were right here all along. You are what I need.”
Tears flooded her eyes; her expression twisted with doubt.
“You also make me feel out of control, Viv, and I hate it. I want to keep you safely by my side. I want to love you into our dotage, so why won’t you allow it? Do you have no faith in me?”
She eased away from him and swiped at her tears. “I don’t understand.”
“You know of my failings. How I turned my back on my responsibilities and my struggles with—” His throat tightened and refused to allow the last word.
“Oh, Luke.” A soft glow emanated from her bright eyes, and she reached out to caress his face. “I have absolute faith in you. I wish nothing more than to spend my life with you, but you deserve more.”
His heart stuttered before launching into a driving rhythm. She thought she was saving him, a misguided attempt to protect him. “You have everything I want, Vivian.”
She sighed and let her hand hang by her side. “You only say that because there are things you don’t know about me. Things I have done that could change how you feel about me.”
“You are speaking of the groom.”
She gasped. “How—?”
“I have known for some time, and I don’t believe the rumors.”
Her lips parted on a breath, tempting him to kiss her. “Just like that, you believe in my innocence?”
“I know you and I believe in you, but the question remains whether you believe in me, too. Upon my honor, I will protect you, my love. I will utilize every drop of power my title allows me to save you, but I must know if you trust in my capabilities.”
She blinked, his words seeming to penetrate her stubborn head. “I have never doubted you.”
“Nor I, you.” He leaned forward until they were nearly nose to nose. “And someday, if you want to tell me what happened that day with the groom, I will listen with an open heart and mind.”
“What is wrong with now?”
“Now I want to kiss you.”
***
Vivi gave up her arguments the moment his lips touched hers. His kiss was demanding and possessive. Her heart stalled then began to beat heavily, more vigorously as hope built inside her.
Luke wanted her. He believed in her. He promised to weather any storms for her.
Even if it was unfair to ask this of him, she couldn’t deny the truth any longer. She would have no life if they were separated, and neither would he.
He held her tightly against him, his hand cradling the back of her head as his tongue swept across her lips. She moaned softly, opening her mouth to welcome the sweep of his tongue. He kissed her deeply, intimately until she could no longer distinguish what was her and what was him. They had merged into one.
Luke broke the kiss but didn’t pull back. They were suspended there, mouths close but not touching. Her lips were moist and swollen; her pulse was fast and strong.
His thumb moved in a slow arc across her cheek. “Stop me now, my love, for I haven’t the willpower on my own.”
There was no stopping for either of them. She needed him like she needed air to breathe.
“I don’t want to stop.” She flicked her tongue across his bottom lip, goading him. He cursed softly then seized her mouth again.
His fierceness fed her desire, challenging her to love him with the same passionate intensity. She climbed onto his lap. Cradling his head, she kissed him as deeply as he had her. How she loved his touch, his spicy scent, the brush of his dark hair against her wrists. Every inch of her was pressed against him, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to see the strength she could feel beneath his clothes.
She unknotted his cravat then moved to his waistcoat, shoving the garment down his arms. He released her long enough to pull his arms free.
“Undress me too,” she said as she tugged his shirt from the waistband of his trousers.
Luke urged her to stand at the edge of the bed then spun her away from him. His fingers attacked the fastenings down the back of her gown and pushed it off her shoulders. With the last button released, the muslin slid down her body and pooled at her feet. He unlaced her corset and tossed it to the floor. Her petticoats followed.
“Turn around.”
She did as he commanded. With his blue eyes ablaze, he grasped the hem of her chemise and