Pulling her onto him until she was straddling his hips, he intended to do just that, make the most of every minute, hour, day that she was with him. As she took him within her, he fought not to think of the future because it would be a lonely abyss without her.

It was nearly dawn before she prepared to take her leave. Their short time at Sheffield Hall had spoiled her, and she’d wanted a few hours of sleeping within the circle of his arms, inhaling his purely masculine smell laced with the scent of their lovemaking. And she loved watching him donning his clothes to begin the day almost as much as she enjoyed watching him take them off.

He didn’t bother to take a razor to his face, perhaps because of the early hour, so thick dark whiskers shadowed his jaw. “I like the beard.”

He rubbed the stubble, and she heard the rasp of the bristles against his palms, knew the sensation they caused, having felt them against the soft skin at her throat and breasts when he’d tucked her beneath him upon first awakening and made love to her.

That was how she thought of it, what he did to her. It was as though he gave more to her than just his seed, that he gifted her with portions of himself, parts she was arrogant enough to believe he’d given to no other. Being with him was more profound, more fulfilling, more satisfying than she’d ever dreamed it would be. It was more than the way he made her body thrum with pleasure. It was the manner in which he made her soul glow.

“Maybe I’ll keep it.” He opened a drawer of a small wooden box that rested atop his bureau. He held out a key to her. “For you.”

She took it, closing her fingers around something that seemed significant. “Why?”

“So we can be a little more discreet and my customers don’t get the notion that I’ve taken a lover. When you arrive, just come on up. I’ll have Angie send one of the footmen to let me know you’re here, and I’ll join you when I can.”

He’d told her that he’d never brought another woman here, so instinctually she knew she was the first to whom he’d given unfettered access to his lodgings. Closing her fingers tightly around the brass, she was reluctant to part with it, to put it safely in her reticule. She wanted to place it on a chain and keep it nestled between her breasts, close to her heart. Quite suddenly she wished she had a gift for him, something of equal value. “Thank you for striving to protect my reputation.”

A corner of his mouth hitched up. “It’s better for business if I’m seen as unfettered.”