we must be circumspect,’ she said quickly before she lost her nerve.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘Bringing me here is circumspect? The story will be all around the village before morning.’
‘I brought you here because you were injured.’ Hattie tilted her chin upwards to show she had considered the potential for disaster. ‘I was doing my Christian duty. No one dare gainsay that.’
‘You kissed me all the same. And shall do again, I wager.’
A single finger lifted her face so she was staring directly into his eyes. His lashes were far too long and pretty for a man, she thought abstractly. She wasn’t in love with him, not in the way she had thought she’d been in love with Charles. She desired him and his touch. Her heart was safe, more than safe. Passion might burn white-hot, but it rapidly turned to ash. She knew not to want for ever with this man. She’d settle for living in the moment for this one summer. ‘Then we are agreed.’
‘Until the summer ends.’ He bent his head and softly kissed her lips. This time, the kiss was less fierce. It was a gentle heart-stopping persuasion. His mouth pressed kisses against her eyes, her nose and trailed down to her ear. Hattie knew that Charles had never kissed her like this. These kisses were about giving pleasure and healing.
She twined her arms about his neck, pressing her body against his. Hattie opened her mouth and allowed her tongue to tangle with his. In that kiss, all her fears and regrets fell away and all she knew was the feel of his lips against hers.
Her hand mimicked his and slid down the length of his torso. Instantly he stiffened.
‘Is something wrong?’
He groaned in the back of his throat and put her from him. His face contorted in pain as he rotated his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry. It is worse than I thought.’
She clapped her hands over her mouth. She’d been so intent on assuaging her own anguish that she’d forgotten about his very real pain. ‘You are hurt. You have no business being up and about. This should never have happened.’
‘I’m very glad it did.’ He gave a ghost of a smile. ‘I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. You must never cry alone in a corridor again.’
‘You should have done. The last thing I wanted to do is to cause you to get worse.’ She felt the hot tears prick the backs of her eyes. ‘You are the one who is supposed to be recovering from a terrible fight. You shouldn’t have to comfort me because of something that happened seven years ago.’
‘Allow me to be the judge of that.’
‘You are to get back in bed.’
‘And you shall join me in a bit of bed-sport?’
Hattie knew her face flamed. ‘Mrs Hampstead will be up soon. We need to be discreet.’
She found it hard to believe that she was even discussing the possibility … of an affair.
‘I would love to make love with you, Harriet. Right here and right now, but … it wouldn’t be wise. My body aches too much.’
‘The last thing I want to do is hurt you.’ She looped her arm about his.
‘It was worth having that fight simply to have you kiss me properly. I intend to hold you to your promise.’
‘Which promise would that be?’ Her voice sounded hoarse and seductive, foreign to her ears.
He smiled down at her and then immediately winced, going pale.
‘You are to stay in bed tomorrow and I will have no excuses.’
‘You are a saucy wench, Harriet. Ordering me to stay in bed, while your mouth is cherry ripe.’ He gave her a hooded look. ‘What else do you intend?’
His using her full name made her seem special and different from the Hattie who had been at the fair, but she also recognised the teasing note. She had never been teased in this way before, or indeed felt comfortable enough to tease back. A ripple of contentment went through her.
‘I thought all fallen women were bold,’ she retorted.
‘You haven’t fallen yet … It is not anyone else’s business. It will stay that way if we are discreet.’ He twisted a lock of her hair about his fingers. ‘Reputations can be protected. I intend to do all that is in my power to be discreet and to prevent speculation.’
‘I know. You can’t promise … but you will try.’ Her insides twisted. Open her mouth and insert her foot. She wanted this. She wanted that dark heat from earlier to consume her. Charles’s love-making had been perfunctory and tepid to say the least. Even his early kisses in the summer house had been respectful. If she had known what it was like to be kissed by a master, maybe she would have stopped it. Hattie squeezed her eyes shut. No regrets. Ever. ‘After you recover …’
‘After I recover, we will take up where we left off. I want you, Hattie. That wanting is not going to go away. Trust me.’
She half-opened her eyes. He was looking at her with an intent gaze, but she could also see the pain in the way he held his mouth. ‘I trust you.’
He dropped a kiss on her nose. ‘This is where you leave me. If you stay, I will want to make love to you and my mind may be willing, but my flesh is weak. When we make love I want to be strong. I want to give you pleasure. Immense pleasure.’
Her stomach tightened at the thought. He was interested in her pleasure, not just his own. She tried and failed to imagine having this conversation with anyone else. ‘I … I don’t know what to say.’
‘Run along before I change my mind and do something we both regret.’
‘I promised to stay.’ The words escaped from her mouth. She swallowed hard and tried again in a calmer tone. ‘At least allow me to see you back to your bed.’
‘When? When did you promise?’ The colour drained from his face, leaving him pale and tense.
‘At the fair, you asked me.’ Hattie blinked rapidly. Somehow she had made a mistake and she wasn’t even sure what it was. She felt sick. If he hadn’t requested her to stay, she’d never have confessed. She should have thought that it wasn’t anything but a plea for the hurt to be gone. ‘Surely you remember? You must remember.’
His gaze became troubled. Slowly he shook his head. ‘Everything remains hazy. It remains a blank. You mustn’t take what I said literally.’
‘I brought you here because you asked me to stay with you.’ Hattie’s heart pounded. He didn’t remember when he’d gripped her hand. It had seemed so important to her and he’d forgotten.
‘I can take responsibility for myself tonight. I want you to dream of me in what little is left of the night.’
‘And afterwards …’
He cupped her face with his hands. ‘I want you, Harriet Wilkinson, never doubt that. I want to make long slow love to you and show you how good it can be between us.’
