The requisite dark evening clothes were stunning on him, but the silver satin waistcoat drew her focus to his flat abdomen. A sapphire pin in the snowy folds of his cravat winked in the light from a fully lit candelabra that rested on the fireplace mantle. He waited in his Bath chair near the darkened hearth, his midnight hair tamed this evening, but the slight grin that curved his sensuous mouth held wicked promise.
“I’ve never seen a man so… stunning,” she finally said into silence when the capacity for speaking returned. “You could have your pick of women, yet you’re here. For me.” Her swallow was audible as she approached him with hesitant steps. “Why?”
He snorted. “Most women don’t look twice at me once they see the chair.” His eyes glittered. “I’m merely waiting for your common sense to return. Then you’ll see how much better you can do as well.”
“Do stop. I’ve chosen to live in the present.” She refused to think about her father’s wishes or those of the duke. Anything that happened tonight was a gift to herself, and she didn’t care to hear more nonsense. Perhaps ignoring duty was folly, but so was not chasing happiness. Leaning down, she bussed his cheek. Oh, dear heavens, he smelled so good! That spicy citrus and sage scent wrapped around her like an invisible thread pulling her closer to him. “There is nothing shameful or wrong with you, Major.”
“You’re a liar, but I’ll let it pass this one time.” Finn caught her gloved hand. He must have taken his off prior to her arrival. “That gown suits you. It looks like the clouds at sunset.”
Inordinately pleased with the compliment, heat rose in her cheeks. “Shall I twirl for you? Every woman wishes for an excuse when wearing a particularly wonderful gown.”
“Absolutely you should.” He released her hand, his eyes dark with expectation and desire. “Let me see the full effect.”
“Not that you can in such dim light.” She moved away from him a few steps.
“I can imagine.” He gestured a hand in a circular motion. “Go on.”
Jane twirled around and around until her skirts flared. When she came to a halt, she giggled and walked drunkenly toward his chair. “What do you think?” It had been such a silly thing to do, but if he enjoyed it, the stunt was well worth it.
“I think that if you don’t come here, I’ll go out of my mind.” Once more he grabbed her hand and tugged her close until she tumbled into his lap. His arms came around her, snug and sure.
Tingles played along Jane’s spine. She looked into his face, brushed a lock of hair from his forehead as her heartbeat accelerated into a gallop. “Are you quite certain you wish to do this?” Her question sounded breathless. “I promise I won’t be out of sorts if you cry off.”
He held her gaze with his. “Honestly, I’ve never wanted anything—anyone—more.” There was nothing except need and desire in his dark sapphire depths.
“I believe you.” In a twinkling she’d removed her gloves. They dropped to the polished hardwood with nary a whisper. “I want you, too.” Though she didn’t know how it would work, she threw caution to wind and slipped her arms up his chest to furrow her fingers into his hair. “Oh, you feel so good.”
“Mmm.” Finn caressed a hand down her back. His other sneaked beneath her skirting to glide along her thigh. “So do you.” He kissed her, gently and hesitantly, almost as if he were unsure about his reception. “It’s been a few years since I’ve done this, and certainly not since my injury—”
“Shh.” Jane nipped his bottom lip and giggled again when he groaned. “We’ll discover how it will happen together.”
“You won’t have the freedom to make much noise in the event you’re a screamer. The last thing we need is to have an erstwhile butler and an angry host bursting through that door.”
She snorted, but the threat of being found out added a touch of danger to the meeting. “When lost in the moment, I do forget myself.” With a wink, she slid from his lap only to come back and straddle him. Her skirting pooled between them. “If discovery is imminent, we shouldn’t dawdle.”
“I guess I have my orders.” Finn wrapped his arms around her and fit his lips to hers. The longer he moved over her mouth, the closer she pressed her body against his chest.
Following the course of the other kisses they’d shared during the week, the thrill and excitement swept her away. His skill sent her into the heights of fantasy, but it was she who first sought out his tongue to deepen their connection. As silk twined with satin, need circled through her insides like a hungry beast.
His groan resonated through her chest. He broke the kiss but trailed his lips along the column of her throat, followed the rounded neckline of her bodice, licking and nipping the top slopes of her breasts as he went. “From the moment I saw you I’ve wanted to taste you, feel your skin.”
“Nothing’s stopping you, Major.” The breathy whisper was uttered against the underside of his jaw. She spent a few seconds exploring the area, and when she teased a place near his ear, he gasped and fumbled with the few buttons at the back of her gown. “Haven’t you learned by now that that if you want something, you must take it in that moment? Life moves so quickly you might miss an opportunity if you tarry.”
“Message received, my lady.” With a wicked glint in his eye, he drew the loosened bodice of the dress, along with the petticoat down, baring her breasts. “Gorgeous.” He took the globes in his hands, smashed them together and then brushed the pads of his thumbs over the nipples.
“Oooh.” Jane threw her head back. Wild sensation coursed down her spine and zipped between her breasts like lightning. “I’d forgotten how nice that feels.”
He didn’t answer with words. Every pull of his mouth, every tiny bit of suction, each swipe of his tongue, every nip from his teeth on those straining buds had her body shaking with need and longing. When he pressed fine kisses over the curves of one breast, rolling the other nipple between his thumb and forefinger, she uttered a soft cry. Urgency twisted low in her belly to collide with the anticipation, and she rocked her hips against his.
Not wanting him to have all the fun, Jane made quick work of the buttons on his jacket and waistcoat. Once those gaped open, she tugged his shirt tail from his trousers. “Oh, yes.” With a sigh and a shudder from what he did to her, she pushed her hands beneath his shirt and roved her fingers over the expanse of his chest. “I’ve dreamed about what you might look like, feel like.” Would that she was able to completely disrobe him, for the contours and dips of his muscles she encountered added another layer to the rampant desire slowly replacing her blood.
The second she circled one of his flat nipples with her fingertip, he hissed out a breath. Finn’s eyes popped open, clouded with surprise, and when that nub was hard, she gently pinched it. He uttered a sound between a moan and a growl.
Before she could inquire, he held her head in both hands and kissed her with an intensity she hadn’t encountered with him yet. Her fingers stilled on his chest, her fingers curling in the mat of hair there, for she couldn’t remember her name let alone what she’d been doing while he drank from her as if she held the last drop of water on Earth.
Finally, she wrenched away in order to draw breath, removing her hands from beneath his clothing. Her heartbeat hammered behind her ribs. “How are you doing here?” She slid a hand between them to rub along his shaft, but there was a suspicious lack of arousal.
“Not well.” This time he did growl. “Perhaps with more intensity, things will change.” He glanced over the room. “There.” As he wheeled them behind a sofa with a high back, she clung to his shoulders. “Prepare yourself.” A slim table ran along the rear of that piece of furniture, its high polish visible in the dim light. Finn halted, grasped her about the waist, and then lifted her off his lap, depositing her bum onto the table. A small statuette and a potted plant tumbled to the floor, their fall muffled by the thick Aubusson carpet.