“Because you are. You have so much to give, so much to offer.”

“I want to give to you tonight.”

Groaning low, he buried his face in the curve of her neck. “With such ease, you bring me to my knees.”

“It’s because of your position in the tub.”

When he lifted his head, he was grinning and cradled her face with one large and very wet hand. “You’re nervous.”

“A little. You know the worst about me and yet still you’re here.”

“Because I also know the best about you, and it far outweighs the worst.” This time when he took her mouth, he took possession of her heart as well.

He accepted her as she was. Her past didn’t matter. With him she didn’t have to pretend or put on airs or strive to meet expectations. It was what she’d always wanted, an honesty with a gentleman. And here she had it.

As his hands skimmed over her, she thought, yours, yours, yours.

As she glided her hands over his broad chest and wide shoulders, she thought, mine, mine, mine.

Then she shivered because as warm as he was, the water had grown colder. Immediately he noticed and drew back. “Let’s get you out of here.”

He went first, not bothering to hide his perfection from her as he reached for a towel. As she shoved herself to her feet and the water sluiced over her, his eyes darkened, heated, and she felt like a nymph who’d captured the attentions of a god. As she stepped out of the tub, he draped the soft linen around her and began patting it gently over her, gathering up all the drops. Going down to one knee, he saw to her legs and feet and she combed her fingers through his hair, awed that he would humble himself so before her, would see to her needs before his own.

“You must be cold,” she said.

“I’m fine.”

When he was finished, he grabbed another towel and wrapped it around her, while he briskly rubbed the first over his skin, not bothering to take the same care with his body that he’d taken with hers. The entire time his gaze remained latched on to hers. His actions slowed, stopped, the towel clutched in one hand where ribs gave way to stomach, the linen trailing down covering his most vulnerable areas, providing him with a modicum of modesty.

“Fancy, my intention truly was to only bathe you, to show you that what makes you Fancy Trewlove hasn’t changed. I won’t fault you if you’d rather I dress myself and walk out of here now.”