucers. She knew it was possible. He had shown her it was possible. But she never would have believed it otherwise. He seemed to grow bigger as she watched.
Tyler caught her by the waist and lifted her to the bed. "Have you ever read Tom Jones, Evie?" When she shook her head, he lay down beside her and