Before she could become all sentimental on him, he reached down and took her hands, assisting her to her feet. This entire situation had become more disturbing than he’d imagined it could be.
“I’m sure he doesn’t think of it as nothing.” She licked her lips.
Having helped her up, Jack relinquished her hands only to slide them around her waist, settling his palms on the curves of her hips.
Her scent, which was simple and clean, tantalized him. What was it about her?
“You liked being kissed?”
She did not push away from him, so he tipped his head forward, needing to see her expression. If he sensed even the slightest reluctance on her part, if he thought for an instant she would yield to him out of gratitude, he’d make his bed downstairs for the night.
Or hell, he’d sleep in the stables himself. He obviously needed some cooling off.
But he’d be damned if he would take something she didn’t want to give.
She held his gaze and nodded slowly.
“What do you want, Delia?”
Pink flushed her cheeks and neck. Jack waited, bracing himself for what was inevitably going to be one more disappointment.
She might be on the cusp of entering service, but she’d been raised in a genteel household. She was a lady.
She licked her lips, and Jack swallowed hard.
Delia might be a lady, but she was also a woman—a woman with needs.
“Do you want me to make love to you?”
She didn’t look away. She didn’t pretend to be shocked.
“I doubt I’ll have such an opportunity again.” Such honesty ought to have startled him, and yet, it didn’t. This woman had never been taught to tease or pretend.
She was utterly transparent—so refreshing.
“You’ll have other opportunities,” he had no doubt. But those opportunities weren’t likely to be with someone as skilled as himself.
She smiled weakly, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.”
“No one need know,” he assured her. “But you and me.”
“Just you and me.” She was nodding again, and then—“What if I change my mind?” She slid a wary glance toward the bed. “… During.”
“Then we stop.” Of course, stopping a second time would be tantamount to torture, but he’d take his chances.
“And in the morning, we go our separate ways,” Delia said. “I will not labor under the delusion that you love me and want to marry me, and you will not attempt to pay me.” Jack admired that she’d allow for no misunderstandings this time.
“We will simply be a man and a woman making the most of these unusual circumstances,” Jack agreed.
If she needed time to think it over, she wasn’t truly willing. He would not attempt to persuade or convince her.
“Yes.”
Jack barely heard her whisper. “What was that?”
“I’d like that.” She cleared her throat. “Just this one time. I’d like to know…”
Jack moved his fingers, squeezing the flesh between her waist and hips. “You will tell me,” he said. “If you change your mind at any point.”