He glided his fingertips over her cheek, leaving a trail of sparks. “I’m glad you confided in me, Natalie. I only wish I’d gone down to the kitchen sooner and spared you the anguish.”

“But then I would still have the pain bottled up inside of me. Releasing it was very liberating, you know. So was my confession, more than I could ever have imagined.” Done with all the drama, she adopted a lighter, teasing tone. “To be honest, when we first met at the inn, I never would have taken you to be such a good listener. You struck me as too imperious to heed beings lesser than yourself.”

One corner of his mouth twitched into a half-smile. “I beg to differ. I was remarkably well mannered considering that a little brat had dashed into my private dining parlor, interrupted my dinner, and hidden himself underneath my table.”

“You were reserved and aloof,” she countered. “Still, when you helped me find Leo the next morning, I quickly learned that beneath all that cool hauteur lurked a kind, chivalrous gentleman.”

His eyes gleamed. “I hope you’ll never repeat that to anyone. I’ve worked hard to maintain that aura of cool hauteur.”

“I’m sure it comes naturally to one of your rank, without the least bit of work at all.” Natalie couldn’t resist sliding her hand over the hard wall of his chest as she gave him a saucy smile. “So, what did you think of me at our first meeting? An ill-mannered provincial, no doubt, since I failed to curtsy. And one who was vulgar enough to commit the cardinal sin of shaking your hand.”

“Rather, you were the loveliest and most unusual woman I’d ever met, though perhaps a trifle irritating—”

“Irritating? Because I didn’t bow and scrape to you, I presume.”

“Don’t interrupt, you ill-mannered provincial,” he said with a glint of deviltry. “The truth is, I found you to be fascinating. And I confess to having had a keen desire to unpin your hair.”

“My hair?”

“I wanted to see it free and flowing. I still do. May I—” Caught in the wizardry of his words, she nodded. He reached for her braid and nimbly untwined it, allowing her hair to tumble into heavy coils. Then he sifted his fingers through the long, dark strands so they wafted in loose disarray across her shoulders and bosom. “It’s even prettier than I expected. As soft and luxurious as sable.”

A thrum of desire burrowed deep inside her. It seemed startlingly intimate to let a man fondle her unbound hair. As if it were an act to be done in the bedchamber by a husband … or a lover. She sternly reminded herself that Hadrian could be neither. “I thought you found me irritating.”

“We were speaking of first impressions. And you have to allow that I was bound to be a little irked when my privacy had been invaded by strangers.” Hadrian brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “But any minor irritation I felt then has long been surpassed by my admiration for your beauty—both inside and out.”