As if reading his mind, she arched her back and thrust her breasts higher in offering. His thumb swept over the plump side, and she moaned in her throat. Yes. He could live on that sound for the next fifty years. It was honest yet bewildered, as if she couldn’t believe what he was doing to her and never wanted him to stop.

She didn’t pull away. Instead, she whispered, “Please,” against his mouth.

He didn’t tease her. If she was bold enough to demand it, then he would deliver. His palm covered her breast over the dressing gown, the supple weight filling his hand. Her nipple was hard, begging for his lips and teeth—

A nearby door closed, the sound penetrating the fog in his brain.

He drew back, panting. “Who—?”

Alice slapped her hand over his mouth. She put up a finger, telling him to wait, her head cocked toward the sound of the noise.

A few seconds later, she turned to him, her face pale. You have to go, she mouthed.

Had it been her mother? He wasn’t certain who slept in the nearby rooms. It could have been Nellie, for all he knew. He kept his voice barely a whisper. “Who was it?”

“I’m not certain, but you need to go. Hurry, before someone catches us.”

He tried to ignore the disappointment crawling through his gut like a spoiled egg. There was nothing to do but pack up and sneak out, hoping like hell they avoided discovery. Being found in Alice’s room would ruin her and he would hate for that to happen.

He soon had the wine and food all hidden away in the basket. He returned the chair across the room and then stood at her bedside, unsure what to say but reluctant to leave.

Go, she mouthed, and waved her hands toward the door. “Hurry.”

Now was not the time to press his case. Tomorrow. They would discuss this tomorrow with clear heads and no one listening. Then he could give her another lesson, possibly two, and convince her that finding time in New York wouldn’t be as difficult as she believed. They could make this work, at least for a little while.

Nodding once, he lifted the basket and crept to the door, watching for loose floorboards. The latch opened silently and then he was in the corridor. He gave her one last look before he eased the door closed. Her lips were swollen, the silken strands of her hair mussed from his hands. The swell of her breasts pushed against the dressing gown as her chest rose and fell with the rapid pace of her breathing. She was deliciously rumpled and absolutely gorgeous.

Yes, they would definitely speak tomorrow.