A rising excitement made her dizzy with desire. Nothing had ever seemed so right as being clasped in his arms. Their clothing formed a frustrating barrier as she slipped her hands inside his coat in an effort to learn the solid contours of his body. She could think only of experiencing again the amazing rapture he had shown her. And this time she wanted him to share it with her.

They were both gasping after the long, luscious bout of kissing. He nuzzled her cheek and hair, his damp lips sending delightful ripples down to her core. His hands followed the curve of her waist and hips, caressing in a way that bespoke intense passion.

His breath warm on her face, he murmured, “There’s a bond between us, Natalie. I felt it from the very moment we met. Tell me you felt it, too.”

“Yes, I did. As I do now, too.” A reckless fever swept her with the irresistible urge to become one with him, to discover if intimacy might clear up her doubts about a future with him. “Hadrian, come to bed with me. Show me what we never finished the last time we were here.”

His fingers tightened around her waist, and he drew a ragged breath as he kissed her brow. “My God, I want that, you can’t imagine how much. But your virtue belongs to your husband.” He paused, a hint of deviltry lifting one corner of his mouth. “Unless, of course, you’ll accept my offer of marriage.”

The wicked glint in his eyes challenged her. So he thought to bribe her with the promise of pleasure?

Natalie decided that two could play that game. “If you hope to win my favor, denying me my dearest wish is hardly the way to do so.”

To entice him, she rubbed her hips against his, to spectacular effect. A groan tore from deep in his chest. He lifted her more firmly against him so that she could feel his rigid length, as his lips sought hers in another fierce, openmouthed kiss. Her arms around his waist, she clung tightly to him, returning his ardor with her own.

“Saucy wench,” he muttered against her hair, his voice vibrating with amused passion. “You’re making it damnably difficult for me to be honorable. I don’t want you to regret this later.”

“I’ll suffer regrets if you walk out on me. So I suggest we dwell no more on the future and simply enjoy the here and now.”

Giving him a smile of wicked provocation, Natalie traced his lips with her fingertip. His teeth caught her finger in a tender love bite, his tongue laving her skin so that her insides contracted with a pulse of desire.

Then he drew her palm to his cheek and held it there a moment while he looked deeply into her eyes. “It shall be as you wish, my lady.”

Releasing her, he went to the door and turned the key with a metallic click. The sound sent a shiver of excitement over her skin. Their need for privacy underscored what was about to happen in this darkish bedchamber lit only by a single candle and the glow of the fire.