“Forgive me, I had only to stop at the desk, and the attendant . . .” She glanced down the hallway in both directions, and then pushed open the door to her room. “Come in, quickly, before we are seen.”

Newland hurried inside and stood waiting as she secured the latch.

“You shouldn’t have come up here,” she said. “What if we are seen?”

“But we were not. And now . . .” He stepped forward and drew her into his arms. They stared lovingly into one another’s eyes, their chests heaving with excited breath. “Do you know how I’ve longed to simply hold you in my arms? That alone would be enough.”

“And I have dreamed the same,” she said.

He lifted her chin. “Look at me. I stand before you. Can’t you see how you complete me?”

“Newland—”

He leaned forward and kissed her, tasting the tears that had fallen from her eyes. He tightened his grasp around her so that their hearts pulsated against each other’s flesh. The kiss deepened and their bodies writhed to match its intensity.

Every urge in Newland’s body called upon him to ravish her. Then his rational mind regained control and he suddenly pulled away, rethinking his actions.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You were right. I shouldn’t have followed you here.”

She narrowed the distance between them. “But you are here.”

“I should not have compromised you. And yet, I may still.”

“It was I who opened the door.”

“But I who entered.”

“We both entered and for one reason alone.”

Newland wanted to say, “I entered because I love you. I am helplessly drawn to you with no control over my mind or body.” But he said nothing, because her loving expression communicated that she understood this already. Words were unnecessary.

The Countess pulled her headpiece away, tossed it to the side chair, and loosened her hair, letting it fall to one the side of her neck and cascade down to her bosom. Her smile had changed from one bespeaking chaste affection, to one conveying unbridled lust. Her eyes were hooded, almost predatory, intent on consuming her prey.

“You are here,” she said. “Just as you intended.”

“We might miss the boat.”

“There will be another,” she said in a raspy whisper.

The residue of Newland’s sense of propriety waned. His manly desires all at once waxed victorious over his rational mind. Her allure had ensnared him, and he needed only to fall into her arms. He reached for his waistcoat and slowly began unbuttoning it. When it opened, he flung it to the chair. He approached her and once again began kissing her with irresistible desire. She quickly unbuttoned his shirt, and before long, they had undressed one another, still kissing. Soon they stood together naked as they both had so longed to be. Newland felt her silky flesh meld into his own, and his rampant manhood throbbed between them, announcing the pleasure of their forthcoming encounter.

Their bodies swayed gently as they explored the lines and curves of each other; they moaned softly as their hands crossed the erogenous regions of pleasure. Newland broke the kiss, and with his lips, caressed her cheeks. Then he lowered his face to her neck, where he buried his mouth in her tresses. Her skin was smoother than the finest silk, and her feminine scent was divine. He reached down and clasped her bosoms in his hands, and then lowered his head and took the full of a breast into his mouth, tasting her. Pulling forward, he found the erect tip waiting for his tongue, and made erotic circles and licks around it.