beyond rolled eyes and well-timed sighs. They simply accepted their lives and made the best of them. Went blithely and biddably along with Mama’s plans and Lady Druthers’s rules.
Prim was here in defiance of that docile acceptance. Tonight was about Prim doing something for herself, celebrating her birthday when no one else would, but it was also about resistance to this world she was born into, even if she had no choice but to return to it before dawn streaked the sky.
“Why do you frown?” he asked.
“I’m thinking how fortunate you are.”
“And that makes you frown,” he teased.
“You’re fortunate and don’t even know it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can go where you want. Do what you want. You have choice. Independence. You don’t have to marry . . . at all, ever, if that is your wish.”
He said nothing. His lips pressed into a flat line, for he could not disagree. He knew she was right.
“Such are the vagaries of fate,” she continued. “Had I been born male to a wealthy family . . .” Her voice faded.
“Then you’d be me,” he finished for her.
“Indeed. I would be you. I would be free.”
“But you’re not free now,” he murmured, as though turning that over, contemplating it, letting it roll within the pleats of his mind. There was a difference, she realized, between knowing and knowing.
A quick glance at his face revealed his own deepening frown. Apparently, he did not like the thought of that.
That made two of them.
They approached the end of the dark walk. The well-lit main row loomed ahead. He paused and turned to face her. His hands came up to rest on her shoulders.
“What are you . . .”
He reached out and curled his fingers around the back of her neck, underneath the heavy weight of her hair. The sensation of his warm fingers on her nape sent a jolt through her.
“Once more.” His gaze fell on her mouth. “Before we rejoin the world?”
“Oh,” she sighed, her nerves catching fire again.
He pulled her against him, pressing his body into hers.
Sensation flooded her. He plucked another twig from her hair and tossed it aside. That barest brush of his fingers in her hair made her skin tighten.
He was so much larger than Prim. She could feel him—the lean lines of him, the flat plane of his chest and stomach against her.
Their noses almost touched as their breaths mingled.
His brown eyes glowed darkly, traveling over her face until they landed on her mouth. For a few moments he held still, staring at her lips. As though he was giving her a chance, the choice to stop this from happening.
His hand flexed on the back of her neck, the pads of his fingers branding points of heat.
Her heart hammered like a trapped bird inside her chest.
“Very well,” she agreed, giving her permission as though he were waiting for it. And perhaps he was, because the moment she uttered the words, his mouth claimed hers.
His lips slanted over hers hotly, and she was back in that hedge with him. Their lips reunited. His teeth gently tugged on her bottom lip and her belly coiled tightly. His fingers burrowed into her hair, caressing her scalp and shooting tingles down her spine. He released her bottom lip and gave it a long, savoring lick before diving back into the kiss.
Prim’s knees wobbled and she grabbed and held fast to his jacket to keep from falling. It was brash and bold, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was him. About the taste of his lips, about his strong body fused to her. His warm, sweet tongue in her mouth, exploring and tasting and making her want to crawl inside him.
This night, with him, was the best birthday gift she could have asked for.
With one hand still in her hair, he slid the other down her back, cupping her derrière through the fabric of her gown. He squeezed, pleasure rushing straight from his hand to all her secret places. She gasped into his mouth, her feet lifting up to her tiptoes.
“Ho, there!” a strange voice called out. “We can see you.”
She gasped and pulled away, looking around, feeling dazed and unable to focus.
A voice called, “Find a room!” with a giggle.
Heat slashed Prim’s face. Her eyes lit on a small party strolling past them on the main row, waving and laughing in their direction.
“Ah, Jacob?” She glanced back at him. “Should we—”
He dragged her back and resumed kissing her again. In full view.
She felt