“If he accepts me as I am, rough edges andall. He’d have a sense of humor and an appreciation of family.”
“Anything else?”
“Love me like he loves breathing.”
Brax felt his world shift on its axis.
“I believe in love and won’t settle for less,” she explained further. “You stated you don’t need to be in love. To me, that’s just one more example of why you and I are unevenly yoked.”
The night’s silence rose between them, before she added, “And I want him to be as passionate for me in bed as out.”
“More straight talk.”
“So there’ll be no misunderstandings. I desire to be both mistress and wife.”
Her bold statement took him aback.
“No man of mine will need to seek his pleasure elsewhere.”
“You will be prized.”
“As will he.”
Brax had never had such a frank conversation before with a woman, but then he’d never met a woman like Raven Moreau before. From what he knew, married women didn’t openly embrace the physical aspects of marriage; if anything, they viewed it as a duty. It never occurred to him that there might be women in the world who saw it differently. Yes, being around her was reshaping his thinking in many ways, and on many subjects. He envied the man she’d eventually choose, even though the thought ofher being with someone else was again unsettling.
“Would you want your wife to be your mistress as well?” she asked.
“I doubt there’s a man alive who’d say no, honestly, but I’m not sure the women of my class would embrace that as a goal. I could be wrong, however.” He supposed this was a lead into how Charlotte might feel about it.
“I won’t ask about your prizewinner’s take on the matter because that’s between the two of you.”
“I appreciate that.” The seed had been planted though, intentionally or not. How would Charlotte feel? He supposed a marriage built on companionship could be a passionate one, but he didn’t see her desiring to be his mistress as well, at least not in the way he imagined Raven would be. And with that thought, he questioned something else. How could he return to Boston and pick up the reins of the staid, no-nonsense existence he’d planned to live out after having Raven blaze across his life like a comet? The answer had less to do with his expectations of Charlotte and more to do with his own expectations of what he wanted the decades of living ahead to hold. Yet would he completely change how he viewed the world based on a brief encounter with a woman who would probably not remember his name in a year’s time? That she might look upon their being together as nothingmore impactful than autumn leaves tumbling in the wind also left him unsettled.
“You give me apoplexy, too, Steele.” She looked back at him seated in the shadows at the small table.
He wasn’t sure what to make of her surprising statement. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“I’m still trying to decide. It’s been a while since I’ve been with a man.”
Raven didn’t know why she’d just confessed what she had. It made more sense to thank him for distracting her, say good night, and go inside, but their encounter at lunch refused to let her be. She kept remembering, feeling, wanting. The embers left behind continued to glow.
“What are you saying?”
She got to the point. “That, Lord help me, I want more.”
He responded in a voice as dark and velvety as the night. “Then come sit on my lap and let’s discuss it.”
Raven closed the short distance between them and settled herself atop his thighs. He was warm, solid. The nearness made the embers glow hotter, and when he lifted her chin to bring her eyes to his and placed his lips gently against her own, her need rose and spread its wings.
“What would you like, little corvus?”
“Kisses, touches.”
He drew a brazen knuckle slowly across a hardening nipple. “Here?”
Desire clouded her vision. “Everywhere.”
“Then undo your buttons for me.”