Chapters (44)

Deliberately, he eased his back below the sheet of water, and it sluiced over his tanned, chiseled body, splashing on his broad shoulders and spraying cool droplets on her head. She held her breath as he carried her under the smooth, rushing water. Savored the way it slid over her breasts, down her belly, and between her legs. Sighed when he set her on her feet and pulled her against him.

They moved in and out of the falling water, kissing, laughing, and clinging to each other. And when they both were dizzy with desire, they ran, dripping, back to the quilt and made love so slowly, so sensuously, that hot tears trickled down Sophie’s cheeks.

Afterward, as they lay on their backs, gazing contentedly at the starlit sky above, Reese plucked a daisy, placed it on her belly, and kissed her forehead.

When she giggled, he propped himself on an elbow and looked down at her, love shining in his eyes. “Miss Kendall,” he said, his voice husky and low, “why are you laughing?”

She picked up the daisy, twirled the stem between her fingers, and playfully brushed the petals beneath his chin. “I was just thinking of all the flowers you’ve given me. And now I have one more for the collection in my diary.”

“Your diary?” He shot her a rakish grin and lazily trailed a fingertip between her breasts. “You’re going to write about this?”

“I’ve written about all our nights together,” she admitted. “And I’ve dried and pressed the flowers from each encounter. I have the yellow rose from Lady Rufflebum’s garden and the crown of asphodels. I have the peony bouquet from our night at the lake and the violet aster you tucked behind my ear. They’re all precious to me because they remind me of the way you made me feel. I never want to forget those feelings.”

“I won’t let you forget,” he said earnestly, brushing a kiss across her lips. “I hope your diary has a lot more pages, because we have a lifetime together. A lifetime of feelings … and more flowers than you’ll know what to do with.”

She swept the daisy’s soft petals across the planes of his chest and lower, over the ridges of his abdomen, then shot him a sultry smile. “I feel certain I’ll think of something.”

Look for these other novels in the Debutante Diaries series

FIRST EARL I SEE TONIGHT

THE DUKE IS BUT A DREAM

And don’t miss Anna Bennett’s delightful Wayward Wallflower series

MY BROWN-EYED EARL

I DARED THE DUKE

THE ROGUE IS BACK IN TOWN

Available from St. Martin’s Paperbacks

Also by Anna Bennett

Also by Anna Bennett

The Debutante Diaries