Page 58 of A Lady’s Guide to Mystery and Mischief

“Are you trying to pique my curiosity as to what your taking over might mean?” she panted, changing course by rotating her hips in lush circles.

“No,” he rasped. “I’m trying to be considerate.”

Farah grinned at him. “So be considerate.”

In a motion that could have been abrupt but was not, Grey re-positioned her beneath him, her back against the mercifully soft carpet. She blinked up at him, sighing as he sank into her again. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, all dark hair and angular features. She couldn’t help but smile at him, wild and bright. She ran her hands all over his body, gentling her touch when she grazed his scar, something like agony crossing his features when she did so.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?”

“No,” he said, moving in and out of her in perfectly timed strokes. “You could never hurt me.”

And you could never hurt me, she thought, her gaze level with his. He bent his head to kiss her, his mouth dragging down the column of her neck as she arched against him. As her orgasm began to build, she did everything she could to bring him closer, wrapping her legs around him as she pressed her palms into his shoulders. For the second time that night, her veins were invaded by an endless burst of sparks that traveled from her core to the tips of her fingers and toes. All she could do was say his name, repeating it again and again as he continued to stroke into her. The moment his movements became less measured, he seemed to take control of himself, pulling out to spill onto her bare stomach, his forehead glistening with perspiration.

“I’m sorry, I—”

Farah pushed herself up onto her elbows. “Don’t be.”

Without responding, he got up, returning to her with a damp cloth. He wiped her clean in what felt like reverent motions, only stopping once he was satisfied. When he made to stand, Farah took hold of his wrist.

“Will you lie down with me?”

He hesitated before dropping the cloth and stretching out beside her. Farah curled into him, trying to ignore the agitation that threatened to take over and ruin her night.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Quite all right, yes,” Farah said. She ran her fingers over his side, lingering over the gnarled skin of his scar before a thought popped into her head. “I should have asked before touching you here.”

Grey took a deep breath, turning his head to look at her. “I’d have minded if it were anyone else doing the touching.”

He is so easy to adore.

“Nobody—” He stopped to clear his throat. “Nobody has ever thought to kiss it before.”

Farah didn’t know how to respond, and so she remained silent, resuming her slow caress of his side.

“I should have taken you to bed,” he said.

Farah giggled. “If I recall correctly, I am the one who pushed you to the floor.”

His response was wry. “And I, as usual, found it impossible to deny you.”

“I do like that about you,” she said. “Your inability to deny me, I mean.”

“I’m sure you do.”

A tranquil stillness descended upon them, interrupted by the periodic crackling of the fire. Farah wished she could stay like this, avoiding all of her very real problems while wrapped up in Grey. But morning would come, and she had no doubt it would bring fresh uncertainty with it.

“Nothing stopping us from going to bed now, though,” Grey said, sitting up.

Farah pouted. “Do we have to? I—” She trailed off as he picked her up, walking her to the vast, canopied bed. The softness of the mattress and coverlet made a nice change from the floor, despite the plush thickness of the rug they’d been on. “Never mind, you were right.”

A sheepish air came over him. “You—would you like a room of your own? I could also—”

Farah shook her head with a fond smile. “Absolutely not. You’re a veritable furnace, and I mean to take advantage of that all night.”

His face colored as he joined her in bed. Farah scrambled under the coverlet to attach herself to his side, reveling in the intimacy of sharing such a space with him. For a brief, silly moment, it felt as though they were man and wife, crawling into bed after a tiring day. She kept the thought close, wanting rather selfishly to bask in its warmth. In her dreams, both big and small, every day would end like this.

As she drifted off to sleep, she had no doubt new dreams would come. And with them, new complications.