Ainsley woke in a dark room completely unaware of what time it was or when she’d fallen asleep but her corset dug into her in the most uncomfortable way.

“You’re awake.” James’s voice rasped close to her ear and a flood of memories assaulted her. The way he’d touched her, held her.

She lifted her head and reached out to find him in the dark. Feeling the solid warmth of his chest next to her, she curled into his heat. “You’re here.”

His arms gathered her up and pulled her on top of him. “Of course I am here. And I intend to stay here for quite some time.”

“What?” She lifted her head and tried to look into his eyes. “But dinner and my family….good gracious, what time is it?”

“It’s eight and dinner has already begun. Your mother came in, found you sleeping, and ordered a tray to be left outside your door.”

“My mother came in…” She tried to see his face in the dark. Her palms growing damp. “But you, did you…did she…?”

Her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she saw him grinning. “I hid in the curtains. That was why I was next to you on the bed rather than being used as your pillow.”

Her body went limp with relief until she realized he had also said that he intended to stay. That made her tense anew, and she lifted her head back up and pushed with her arms to lift away from his chest. “So you’re going to be here, with me, for the rest of the night?”

His grin came back. The devilish one that matched his swagger. He ran his hands up and down her back, in a gesture clearly meant to relax her. It worked. “Or until you request I leave.” He kissed her then, slowly, deeply. When he finally pulled away, she’d completely forgotten why she was anxious. “But don’t worry, love. I just want to talk. We’ve yet to get to know each other.”

She laid her head on his chest. “I know you.”

His chuckle reverberated under her ear. “What do you know about me?”

“That your father died and your mother abandoned you to remarry. You father’s half-brother raised you, but he never loved you, and you hate him for it.” She swallowed before she said the next part. She knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t like to hear it. “And you hate yourself for it too. That you tried, that you failed.”

“How do you know that?” His voice was sharp and she winced. She wasn’t trying to upset him.

“I assumed it’s why you keep your distance. It must have been so hard to be rejected at such a young age.” She gave his chest a little thump, wishing to break up the conversation and change the subject. “Now you say what you know about me. The little peacock.”

He chuckled again. “Well first, I am going to hell for that one.” He kissed her forehead again. “But, while you like pretty dresses and fancy balls, you love your family more and you’d give it all up for them. You look more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever seen holding a baby, and you have the power to undo me completely if you choose to.”

She kissed him this time, long and slow. When the kiss finally broke, he gave her another smile, not so full of merriment, more sad. “And you’re smart enough to keep yourself at a distance until you know what I’m about. A skill I don’t seem to have with you. But I’ll wait until you’re sure about me because I am sure about you.”

That did it, after the way he’d touched her this afternoon, what they’d said here in this room, she couldn’t hold back any longer. As she kissed him again, she began undoing the buttons of his shirt.

“Ainsley,” he warned. “What are you doing?”

“Getting to know you,” she murmured as she slid her lips down the column of his neck. “For example, what does your chest look like?”

With each button she undid, she kissed lower against his chest. She had every intention of doing to him what he’d done to her, but first, she needed to take off some of her own clothing. She could not do it in this corset.

Once she’d undone his shirt she climbed off the side of the bed and pulled his arms until he followed. Then, she pushed the fabric down over his shoulders, until it fell to the floor. “Now help me out of these clothes,” she said softly her voice husky.

“I don’t think I should, love,” his eyes were all over her, devouring her every curve.

She could tell him that she was uncomfortable and then he would help with her corset without hesitation but she didn’t want to. She wanted to know if his words were really true. “James,” her husky voice floated in the air between them. “Do it.”

She saw the ripple of need that passed over him and in an instant he was undoing the buttons of her simple gown. It pooled at her feet as he plucked at her stays. She gave a moan of pleasure as it fell away and he groaned in response.

“I don’t know if I can hold back again, Ainsley.” His lips found hers in a series of frantic kisses that were only interrupted when he plucked off another article of her clothing.

“I don’t want you to.” She gasped as the cool air hit her bare skin.

“Bloody hell, you’re so beautiful,” he nearly growled the words as he gathered her against his chest, their bare flesh coming together and making her shiver. “Say my name again.”

“James, take off your clothes,” she half demanded, half pleaded. She wanted to feel more of him, touch every part of him.

He laid her on the bed and then standing over her stripped off his boots, breeches, and stockings. Then he kissed his way back up her body, making her gasp, pant and moan. “I was supposed to do this to you,” she managed to say between breaths as he lavished affection of each of her breasts.

He grinned as he plucked one nipple with his lips. “Oh love,” he said, as he kissed up her neck, his hand coming to the sensitive flesh between her legs. “I won’t refuse you. Not that, not anything.”

As his finger slid inside of her, she felt the rightness of his touch, the feeling of being complete and she arched against him. “Yes,” she hissed.

Quicker than she could have imagined, he slid his digit back out and the tip of his manhood took its place, pressing into her. There was a moment where it was incredible, sensation filling her body until the stab of pain came.

He stilled above and began kissing her face, his hands smoothing her hair. And then, haltingly, he began to sing to her. More of a hum really, but she felt it against her chest, the comfort of it and as she focused on it, the pain receded and then was gone.

They began to move together as the pleasure slowly returned and the tempo beat a song of its own. As their passion crashed together and they broke apart in each other’s arms Ainsley wondered what would happen if she said his name now. “James,” she murmured against his ear.

“Yes,” he asked, gathering her close to his chest.

“How do you feel about me?”

“I love you,” he answered.

Her chest fluttered with emotion as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. “I love you too.”

They stayed locked like that for the longest time and Ainsley had the feeling that if they could just stay like that forever, than everything would remain perfect. But she couldn’t help but worry what tomorrow would bring.