A Lady Never Tells(135)

“I did not act as a gentleman should. I allowed my desire to control me,” he went on.

“That is not why I am—why I have been—”

“Unhappy?”

“Yes. No.” She pulled her fingers from his grasp. “There is no need for you to blame yourself. I am a grown woman. I knew what I was doing. You did not seduce me.”

“Yet you regret it.”

“I don’t.” She looked at him, eyes wide. “I have not regretted it for a moment. How could I? It was—” She broke off, her color deepening, and quickened her pace.

He matched her easily, taking her hand in his once again as they walked.

“What?” he asked. “What was it?” His thumb began a lazy circling over the back of her hand, so light it was barely noticeable, yet it sent shivers running through her.

They were walking toward the arbor, and she could not help but think of the maze that lay beyond it—and what had happened in the maze. She remembered his kiss, his touch, the heady delight that had run through her. Her blood seemed to hum in her veins, stirred by her memories and the soft, insistent pleasure of his thumb stroking her hand.

“Royce, stop.” She tugged her hand from his again. “You know what it was like. Why must I say it?”

“Because.” He reached out, pulling her to a stop and turning her to face him. “It pleases me to hear you say it.”#p#分页标题#e#

He raised his hand and stroked his knuckles down her cheek, soft as the touch of a feather. Mary looked up into his eyes, unable to pull her gaze away. It was so easy to get lost in those green depths, to forget everything else in the memory of pleasure.

“It was shattering,” she admitted hoarsely.

His eyes warmed, the pupils widening. “Marigold … you entrance me. Such honesty. Such lack of guile.”

She started to turn away, but he grabbed her arms and held her in place. “No, don’t run away. It was shattering for me as well.”

Mary’s breath hitched in her throat. She was very aware of the heat of his hands on her arms, the sound of her own blood pounding in her ears. She wondered if he had sensed the quiver of desire that his words had sent shooting into her abdomen.

“I don’t want to lose that… . I don’t want to lose you.” He bent, brushing his lips against her temple. His lips went lower, grazing the hard line of her jaw, then moving on to her ear.

Mary’s insides were suddenly soft and warm, like wax melting over a flame. Her eyes drifted closed, and her hands went to his chest, bracing herself. She shivered as his lips slid along her throat. His hand drifted up her side and curved around her breast. Heat blossomed within her, and her nipples tightened.

His kiss deepened as he pulled her farther into the shade of the arbor, one hand curving down her back and pressing her hips against his. She could feel the hard line of him digging into her soft flesh, and the mere touch brought all the memories of their lovemaking flooding back to her. Mary moved involuntarily, and she was answered by a muffled groan from Royce. He kissed her hungrily, fervently, and his hand delved beneath the neckline of her dress, caressing her naked flesh.

She wanted to yield, to sink into his arms, to fall once more into that swirling maelstrom of emotions and sensation. She struggled to recall why she was resisting him when what he offered was so pleasurable. Would it be so wrong to give in to her desire? To feel the joy and fulfillment when he plunged deep inside her? To belong to him, and he to her, so deeply, so completely, that for the moment nothing else existed?

But she knew what would happen after that moment, the emptiness that would creep in as she realized that all emotion was only on her side. He would press her even more strongly to marry him, and she would have to hold out against him, knowing even as she did so that she wanted desperately to take what he offered. There would be arguments and unhappiness. It would be utterly foolish to open the door to those things.

With a wrenching effort of will, Mary pulled away. “Are you—are you seducing me?” she asked a trifle shakily.

“I am trying to court you.”

Mary turned a skeptical eye upon Royce, trying to ignore the pleasure thrumming through her body. “Do you honestly believe I will be fooled by this sudden attempt at courtship? That you can make me believe you really want to marry me?’

“But I do want to marry you!” He flung his hands out to the sides in frustration, his voice rising.

“Oh, you know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t.” Royce moved closer, his voice low and intimate. “I want you in my bed. And you want me. You cannot deny it.”