The fiddle began its haunting call, and Basset drew her closer, his hand finding her waist at the same moment hers found his. Their breath caught at once, in unison, a sound they could not restrain. They moved as one, stepping together in the now damp grass, their legs brushing against each other nearly every time, their bodies turning with all the grace of any ballroom in Society, yet this time, no one was watching.

No one could. The fog obscured any view, though glimpses of other couples occasionally were caught in the background. Even the music seemed to be caught up in the misty shroud, faint to her ears but somehow weaving through each and every step they took.

His fingers pressed into her waist on a turn, a subtle action that brought her closer to him, and she went without hesitation. She could see the shadow of stubble at his jaw, the tension residing just beneath its surface that seemed matched only by that in her lungs.

He lowered his hand from above them in the motion of the dance, brushing his fingers very faintly along her cheek as he extended his arm past her shoulder, the shadow of cradling her face that polite society could accept, given there was no actual contact.

Except he’d failed in that, and her cheek burned in the exact path of his fingers.

Some light of victory lit his dark eyes, and Adelaide felt a growling competitiveness take root. She matched the motion, lowering her hand gracefully and then rubbing her thumb along his rough jawline as she moved her hand into its proper position. His eyes widened at the contact, and the shoulder her arm rested upon moved on a breath that did not seem quite steady.

She would have smiled in her own triumph, had she not felt as though she were losing in this game as well. They were both losing, and they were both winning, though what exactly the stakes were seemed rather unclear.

As their hands raised overhead again, fingers gripping against each other, breath catching for them both, she was not sure the stakes truly mattered.

It was as though they danced in the heavens themselves rather than upon the ground. Adelaide could barely think due to the exhilaration of the moment, every turn in Basset’s arms seeming to lift her higher, every meeting of their eyes weakening her knees. His dark intensity robbed her of sense, brought her closer, sank deep into her core in a way she could not comprehend, connecting them beyond anything she had known.

And she was not alone in this.

He was there, caught up with her, bewildered in his own right yet so focused on her alone, it was a wonder she had not caught fire. His fingers brushed hers over and over again, memorizing the pattern until neither of them could forget it, spiraling every impossible sensation into a single place connecting them.