Her eyes glazed as she stared at him, and she stroked his hand with her thumb. “I know. This is an awful situation. As angry as I was to learn you’d kept this from me, I don’t know that I wouldn’t have done the same in your position.” She brought his hand up and kissed his knuckles. “I’m sorry, Tobias.”

He sucked in a breath. “You said my name. Again. Please.”

“Tobias.” She kissed his hand again, keeping his flesh pressed to her lips as she said it a third time. “Tobias.”

“I just realized our names share three letters in common—all vowels. Surely that means something.”

She tipped her head to the side.

“What?”

“I have no idea.” He gripped her braid and moved his other hand to her back, drawing her against him as his mouth covered hers.

She put her hand on his lapel and slid it up to the side of his neck, her thumb moving from the front of his throat up to the underside of his chin. With a soft groan, he opened his mouth and licked inside hers. She met his thrust with a parry and slid her hand to his nape, her fingers tugging at his hair.

Tobias climbed his fingers up her braid and cupped the back of her head, holding her as he plundered her mouth. She responded in kind, clutching him fiercely and kissing him with a wildness he’d never known.

A tiny voice at the back of his mind told him to stop, but a stronger chorus urged him to take what she offered. What if they were caught? There was slim chance of that, for he’d closed the door behind him, and no one would disturb him at this hour unless he asked for assistance.

He slid his hand forward, under her arm, and found the swell of her breast. There was no gown or corset to deter him tonight, just her dressing gown and presumably a night rail beneath. Stroking her through the layers, he felt her nipple harden. He tugged at the tie on the front and slipped his hand inside the garment. Now there was just a thin piece of lawn separating him from her. He cupped her breast and kissed down her throat, encouraged by her soft whimpers and the insistent pressure of her fingers against his scalp.

Pushing the dressing gown off over her shoulders, he let it fall to the floor. His entire focus was on her breast as he tugged at the neckline of her night rail. It was wide enough to allow him to pull it down, exposing her flesh so he could take her bare nipple into his mouth.

She gasped, her fingers digging into his flesh. “Tobias.”

He wanted more. He needed more.

Rotating her, he gently guided her down to the chaise. On the descent, she loosened his cravat and pulled it from his neck, tossing it away. Her hands worked at the buttons of his waistcoat, and when she’d released them all, he shrugged out of the garment and threw it to the side.