Noelle swayed as her runaway pulse pounded through her veins. She wrapped her arms about Benjamin and held on tight, the locket about her neck now sheltered between two hearts instead of one. Perhaps then they could be whole.

She did not blame him for the estranged relationship with his grandfather. Nor could she blame him for the resulting distaste for all things Cressmouth and Christmas.

Her heart dipped in sympathy. They had both lost their parents. It was not an easy thing to get over.

Noelle had never had a family portrait before, or any relic of her parents whatsoever. Had she possessed such a priceless heirloom, she would have cherished it above all others. No wonder Benjamin had done the same.

By entrusting his most treasured possession to her keeping, it was as though he was sharing his family with her. As if she too were deserving of such love. As if Noelle held equal weight in his heart.

How could she help but love him?

Her pulse skipped in warning. It was no longer a suspicion in the back of her mind. She was hopelessly, madly, deeply in love with a man who would leave her behind. Abandon her, just as her own parents had done.

No. Not as her parents had done. They had left no sign, no word, no token of affection. Benjamin was here. His lips pressed to hers, his tongue hot and demanding. From any other man, a locket would be nothing more than a piece of jewelry. In Benjamin’s case, he had given her his heart.

At least, as much as he was willing to part with.

Could she not do the same? She yearned to reveal herself to him, body and soul. The thought of such a risk terrified her now more than ever, but this was their last opportunity.

“I thought you didn’t want me,” she whispered against his mouth.

He raised his head sharply, his gaze intense. “I pushed you away not because I don’t want you, but because I cannot keep you. Yet I long for you like a sapling longs for rain. Although I know I cannot stay, I long to touch you, to taste you, to feel you against my skin.”

Noelle’s lungs caught. She had known he would not offer empty promises. Those words were simultaneously the most romantic and the most devastating thing he could have said to her.

The golden locket about her neck was the reason he had returned to Cressmouth. The locket was the reason he was here in her arms right now. It was his heart, divided into halves. One side contained the past. The other side was for the future.

They had both seen that the future was empty. But today did not have to be.

She wanted Benjamin more than anything under the sun. Their differences might be irreconcilable, but she wouldn’t let that stop her from enjoying him for as long as she could.

“I never stopped thinking of you,” she confessed between kisses. “Night after night, replaying your touch in my mind. Your kiss. Wondering what else we might have shared if we’d had time.”

His dark gaze was tortured. “It isn’t just time that divides us. If it weren’t for everything that lies outside these walls, I would make love to you all night.”

A delicious shiver slid down her spine. She sank her fingers into his hair to pull him close. “Then why don’t you?”

His mouth claimed hers, his hands cupping her bottom to pull her tight against him. “Because you deserve so much more than I can give.”

He was trying to scare her away. It wouldn’t work. Noelle already knew the end of the story and was choosing him anyway. If her heart was destined to break, she would take every bit of pleasure while she still could.

“Give what you can,” she whispered. “Take what you please.”

His breath was ragged. “Noelle—”

“One night,” she said as she tasted his lips. “Unless you aren’t interested.”

“All I want is you,” he growled. “But if I cannot offer marriage, I certainly cannot rob you of your virginity.”

“You cannot steal what is freely given,” she reminded him.

“It’s not honorable,” he said, want and indecision warring in his eyes. “A gentleman wouldn’t—”

“—say ‘no’ to a lady. Especially not if it’s what he wants, too.” She cupped his cheek. “If there won’t be a second chance, shouldn’t we take the one we have?”

He kissed the inside of her palm, her wrist, her lips. “Being with you is the one thing that makes me happy.”

She wrapped her arms about his neck. “Don’t we deserve one night of happiness together?”

“One night. Just for us.” He lifted her in his strong arms.

She held on tight. “A night to remember.”

In a few swift strides, they reached the bedchamber and tumbled atop the bed.

She pushed all thought of losing him out of her head and focused on being fully here in this moment. The soft down of her bed. The hard muscle in his body. The bright crackle of the fire. The matching flame deep inside her.

Her heart soared higher with each kiss. She had dreamed of this, dreamed of him. The weight of his body pressed against her. She thrilled at the sensation, at the knowledge that soon she would know him more intimately than she had ever dreamed.

When he slid to one side, separating from her, she tried to break the kiss to complain about the loss. Before she could do so, his hand lifted her breast from its bodice and words failed her completely. She felt beautiful. Cherished.

Her fingers dug into the mattress with pleasure as he toyed with her bosom. Each touch of her nipple sent waves of desire through her body. This was what she had longed for. True connection.

When he moved his mouth down to her exposed breasts, she flung her arms up over her head and arched into him. She gave her body to him and in return he aroused her more than she had believed possible. It was all she could do not to claw the clothes from their bodies.

As he teased her bosom with his mouth, he tugged the hems of her skirts from her ankles to her hips. She gasped at the sensation of cool air against her exposed skin, of his hot mouth over her nipple. When his hand cupped between her legs and dipped in teasing circles, her body responded at once. She gripped his shoulders, digging her fingernails into the material to ensure he did not cease his ministrations.

A tightness was uncurling deep inside her. A fullness, a wanting. Every lick of his tongue, every flick and dip of his finger brought her closer and closer to the edge. Every time he gave, she wanted more. It was heaven and torture twisted into one. Her body pulsed with need. Something was happening. Something like…

All at once, she could withstand the delicious pressure no longer and shattered against his fingers.

“More,” she gasped when she finally caught her breath. “Not your hand. I want you.”

He covered her mouth with his as he unbuttoned the fall of his breeches. At once, the weight of his shaft fell against her, hot and heavy, nestled perfectly against the juncture of her thighs. He reached between them, as if making certain she was ready for him.

She was more than ready. She was impatient. She wanted to give him the same pleasure he had given her. She wanted to find an even greater peak together.

As he eased into her, inch by inch, she wrapped her legs about him and brought him closer, deeper. Not just into her body, but into her heart. Into her soul.

The sharp stab of pain as he entered her was quickly replaced by renewed desire. Her pulse raced as she lost herself in his kiss.

Joining with him was more than she dreamed. But when he rocked his hips and started to move… She held on tight, allowing the sensations to run through her, opening herself to him completely, taking everything he had been trying so hard not to give. In return, she would share everything she had.

If only for one night.