“Your skirt.” She’d put on the skirt because her leg had been aching and when she’d jumped out of bed at Sevastyan’s insistence, she’d dragged on the long, flowing skirt to keep from having to find a pair of jeans. She liked skirts. She’d never worn them in the swamp, and she liked the feel of them. She slipped the material off her hips and down her thighs, over her calves and then stepped out of it. She folded it carefully, all the while standing in her lacy little boy shorts.

She’d never felt sexier. She hadn’t known she could feel sexy, but his gaze had grown so hot she thought she might go up in flames. Strangely, his eyes had gone back to glacier blue, but that flame was there, leaping beneath the ice to show her even ice could burn. She walked over to the chair, conscious of his gaze on her. She bent to put her skirt on top of the bra and shirt.

“Take off your panties right there. No, don’t turn around. Just like that.”

Her breath nearly stopped, strangling there inside her lungs. Could she do that? Shimmy out of them with her back turned? With him looking at her butt? She’d always thought her butt was too big. He was staring at it, she knew he was.

“Evangeline. Do you want me to help you?”

His voice had dropped even lower. A warning. She had the feeling whatever help he gave her would send her crashing right over the edge. Her body was coiled tight. Her clit throbbed and pulsed. She felt her feminine sheath spasm at his tone. She hooked her thumbs into the lace and drew the material down. Once again she folded the panties and put them on top of her pile of clothes.

“Come here and don’t cover up, I want to look at you.”

That was the hardest thing to do. Walk over to him. The moment she did, forcing herself to keep her hands at her sides, she knew why he had asked her to remove her clothing the way he had. She felt sensual. Feminine. A temptation to him. Her body moved with every step, her breasts swaying enticingly. Her hair fell around her back, sliding over her skin sensuously. Her nipples were hard pebbles, and deep inside she craved him. So much so that, even though she was nervous, she wanted him with every cell in her body.

She stood in front of him. He stood for a long time staring down at her, his gaze moving over her body, ratcheting up her tension, her sexual awareness. He began to move in a small circle around her, as if inspecting her from every angle.

“You are so beautiful, Evangeline. So incredibly beautiful.”