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Looking up again, she realized her examination pleased him. When their gazes touched, locked, a shiver danced down her spine.
Something in him drew her so powerfully, and not just his mere physicality. Swallowing, she dug her nails into her palms, battling a fierce urge to touch him.
In the silence, Quinn turned away and slipped into the pool.
He sank below the surface and came up again to stand facing her, waist deep in the water, his hair dripping, his skin streaming, his torso glistening in the soft lamplight.
“So?” he murmured, waiting for her to decide.
“I want to know what lovemaking is like,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper.
The resultant flare in his eyes only fired the sizzling current of awareness that hummed through her.
“Why don’t you undress and join me?” he suggested. “The water is a pleasant temperature.”
Obeying, Venetia removed her gown, then her half boots and finally her undergarments.
She was thankful that Quinn was not staring at her but had started swimming, rolling and submerging lazily in the water, giving her time to adjust to their mutual nudity.
Hurriedly, Venetia slid into the pool. The heat was a bit of a shock as she ducked to cover herself up to her neck. She was certain that even in the dim light, Quinn could see her blush, and when he spoke, she knew he understood her nervousness.
“You needn’t feel shy with me, love. We have been intimate before, remember?”
Of course she remembered. The memory of his touch filled her with a sweet, aching longing. Given their past encounters, it was foolish to hide her naked body from him.
Steeling herself, Venetia stood up. When her bare breasts broke the surface, Quinn went very still.
“Do you have any notion how damned beautiful you are?”
His praise made her flush, while his tender scrutiny left her trembling with vibrant sensations.
“Come closer, Venetia,” he commanded huskily.
As she obeyed, he trapped her in his hot blue gaze. When she halted a foot away, she was intensely aware of the heat emanating from his body, aware of how hard her heart was beating. And his eyes…Those intense eyes held her entranced, effortlessly capturing her se
nses.
He reached for her, the heat of fingers on her bare arms more scalding than the water, and drew her close enough that her thighs brushed his, setting off a new chain of sparks. But then he seemed to struggle with himself.
“Perhaps you should take the lead. I don’t trust myself to go slowly.”
His admission was made in a hoarse voice. It strangely comforted her, knowing that she was not the only one so powerfully affected. “I…am not certain what to do.”
A deeper flash of tenderness showed in his eyes, so naked and soft it took her breath away. “You can begin by taking down your hair. I have longed to see it free.”
Reaching up, Venetia began removing the pins from her hair. Quinn must have noted how unsteady her fingers were, however, since he moved behind her and took over the task.
He tossed the pins on the edge of the pool and snared a stray lock, letting it drift through his fingers. “Your hair feels like satin.”
Gathering the dark mass in both hands, he threaded his fingers through her tresses as if reveling in a treasure. “I have wanted to do this for a very long time. Years, in fact.”
Puzzled, she glanced over her shoulder at him. “What do you mean, years?”
“I’ve wanted you from the moment I first met you. Could you not tell?”
“No…”
Angling his head, he lowered his face to hers. His breath fanned warm against her mouth before he gave her the most exquisite kiss imaginable.
