“It feels so good.” She buried her face in the curve of his neck. Her arms tightened around him. She shuddered, trembled, cried out, and the muscles of her core squeezed—

He hung on to her as the cataclysm rocked him to his core. Dropping back to the bed, he brought her with him. Lethargic, weakened, he still found the strength to hold her to him. He belonged to her now, heart, body, and soul. He would forever remain hers.

Just as dawn began lightening the mews, Fancy awoke, aching, sore, and tender, but feeling marvelous all the same. She’d had him twice more before they’d finally drifted off to sleep.

Matthew rested on his side, facing her, his hand cradling her hip. He was so beautiful, still lost in dreams, as night began easing away, unveiling him for her eyes and her eyes alone.

A sadness swept through her because she would never again awaken in his arms, in his bed, with his scent wafting around her. Never again would she see his spiky, sooty lashes resting on his high cheekbones. Never again would she see his hair sticking up on one side or note the heavy bristles coating his jaw.

She was tempted to wake him, ask him to take a razor to his face, so she would have that memory of his mornings. To watch him wash up and dress. Although she thought her favorite memory would always be of him divesting his clothing. And hers.

She had no regrets regarding their coming together, not last night or the night before. Men did it all the time: took women and left them. Why couldn’t a woman do the same?

But it wasn’t the same. Already there was an ache in her heart for the emptiness that would consume her when she left here. The thought of leaving him hurt so badly. It made it difficult to breathe, caused her throat to tighten and tears to threaten. Love was supposed to give one strength, and yet she felt so weak. She didn’t want to leave him—ever. She wanted to stay here until their hair turned silver. She wanted to kiss every inch of him again . . . and again and again. Wanted him kissing every inch of her. She wanted to feel him moving inside of her with purpose and strength. She wanted what she couldn’t have.

All because of a silly desire to see a rare and precious book. Because for the briefest tick of a clock another man had touched his mouth to hers and it had meant nothing. But still, it would change the course of her life. It would take her from Matthew.

Giving him up would be the hardest thing she’d ever done.