Moaning low, he quickened his pace, carrying her inside and kicking the door closed behind them. Barely noting that the front parlor had no furniture whatsoever, she fought not to imagine how she might have furnished it for him, how she would have turned the cold space into a warm and welcoming lair where she would greet him each time he came in through the doorway. At some point, he would marry another who would hang paintings on the walls and snuggle against him on the settee. She didn’t want to think about that, think that another would share this intimacy with him.

Up the stairs he carried her and into the room that she’d only ever viewed a portion of. It was simply furnished, but neat and tidy, the bed made—no doubt by Mrs. Bennett. Would the woman figure out that tonight he’d not been alone, that another had shared his residence, his bed, his body? When all was said and done, would another glass join the one that presently rested next to the low-burning lamp on the bedside table? Would her scent fill the room and mingle with his?

Lowering her feet to the floor, he once more took possession of her mouth as though it belonged to him and him alone. His lips were moist and full, and she loved the way they moved over hers, urgently and yet tenderly. Then he was trailing a path along her cheek, and his mouth came to rest near her ear. “It drove me mad thinking of you at that ball enjoying the company of other men.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to ruin their last night together, not wanting him to know yet that it would be their last. “I don’t even know why I went. You haunt me, and all I could think was that I couldn’t wait to be with you once more. You know everything about me, the good and the bad, and still you seek out my company. I never have to pretend with you.” She let all that she felt for him flood her eyes, her expression, her face.

“God, Fancy, I hate it every time you attend a ball. I sit up here torturing myself, thinking that you’ll meet someone you’ll prefer to spend your time with. He’ll take you on picnics and boating—”

She touched her fingers to his lips. “No one will ever replace you in my heart.”

Even as she spoke the words, she recognized the absolute truth of them. A man such as he had always been her dream. A man who could claim her heart, her soul, her body while still leaving the ownership of them in her care.