sensitive palm. I had a feeling that seeing his father hurt him deeply. For some reason, I wanted to offer him comfort. “You’re not that bad.”
He quirked a brow. “Really? You’ve changed your opinion in less than a fortnight under my roof?”
“I didn’t say you were perfect, but you’re not the soulless monster I believed.”
He grinned, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “If you knew the way of my thoughts, you’d believe otherwise.”
Heat shot through my body, a tingling awareness that ended at the sensitive spot between my thighs. I shifted, trying to ease the sudden ache. I couldn’t deny it anymore. Dear God, I wanted him.
I wanted to know why people moaned with pleasure when they were intimate. Wanted to know why a woman would give up everything for one night of sin. Wanted to feel the heavy pressure of his body on me. His lips on my fevered skin. I wanted…I wanted to help him forget whatever pain he’d experienced at the hands of his father. Wanted him to help me forget my worries…if just for one night.
He watched me with a steely, green gaze that sparkled with success, as if he knew the way of my thoughts. As if he knew me. “Stay, and you can study to your heart’s content. Hell, I’ll invite the best scientists over for tea. You can ask them anything.”
His words brought a heavenly little chill through my body…until reality set in. Yes, but would these scientist respect me while they were here? Or would they look at me as an empty-headed mistress? A loose woman? A whore? “Stay with you? You mean sleep with you.”
He leaned against the settee, casual, at ease. “Would it be so terrible?”
No. I was afraid it would be good. Too good. “You just want my body. And then what…after you have me?”
“If you wish to find out what will happen, sleep with me.” He tempted. Dared me. “What are you afraid of, Ginny?”
I was afraid he’d break my heart. “I’m afraid you’ll ruin me.”
He turned his face toward the hearth. The waning fire hit his features, highlighting the harsh angles and the bristle along his square jaw. “And if I promise not to?”
A variety of emotions bombarded me at once. Fear. Desperation. Need. Desire. Dare I say yes? Dare I sleep with him once? Just once? I couldn’t think of a good reason to reject him. Not one bloody good reason. Why not enjoy a night of pleasure? Didn’t I deserve a bit of happiness?
His gaze was on me again. “There is no reason why anyone needs to know your identity. This would remain between me and you.”
Oh, he was made for danger and temptation. He was a fallen angel urging me to sin along with him. And I wanted to. I wanted to so badly that it hurt.
“And can I trust you?” I asked softly.
He reached out, trailing his fingers down the side of my face, leaving behind shivers of delight. “I might be selfish, arrogant…but I don’t lie.”
I wanted him. He wanted me. I didn’t plan to marry, so what did it matter if I remained innocent? One night. I could give in for just one night. Why not? I had no family. I was old enough not to be embarrassed by my attraction.
There was nothing stopping us, but a ridiculous patriarchal idea that women must remain pure while men did what they wished.
“You want this. I see it in your eyes. I feel it in the quiver of your body when I touch you.” He slid his fingers through my hair, pulling the strands down around my shoulders. “You’re a scientist; aren’t you curious? How can you judge something without experimenting first?”
I gave him a wavering smile. “Bastard.”
He leaned forward. His lips brushed my cheek. “Always.”
I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of his firm lips as he molded his mouth to mine. The man was an expert at kissing. His mouth could coax a nun to sin. His tongue teased my senses, pulling me further and further into the realm of desire and passion.
While his mouth worked magic, his hand slid to the back of my head, cradling me like I was something delicate, fragile.
Did I dream? Perhaps I had never awoken from my illness and even now remained unconscious, imagining this all. The heat and strength of his body pulled, called me closer. If I was going to give myself to a man, if I was going to experiment,