to address the more obvious items in his wardrobe.”
He was rewarded with Poppy’s grin, a full cheeky one that made her nose wrinkle.
“Very clever, Mr. Lane.” She looked at him, and he grew a little dizzy basking under her admiration.
“I would like to be a detective.” Winston blinked. Now that he hadn’t meant to say. He hadn’t even fully wanted to admit it to himself.
Poppy, however, did not see the strangeness of his desire. “Why not, then? I think you would be brilliant.”
Had they been in private, he would have turned and nuzzled her belly before pulling her down atop of him. As it was, he ran a finger along the folds of her simple worsted gown. “My family would not condone it.”
Her own blunt-tipped finger traced his ear, sending little shivers down his spine. “No, I suppose they wouldn’t.”
There it was again, that wall he could literally feel shooting up between them. The wall she erected whenever she remembered how disparate their families were. Annoyed, he plucked at her skirt, taking it out on her clothing, but she surprised him and rested her cool palm on the crown of his head.
“Why do you want to do it, Winston? When you could live a life of luxury and comfort?”
He rolled fully onto his back so that he could look at her without craning his neck. Behind the fiery nimbus of her hair, the lacy green branches swayed in the gentle breeze. “That is the first time you called me by my name.”
She pursed her lips. “Shall I stop?”
He lifted a hand and cupped the back of her slim neck. “I want to hear it fall from your lips for all of my days.”
Gorgeous, awkward pink flooded her cheeks. “Romantic drivel.”
“Mmm.” His thumb slid under the tight confines of her high collar and found her pulse. “I like a challenge.” It was an answer to both her question and her statement.
Her laugh was short and a bit breathless. “Yes.”
His fingers pushed through her silky hair. “I find the world a puzzle to be solved.”
“You would.” She leaned in just a touch closer.
Gods but he wanted to nibble at the perky tips of her breasts. He eased her even closer, wanting her to feel the heat of his breath. As if answering his prayers, hard little nipples appeared against her bodice. He smiled. “And I want to do some good in the world, not simply take from it.”
“You would make a fine detective, Win.”
Win. That did it.
It was an easy thing to pull her down and roll her alongside of him. She squeaked as she went. He barred her protest by resting his chest lightly upon hers while his legs tangled in her skirts.
“Winston Lane!” She laughed as he kissed her neck. “Unhand me. You are going to get us arrested for public indecency.”
The light in her eyes and the way her breasts lifted and fell beneath her dress told a different story. One that had him grinning over the possibilities. He nuzzled the spot under her ear before kissing his way up her jaw. “All the better to fully acquaint myself with the law, my dear.”
She laughed but stayed him with her hand, her eyes suddenly serious. “Why do you want to be with me?”
The soft confusion in her voice gave him pause, and he studied her before a tender smile tugged at his lips. “Because you are honest and direct,” he touched the curve of her cheek, “and, for whatever reason, I feel wholly myself when I am with you.”
A shadow of something flickered in her eyes, and she frowned. “You believe me to be something better than I am, sir.”
The sadness that dwelled in her eyes bothered him. His fingers trailed to the downy red hair at her temple. “And you give yourself too little credit.” He cupped her face when she moved to protest, and he spoke first. “Why do you want to be with me?” No sooner were the words out than he wanted to take them back. Perhaps she did not have an answer. No one in his life ever really wanted to be around him. His studiousness made his brother edgy, and his father had always detested the sight of him. Winston swallowed hard. But Poppy merely smiled, and it was the dawn breaking over a winter sky. Her brown eyes traveled over his face.
“Strangely enough,” she said, “for the very reasons you served to me.”