Enchanted beyond good sense and certainly beyond good manners, Reeve reached out and cupped her breasts in his hands, gently kneading her fullness and her warmth. She shivered against his palms, and her eyes rolled open slowly, as if from a deep and delicious sleep. “Reeve—”

He bent his head to one breast, lifting it with his hand, and drank deeply of her. She moaned and wound her fingers in his hair, pressing him close, reveling in her nurturing.

When the first spate of greed had been sated, Reeve relaxed a little, tonguing the peak of Maggie’s quivering breast instead of sucking hungrily as he’d done before. She made a sound that was part croon and part groan as he enjoyed her.

A sudden gust of laughter from the direction of the governor’s mansion restored Reeve’s good sense. He drew back from the sweet bounty that was Maggie and carefully put her bodice back in place.

“Marry me, Maggie,” he said hoarsely, “before I lose my mind completely.”

She was holding her chin high, though there was a touching vulnerability in her eyes. “Do you love me?” she asked.

“I don’t think so,” Reeve answered, wondering even as he spoke.

Maggie was trying to smooth her bodice, which looked as though it had been lowered and then raised again, and Reeve knew she was hoping to hide the expression on her face. “Well, I don’t love you either,” she said.

Reeve bit back a smile. “Fair enough. Lots of people marry without love, you know, and they’re perfectly happy.”

The gray eyes were hollow when they slid to Reeve’s face. “I could never be happy with a man who didn’t love me,” Maggie said candidly. “Never.”

Reeve wanted to draw Maggie close and hold her, but he didn’t dare. Damn it, why had he never learned to lie? “Maybe, after a time, we would come to love each other.”

“I’m not about to take the chance!” Maggie said spiritedly, and then she bolted off the bench and started walking back toward Government House.

Reeve considered stopping her, then decided against it. Since he couldn’t honestly offer Maggie what she wanted most, he had to learn to leave her alone. He left Government House without a word to anyone, including his host and hostess. In the morning, at first light, he intended to leave for Sydney.

Chapter 13

DUNCAN KIRK’S RAGE WAS WELL HIDDEN, BUT MAGGIE could sense it beneath his suave smile and elegant manner as they danced. She tried not to look for Reeve among the dozens of other guests, but she couldn’t help it.