For all that he could so easily dominate Bliss, Jamie was breathless when he broke that kiss to grind out, “God in ’eaven, Duchess, show a man some mercy. It’s the bright light of day and we aren’t alone—”

Bliss rested one index finger lightly on his lips. “We are, though. Peony is asleep and Reeve is in the study with his feet up on your desk, reading a book.” She swept Jamie’s hat from his head and flung it away, then buried her fingers in his hair. “Resist if you can,” she added in a saucy whisper, with a little wriggle that made him moan like a man in agony and then kiss her as if that were the only antidote for his pain.

“Up there,” he rasped, long, delicious minutes later, pointing toward the loft. When Bliss hesitated mischievously, he added a hoarse, “Please?”

She laughed and started up the ladder, and when she reached the top, Jamie gave her a pinch that sent her rolling in the sweet-scented, scratchy hay. He was poised over her in a move so quick that the battle was lost before it had even begun, catching her wrists together in one hand and holding them high over her head.

It was Bliss who moaned now as she felt the power of Jamie’s manhood pressing against her thigh. He kissed her with a fierce, primitive hunger, and his light, deft fingers were unfastening the buttons of her dress all the while. He made short work of the camisole beneath and then, still stretching her arms as far above her head as he could without hurting her, he eased downward to enjoy the warm, plump breasts that awaited him so eagerly.

Bliss closed her eyes and bit down on her lower lip in sheer ecstasy as he drank his fill at her throbbing nipples. By the time he lifted her skirts and drew down her drawers, she was aching to be filled with him.

But Jamie had other ideas. He placed her legs over his shoulders and, supporting the small of her back in his strong, callused hands, burrowed past the silken barrier to satisfy another craving.

Bliss was blinded by the dazzling sensations that were overwhelming her. A soft, whimpering cry came from her throat as Jamie took his pleasure, now with a pirate’s gluttony, now with delicate nibbles that made her clutch at the straw with frantic hands. He was caressing her ever so gently with his tongue when a grinding release caught her small body and shook it, like a great beast shaking its captured prey.

She lay dazed in the straw when it was over, the back of one hand resting against her mouth as she struggled to breathe normally. Jamie stretched out beside her, his hand making gentle circles beneath the folds of her skirt and petticoat on the quivering flesh of her stomach. Her breasts were still bared to the spring air, and their peaks contracted as Jamie assessed them with new appetite.