Daniel stroked her silken hair, her sweet breath blowing in shallow puffs against his chest. How could she mean so much to him in so little time? Gently he moved her head to the satin pillow and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek. Her eyes fluttered softly beneath her ebony lashes. He rose gingerly, so as not to disturb her, went to the table, and poured himself another glass of wine. He padded to his night table and lit a candle. The soft glow illuminated Lily’s lovely face. He reached into a shallow drawer, drew out a sketchbook and a soft lead pencil. He sat down on the bed and began to sketch the exquisite beauty before him.
* * *
Lily woke later to find Daniel’s lips sliding over hers. He sat on the edge of the bed, clad in his dressing robe. “Lily,” he said softly. “Wake up. Our breakfast is here.”
She sat up abruptly. “Breakfast? My God, what time is it?”
“About eight.” He held up a dressing robe for her. “Put this on and have breakfast with me.”
“Eight o’clock, you say? I guess it’s all right. Rose rarely rises before ten.” She took the robe and headed to the bath chamber. “I’ll only be a moment.”
She took care of her needs quickly and returned to find Daniel sitting at the small table in the window. He stood and led her to her chair, and then sat down and poured her a cup of tea.
“How do you take it?”
“Just like that.” She lifted the cup and inhaled the rich fragrance of the steamy liquid.
“You’re a woman after my own heart, Lily. I can’t abide sugar and cream in my tea either.” He placed a filet of smoked salmon, a scone, some lemon curd, and fresh fruit on a plate and handed it to her.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m quite hungry.”
“Of course you are.” He grinned. “You used a lot of energy last night.”
Lily smiled shyly. “We can’t keep this up, you know.”
“Why not?”
“You have compromised me beyond repair, Daniel.”
“Then why not keep at it?” He grinned. “It makes little difference to your virtue at this point.”
“That’s not the issue,” Lily said.
“What is the issue, Lily?”
“It’s that…” She sighed. Every minute she spent with him would make leav
ing at the end of next week much more difficult. She would think about him, wonder what he was doing and with whom. He would replace her quickly and forget all they had shared. She had known from the beginning what kind of man he was, yet she had gone to him willingly. No strings. No regrets. She still didn’t want marriage. Especially not to a man who could never be faithful to her. She had started this for experience. And she had gained experience tenfold.
“What, love? You can tell me.” He stroked her arm.
His touch set her ablaze. “Oh, I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right, that’s all.”
“It seems very right to me.”
“I didn’t mean that it didn’t feel right. It feels very…”
Daniel kissed her hand. “You’re not going to get away from me that easily, Lily. I plan to monopolize your time for the rest of this house party. Then we shall see what happens after that.”
After that? What did he mean? That they’d continue their illicit affair, or that she would become his mistress? Not in a million years. “Daniel—”
“Plus, you promised to go riding with me today.”
“Yes, I know. I want to, Daniel, but—”
“No ‘buts,’ Lily. You already said you’d go.”
She looked into his eyes and couldn’t find the strength to fight him. She wanted to be with him. Leaving him would be so… But why think about that now?