Moments later, when they left the stairs and he opened the doors onto the octagonal sitting room that was to be her retreat, she was so overwhelmed that Oliver was the furthest thing from her mind.
Sunshine broke through the clouds and into the suite from a bow window that looked out across the lake. The room smelled pleasantly of beeswax and lemon oil. Ivy could not imagine the work needed to maintain the French tapestries and central chandelier on which she could not detect a single cobweb. The walls had been painted a restful yellow hue between the floor-to-ceiling Ionic columns.
“It’s charming, James. It’s warm and—well, this is so lovely I may never want to leave.”
She walked through an arched doorway into an alcove that contained a small library. A coat of arms hung above the fireplace. A game table sat in front of two cozy chairs.
“What do you think of the bedroom?” he asked, strolling into yet another room.
She followed. There was a circular dressing room and a tall chest of drawers, one of which James paused to open and briefly explore, but her eye went straight to the Chippendale bed hung with yellow damask embroidered with pink cabbage roses and poppies. James removed his vest and tossed it onto the matching counterpane.
He turned and took her into his arms. “Well?” He started to kiss and undress her at the same time.
“James, at least draw the drapes.”
“I want to see you in the light. No more chasing you into corners or hiding in your bedroom.”
“I agree. Our engagement calls for good form.”
“Yes—all I’m asking for is a good look at your form.”
“Did you untie my dress already?”
“Be patient, Ivy. I’m not as fast as I used to be. Bless you for not wearing buttons today.”
“So that’s the secret to keeping you under control.”
He pulled off his shirt. “Wide eyelets would be helpful. I’ll have to hire a personal dressmaker for you.”
She dropped her hands to her sides. “I would think you’d be mortified to run upstairs the way we just did after what happened last night.”
Her bodice and sleeves fell alongside his shirt. He smiled faintly. “I might have been, if I could remember everything that happened after you took advantage of me and left my room. Surely I can’t be held accountable for behavior I don’t recall committing.”
“I took advantage of you?”
“It’s all right, darling. You forgive me. I have forgiven you. I know you were only trying to distract me.”
“You do have a distorted memory.”
“Not of you. All I remember is a goddess with a beautiful face and a body to match.”
She frowned as her shift and undergarments met his trousers on the floor. “James, where is your jacket? And your cravat?”
“I think I left them outside the door.” He knelt to take off her garters and stockings.
“You didn’t,” she said with a gasp.
He laid his cheek against her thigh, smoothing his hand up the curve of her backside. “I’ve wanted to do this forever.” He leaned back, his hands skimming her hips. “Would you take down your hair?”
“Really, James. I need an hour to pin it back properly. People will know.”
“Take it loose and hold it up with your hands. Yes. That’s nice. Turn around slowly.”
“It’s not even noon,” she said, a flush working up her neck.
“I know how to tell time, Ivy.” His dark brows drew into a scowl. “Is this too much for you?”
“I haven’t a clue why you would think that, James. It was only last night I believed you were dying and we slept together for the first time. Now, before breakfast, you inform the entire house that we’re to be married.”
“Why didn’t you have breakfast?”
“Do you honestly think I could face the rest of the household across a table after last night?”
“I did. Faced the servants, I mean. I took breakfast in my room as I often do.”
“Ignorance is bliss, isn’t it?”
“You’ll have to eat sooner or later.”
She contemplated him in concern. “You really don’t remember coming out of your room?”
He grimaced. “God. I didn’t run up and down the stairs naked in front of Cook, did I?”
“Not quite,” she said, dropping her hair to cover her breasts. “James, please, do we have to hold this conversation in front of the window? I feel extremely uncomfortable.”
“I’ll close the drapes.”
She sighed in pleasure as he strode across the floor without the least inhibition and casually drew the curtains, like a Greek god disappearing into the obscurity of Olympus, to the disappointment of any mortal who happened to be standing below. Who would have thought that she would admire a man’s backside? Or that the way his lean body moved could make her mouth go dry?