Through the raging storm of desire breaking inside Edmund, some distant voice of sanity called to him.

Gentle.

Her lips were so soft under his, so yielding and sweet. God, he wanted more, yet he checked himself for fear of frightening her.

He cupped the nape of her neck and let himself relish the feel of the damp tendrils of hair clinging there. When he drew her bottom lip gently into his mouth, he was rewarded with a shiver and the ripple of gooseflesh under his palm.

Looping his other arm around her waist, he slowly pulled her closer until he could feel her soft breasts against his chest, her ribs straining against the rigidity of her corset with each of her ragged breaths.

When he flicked his tongue along her lip, asking entrance, she opened with one of her little gasps. Their tongues met in the damp heat of her mouth, and the pleasure hit him so hard that he actually jerked slightly. He willed his body to cool, to slow in its spiral toward the point of no return, but then she laid her hands on his shoulders, and he feared he would never be able to stop.

He deepened their kiss, tilting his head to claim more of her mouth. She moaned, and the vibrations shot straight to his manhood. For all that Thea was everything a proper English governess should be—calm, decisive, composed—he sensed a deep well of untamed desire within her. She read gothic novels. She met his gaze boldly. And aye, she moaned at his kiss.

Abruptly, she pulled back. Panting in confusion, Edmund tried to focus his gaze on her face. Had he misread her?

Nay, for her dewy skin glowed pinkly and her pale blue eyes were glazed with pleasure and unfulfilled desire.

“We shouldn’t,” she breathed.

He carefully untangled his fingers from the hair at her nape and stepped back, but only enough to create a sliver of cold air between them. “Why no’?”

She faltered. “Because I am a governess.”

“Is it propriety ye are worried about then?” he asked. “Because ye shouldnae. This is the Highlands, no’ London—or York, for that matter. Besides, nothing we could do would cause a greater scandal than when my sister married a farmer. I assume yer family has fallen out of fortune, otherwise ye wouldnae need to work as a governess, but ye arenae a commoner.”

Edmund winced once the words had tumbled out. Bloody hell, what was he thinking, mentioning marriage, her family’s wealth—or lack thereof—and creating a scandal, all in one breath? If he meant to soothe her nerves, he’d no doubt just done the opposite.

Sure enough, Thea blanched a ghostly white. “What…what do you know of my family?”

Edmund felt his brows draw down. That was what disturbed her most out of everything he’d said?

“Nothing,” he replied, puzzled. “Only that governesses usually come from families of noble origin that have fallen on hard times.”

Why was he blathering on about her family and their status when he could be kissing her instead—or telling her what she meant to him?

Slowly, he took her hand in his and lifted it between them. “If ye are worried that this is some dalliance for me, the lord of the house chasing the governess’s skirts or some such, ye neednae fear on that score. I…I care about ye, Thea. A great deal.”

She met his gaze. “I care about you, too. A great deal.”

His heart lurched against his ribs at her words. “We cannae run from this, or deny it.”

“No,” Thea said, shaking her head slowly. “We can’t. But…”

“But ye are still afraid,” he murmured. “Of what, sweeting?”

He watched as distress, then sadness crossed her bonny features. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Edmund raised her hand to his mouth to halt her struggles. “Speak on it only when—or if—ye are ready,” he breathed against her knuckles, then placed a kiss there. He lifted his head, capturing her troubled gaze. “I would only ask that ye listen to yer heart and give this a chance. Dinnae leave, lass. No’ when we’ve only just found each other.”

At last, Thea’s brow smoothed and her eyes softened. “I promise,” she said.

When the rain ebbed at last, Edmund took her arm under his and guided her back to the castle, his heart expanding with hope for what could lay ahead.