The next week passed in a blur. The fourth of July came and went, and Elle’s days were consumed with her work at the castle. She gave daily private tours for their guests and public tours on the weekend, which had been a huge hit and nearly always sold out. The one thing she hadn’t counted on, though, were the royal groupies. The ones who came for a tour solely for the purpose of trying to see Theo. To meet him. To flirt with him.

Theo. Yes, her nights were consumed with him. No, not in a literal sense. They had seen each other only in passing since their encounter in the gazebo and never alone. But she fantasized about him all the time, maybe a little too much. The way he’d held her…so tender yet so fierce. Gah. She was so done for where he was concerned.

“The castle was built in nineteen sixty-five,” she told the group in front of her, “although you’ll find many architectural details that hail back to the classic castles of eighteenth century England.”

“That’s because my grandfather’s love of America was only surpassed by his love of classic British architecture.” Theo stepped into the room to a collective gasp from the members of her tour group. He wore crisp, black slacks and a navy button-down shirt, his dark hair curling around the collar.

Heat traveled over her skin as their eyes met. Although Theo often greeted guests of the inn, he had never put in an appearance during one of her public tours. Until now.

“Mr. Langdon, it’s such a pleasure to meet you,” a woman from the group said.

“Likewise.” He flashed her a charming smile, and something dark twisted in Elle’s chest.

“The castle is so beautiful. What’s it like to actually live here?” The woman sidled in close, making sure he got a good view of her ample cleavage.

“I find it rather too large, actually,” Theo told her. “I much prefer my flat in London.”

“Oh really? You live in London?”

It went on like that for the next fifteen minutes, with the women from the tour group hanging all over him, blatantly flirting with him. Theo was gracious with them all, to the point where Elle wanted to kick him in the shins a few times. Did he really need to be that polite? Why was he even here anyway?

Okay, fine. She was jealous. Ridiculously so.

She didn’t have any claim to him, no more so than any of the women here did. If he wanted to hang out and flirt with the royal groupies, she ought to be grateful. Once word spread, demand for the tours would certainly go up.

But, in the meantime…ugh.

By the time he finally excused himself, Elle was feeling considerably less cheerful than she had been when the tour started. As he left the room, he winked at her and flashed her a smile, making her pulse flutter and her cheeks warm.

This attraction to Theo was completely out of control. Her whole body went nuts every time she was in the same room with him. She’d never reacted to a man like this before.

That’s called chemistry, love, he’d said.

It was something, all right. She finished up the tour and walked her guests out to their cars, then went into the kitchen for a quick supper before taking the dogs out for their nightly walk.

“I can’t believe no one’s taken you guys home yet,” she told Darcy and Remington as she walked them down to the barn and back. Remington was more hyper than usual since she hadn’t gotten a chance to jog with him in a few days, but it was late, and she was too tired tonight. She brought them back to her room and changed into her pajamas, but once she was in bed, she lay there blinking into the darkness, too restless to sleep.

Since everyone else in the castle was already in bed, she crept down to the theater. She’d seen an enormous stash of classic movies in there, and as it happened, the classics were her favorites. There was something so beautiful about them, a flair that had been lost in modern day Hollywood. She selected her all-time favorite, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and slid the Blu-ray into the player in the entertainment center.

She curled up in one of the big leather theater chairs in the room, smiling as Audrey Hepburn appeared on the screen in her iconic black dress and oversized sunglasses. And wow, the Langdons’ movie screen was really impressive. She leaned back in the chair, making herself more comfortable. Her eyelids drooped. The next thing she knew, Theo was leaning over her.

“Boo,” he said softly.

“What are you doing here?” And how long had she been asleep? She rubbed her eyes, blinking past him to see the ending credits for Breakfast at Tiffany’s up on the screen.

“Worked late. Saw the lights on in here so I came to investigate.”

She sat up, still somewhat disoriented but awake enough to notice he’d changed out of the neatly-pressed pants and button-down shirt he’d had on when he visited the tour group earlier. Now he wore khaki shorts and a snug-fitting T-shirt, his cheeks dusted with dark stubble. “You changed,” she blurted.

“I did,” he said, looking amused.

“I slept through my movie.”

“Apparently so,” he said, looking even more amused. “And you’re adorable when you’re half-asleep.”

That was enough to zap her awake. She glanced down at herself, realizing she had on the same pajamas she’d worn when she interrupted him in his grandfather’s game room, and like that night, she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath the flimsy pink tank top. When she looked back up, Theo had followed her gaze and was staring at her breasts, his expression heated.

“Don’t you have a group of tourists to go flirt with or something?” she asked, annoyed as she felt her nipples harden beneath his gaze.

He looked up, a wicked smile on his face. “Why, Elle Davenport, are you jealous?”

“No.” Yes.

“Only one woman in this castle interests me, and that’s you.” His gaze smoldered into hers. “I stopped by the tour group because you asked me to, and I tolerated those grabby-handed women because my title demands that I behave a certain way in public.”

“Oh.” Her throat had gone dry.

“So.” He sank into the theater chair beside her, reclining it to match hers. “What are we going to do about this?” He gestured between them.

“I, um, what?” She tucked her feet beneath her, turning to face him.

“We have two options, as far as I see it. Either we forget all the reasons why you and I are a bad idea and go for it, or I rearrange my schedule and we attempt not to see each other anymore.”

“Oh…really?” Her heart was beating so hard she could feel it shaking the thin cotton of her pajama top. The thought of not seeing him again sounded awful, and really, why was it a bad idea for them to go for it, anyway? In her half-asleep lust-drunk brain, sleeping with Theo sounded like the best idea she’d ever had.

“We don’t seem to be capable of being around each other without being unprofessional.” His voice dropped on that last word, sending a hot shiver down her spine. “In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve fantasized about having you in my bed just about every night this week.”

Holy shit.

“I don’t want you to change your schedule,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

“What do you want?” The look in his eyes could only be described as…hungry.

She felt the warm tug of desire deep inside her. “You.”

“I was sure as hell hoping you’d say that.” He dragged his gaze over her body, leaving heat everywhere he looked.

“Theo…” She paused, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Yes?”

“This is a strange conversation to have while I’m sitting here and you’re over there.”

A wide grin covered his face. “So it is.” He held out his hand. When she took it, he tugged her out of her chair so that she half-sprawled on top of him, landing in his lap. “Better?”

“Much.” She leaned forward, breathing in his scent. Her knees sank down on either side of his thighs so that she was straddling him, and yep, this was much better.

He took her face in his hands, guiding her lips to his. They met with a hungry gasp, a crash of eager lips and the hot glide of his tongue against hers. This kiss was desperate yet tender, greedy yet longing. She felt hyper-aware of every nerve in her body, the hot thrill of his hands as they slid up her back beneath her pajama top, the rough scrape of his cheeks against hers, the delicious friction of his khaki shorts against her bare thighs.

He reached between them to adjust himself, and the thick length of his erection pressed between her legs. The pulsing ache inside her intensified.

“I’ve been fantasizing about these pajamas since I saw you in them the first time.” His voice sounded like gravel, his breath hot against her skin.

“I probably shouldn’t wear them outside my room.” She gasped as he sucked at a tender spot on her neck.

“As long as I’m the only one who gets to see you in them, I think they’re perfect.” He cupped her breasts, scraping the pads of his thumbs across her nipples. They hardened beneath his touch, her breasts heavy and aching.

“Only you,” she whispered.

“I’ve wanted to touch you so badly.” His hands slid down to palm her ass, pressing her against the hard ridge of his cock. “It’s been torture watching you every day in your sexy dresses and keeping my hands to myself.”

“Oh.” Just thinking about him lusting after her that way was about the most erotic thing she could imagine.

“Your dresses are hot.” He trailed his fingers over her thigh, tracing an imaginary hemline. “But you turn me on no matter what you’re wearing.”

“I’ve fantasized about you too…about you touching me.”

“Like this?” His hand slid inside her shorts, cupping her through her panties. “How do you want me to touch you, Elle?”

“I want your hand on my bare skin,” she whispered.

“It would be my absolute pleasure.” With a sound almost like a growl, he reached inside her panties, stroking her hot, aching flesh.

A needy gasp escaped her throat. Tension coiled in her belly as he pushed two fingers inside her, stroking her with his deliciously talented fingers while he kissed her senseless with his equally-talented mouth. He set a rhythm that had her spiraling toward release embarrassingly soon.

“I want to feel you come around my fingers.” His voice sounded sinful and rough, and it sent her right over the edge. She bucked in his lap as the orgasm rushed through her, leaving her limp and shuddering in its aftermath. “Beautiful,” he said, his fingers still moving inside her. “Absolutely beautiful.”

“Theo…” She reached down to grip him through his shorts. He pulsed in her hand, impossibly hard.

“It’s late. You’re tired.” His eyes gleamed hot in the half-light of the room.

“I’m not tired anymore.”

“Be sure, Elle.” Theo lifted her hand from his cock, kissing her palm.

“I’m sure. Take me to your bed.”

He didn’t need to hear that invitation twice. He stood, taking Elle with him. She glanced down at the tent in his shorts, her cheeks blushing adorably pink. God, he needed her. He led her out of the theater, down the hall, and out the side door that led into the gardens.

They walked along the path toward the guest house. Around them, the night was dark and still, broken only by the chirping of crickets and the splash of the fountain. He paused for a moment in front of it, unable to wait another moment without kissing her. Her lips were warm and soft beneath his.

He was completely, helplessly hung up on this woman. He kissed her in the moonlight, absorbing every movement of their bodies together, the breathless gasp that escaped her lips, the tug of her fingers as they slid through his hair, the way her hips pressed against his. In the distance, thunder rumbled, and a breeze whipped around them, tossing her curls around his shoulders.

She lifted her head, glancing toward the castle behind them. “I saw you out here the other night.”

“Did you?” He kissed the pulse-point on her neck, feeling it jump beneath his lips.

“What were you doing?”

“Looking for something.” He took her hand, leading her toward the guest house, his cock painfully hard inside his shorts. His need for her was powerful. He was going to have to slow things down, way down, once they reached the guest house in order to take his time with her.

“Did you find it?” she asked.

It took him a moment to drag his thoughts away from his aching cock to remember the night he’d searched the fountain. “No.”

They reached his front door, and he opened it, motioning her in ahead of him. “Wine?” he asked, walking to the bar along the far wall. He turned on the lamp by the couch.

“Sure.”

He poured two glasses from an open bottle of red and brought one to her. She took it and sipped, watching him closely.

“You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Then what?” Because he could practically hear the thoughts churning inside her pretty head.

“I just…I can’t quite believe I’m here.”

“That makes two of us.” He wrapped an arm around her, drawing her up against him. Lightning flickered outside the window, and thunder rumbled again, closer this time. “Sounds like a storm’s brewing.”

“I love a good summer thunderstorm as long as I’m safe and dry inside.” Her eyes glittered with the glow of the lamp behind him.

“That’s good, because I don’t want anything to spoil the mood tonight.”

She smiled. “I don’t think anything could.”

“I need to kiss you again.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

He took the wineglass from her hand and set it on the table beside them, then backed her against the wall. Their lips clashed, and their limbs tangled, guided by an increasing urgency as the air between them thickened, heavy with lust and need. His cock throbbed to the beat of his pulse, harder and faster, as their kiss deepened.

Outside, rain beat against the windows, and wind lashed the trees. The boom and sizzle of the storm seemed to reflect the atmosphere between them. Elle hooked her fingers beneath his T-shirt and lifted it over his head. He did the same with her tank top, finally revealing her breasts to his hungry gaze.

“Gorgeous,” he said roughly. He bent his head to suck first one, then the other, into his mouth. Elle moaned, arching into him, her hips pressed against his, so hot he could feel her even through his shorts.

“Now, Theo,” she whispered, her thighs clamping around him.

He scooped her into his arms and carried her down the hall to his bedroom. He laid her on the bed and bent over her, peeling off her shorts and panties in one move. Before he’d had more than a glimpse of her naked body, she was on her knees, releasing the button of his shorts, pushing down the zipper, freeing him. He kicked away his clothes and rolled her beneath him, skin to skin, his cock pressed into the heat between her legs.

“Woke up from a dream like this the other night.” He rocked himself against her, savoring the ache, the burn of his need for her. “So hard it hurt and all alone in my bed.”

“This time it’s not a dream,” she whispered.

“Thank God.” He lowered his head and kissed her as lightning flashed outside his bedroom window. The boom of thunder that followed seemed to rattle the walls. It echoed through him as he reached between them, stroking her. Unable to wait another moment, he drew back and rummaged in the table beside his bed until he came up with the box of condoms he’d put there when he moved into the guest house earlier that summer. It was still unopened.

No woman had shared this bed with him. Not until tonight.