“I ... I don’t know. It’s just ... it’s just hard for me to believe.” I downed my glass of wine, hoping to hide how flustered I felt. I actually could feel the start of a buzz, driving home that I really had lost my tolerance. I used to take down half bottles of tequila. With as confused as I was, the buzz was welcome. Once, Dorian offering to do something for me would have made me suspicious of ulterior motives. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

Dorian set down his goblet and walked over to me, surprising me by kneeling so that he looked up at my face. “I told you earlier. What wouldn’t I do for you? I don’t know what else I can say to convince you. I’ve tried to make amends for the Iron Crown, Eugenie. I guess I’ve failed.”

My heart lurched, and I sank to the ground beside him. I caught hold of his hands. “No, you haven’t. It’s not your problem anymore. It’s mine. I’m the one who has to get over the past and start trusting again.”

He ran his fingers over mine. “With everything that’s happened to you, I don’t blame you for not trusting anyone.”

“I trust lots of people,” I said. A memory of this afternoon came to me, and traitorous lust coursed through my body. “Including you.”

I brought my lips to his and was flooded with that warmth and sweetness from earlier, that sense that Dorian and I belonged together. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me so that I practically sat on his lap. I increased the intensity of the kiss, nipping his lip with my teeth. He responded in kind, reaching up to grab my hair and jerk my head back so that he could bring his hungry mouth down to my throat. I wondered if I’d have marks there tomorrow but didn’t really care one way or another.

His other hand slid up to the bodice of my dress, deftly undoing the laces. He pulled back the fabric, exposing a breast, and brought his mouth down to it, finishing what he’d started this afternoon. I cried out as his teeth and tongue played with my nipple and shifted so that I sat up right on my knees and gave him better access. He freed the other breast and sucked on it while also attempting to hike up the dress’s skirt. I tried to pull him on top of me and lie back on the floor, but he stopped me.

“No,” he gasped out. “Not here. I need to take you to ... somewhere else ... the bed or something... .” He started to get up, and I pushed him down.