He cast her a look she’d never seen before, one that she doubted anyone had ever seen cast during Ian’s entire life. He was letting down his barriers, allowing her to see the pain he carried in his heart because of his unhappy childhood. Dillie wanted to cry. There was so much pain reflected in his gray-green eyes.
“Ian,” she said in a whisper, her heart aching so badly she could hardly speak. She reached up and lightly touched her mouth to his. “Thank you. I’ve never received a lovelier compliment.”
He said nothing, just circled his arms around her and drew her into his gentle embrace. She was up against his body. Big, muscled body. But it wasn’t a seductive embrace. She didn’t know what to think of it, for it seemed as though he were drowning and needed to hold onto something safe to keep from sinking underwater.
A hot tingle shot through her, even though he wasn’t trying to seduce her. But she always responded this way when she was in his arms. Or hoping to be in his arms. Or thinking of his muscled arms. Or thinking of him. She slid her hands up his chest and rested them on his shoulders, tugging on them to draw him even closer. It wasn’t nearly enough.
Crumpets!
She didn’t wish to ruin the moment, but couldn’t help herself. She raised on her tiptoes and touched her lips to his again. Lightly.
He responded with a low, feral growl, taking control of what had started as a simple kiss. He deepened it, teased her lips open with his tongue, and plunged in, each thrust of his tongue powerful and at the same time gentle. Each thrust commanding and at the same time protective. Suddenly, no one existed for her but Ian. No one mattered more to her than Ian. He knew just how to coax the breathy moans out of her, and knew how to ease the pressure of his lips at just the right moment, knew how to heighten that pressure again for exquisite effect. Yet, it wasn’t his mastery that made the kiss so spectacular. It was him.
She was mindless and out of control, but so was he. He was allowing himself to lose control. He was trusting her. Trusting her. Now that was something special.
Then he did something even more special. When he ended the kiss—because she wasn’t going to be the one to pull away, ever—he kept his arms around her and simply hugged her. A long, gentle hug that felt pure and innocent. Well, not quite innocent. Ian was far too handsome, far too dangerous, far too experienced ever to be considered innocent. The hug was pure and heartfelt.
That was it. Heartfelt.
And anyone who knew Ian knew that he always hid what was in his heart. But not this time. Not with this kiss. Tears welled in her eyes. She began to sniffle. Ian sighed. “What’s wrong, Daffy?”
He eased her away slightly to look at her. And he’d called her Daffy, which was his way of closing himself off again. She wasn’t ready for that yet. “Nothing.”
“Then why the tears?”
She sighed. “The kiss rattled me, if you must know. It was the best kiss ever.”
He chuckled. “Ever?”
“Yes, in the entire universe of kisses. In every kiss that has occurred since the dawn of man’s existence,” she insisted. “It was the best.”
She expected Ian to dismiss the remark as ridiculous. After all, she had been a little theatrical about it. Quite over the top about it, truth be told. He knew that she’d never been kissed by anyone else. So how would she know if someone else was better at it than he was? She couldn’t compare him to anyone else. Ugh! Why had she mentioned the dawn of man’s existence? She could have kept the time period shorter. Best since last week. Best kiss since the start of the season.
His gaze turned tender. “Yes, it was. Best ever.”
And that was the problem with Ian. He kept saying nice things to her and making her feel as though he meant them. He wasn’t safe for her. She had to tell him to stop.
She would tell him. Soon.
Just not yet.
***
“Ian, there you are,” Gabriel said, striding into the club room at White’s later that evening. “I’ve been looking all over for you. Heard you came around to see me earlier today. Why didn’t you wait?”
Ian set down his newspaper and motioned for the bartender to send over two glasses of whiskey. “Problem got solved. Didn’t need to disturb you. Where were you, anyway? I thought you’d be home.”
Gabriel shot him a smug grin and settled into the overstuffed leather chair beside him. “I was upstairs, about to come down when Daisy delayed me.” His grin broadened. “She needed my help to change out of her morning gown. Couldn’t manage those pesky buttons on her own. I’m ever the obliging husband.”
Ian winced. “You ass. I don’t want to hear about how you undressed your wife.”