Moonlight glinted off his hair and dusted the broad shoulders of his fitted jacket. Silhouetted against the night sky, he stood there—a strong, silent Prince of Darkness—and her skin tingled with anticipation.

“Reese,” she whispered.

“You’re here,” he answered, exhaling in relief.

“Yes.” But there was a good chance that this weekend together would be their last. Since laying off the staff, her parents had been pressing her to announce her betrothal to Lord Singleton, and she didn’t have a particularly good reason to delay—at least not one she could tell them. “I’m glad to see you.”

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” He raked a hand through his hair, which inevitably made her wonder what it might feel like to run her fingers through the thick, closely shorn strands. She curled her fingers into her palms so she wouldn’t be tempted.

But her traitorous feet carried her toward him, stopping when she was an arm’s length away. Never had she felt such a strong pull toward someone. She suspected that if she got too close to him, the force of their attraction would be too great to escape. They’d slam together like two magnets that had crossed a critical line of proximity—and they might never be able to separate themselves, might never willingly break the bond.

“Tonight feels different,” she admitted. He was more sober than she’d ever seen him, and the vulnerability in his eyes took her breath away.

“It is different,” he said, his voice deep and sure. “Every time we’re together, you pull me a little farther out of the lonely shadows and into the warm sunlight.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” she said, her heart swelling. “No one should reside in the shadows.”

“You say that now,” he quipped. “But the sunlight is bound to reveal a lot of scars.”

“I’m not intimidated in the least,” she replied.

He arched a brow, skeptical. “Let’s wait and see if you feel the same way in the morning.”

A shiver slithered down her spine, but she tilted her head and looked deep into those beautiful, haunted eyes. “Nothing you show me, nothing you tell me is going to scare me away, Lord Warshire.”

For the space of three heartbeats, he said nothing. Then, “I suppose we’ll see. Let’s go.”

She sat beside him in the carriage, wholly preoccupied with maintaining a bit of space between them. It seemed she was constantly fighting forces that conspired to push them together. A rut in the road or a sudden turn could launch her across the seat and into Reese’s lap. While the wicked part of her prayed for a violent jolt of the cab, the more sensible part of her held tightly to the door handle.