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She looked away, her gaze darting around the rooround her in reality

Christopher caught her shoulders, preventing her from escape "Tel me By God, we have toous"

"There is no ‘us,’" she whispered, sucking in a fortifying breath only to find her senses inundated with the scents of bergamot soap and starch The scent of Christopher

"You knoish that were true," he said softly, his head lowering, his lips parting an instant before they touched hers His hand slipped into the neckline of her che heat that burned through her, and he took advantage, his tongue gliding deep

Expert fingers found her hardened nipple and pinched it, rolled it, plucked at it until her knees weakened

He caught her up then, lifting her feet fro her to the bed

"Hoe end this," she asked, with her hot face pressed into his shoulder, "if we ain?"

"That question requires reason to answer it," heover her, his hands on either side of her hips, he gave her that slow seductive smile that she was helpless to resist "But there is no reason to what is between us There never has been"

Maria was touched by his gentleness Her heart began to race, and suddenly unable to look at the emotion in his eyes, she closed her own

She felt the ertip dipped into the hol ow of her throat and then slid doard between her breasts "Talk to ht of her breast, then h her chemise Her back bowed upward in startled pleasure and her eyes flew open

Christopher sat up again and shrugged out of his heavy silk coat "Tel me Before I move on to rown, but youa riot of ehtened but curious, anxious but eager Her stoh she knehat was about to happen

This time would be different, she knew Beyond her experience

A dark golden brow arched as his fingers moved to the ivory buttons of his waistcoat "My first sexual encounter was against a wal in a filthy all ey

She was a decade older than I, and an accohly knowledgeable in such matters, but she knew and took it upon herself to instruct ht my hand, led me outside, and lifted her skirts I was determined to hold to the lie, of course, so I rode her hard and Well, and didn’t stop until every one of the h his voice was light, she heard so beneath it that touched her deeply Who was thisin her bedrooone to hio?

Christopher stood and divested himself of the waistcoat, then quickly followed it with his shirtsleeves, breeches, stockings, and heels Gloriously naked, he crawled onto the bed next to her He rolled her into his side, arranging her into a similar position as the last tihed with deep pleasure

Her hand over his heart, Maria looked out thethrough her sheers and appreciated how, for the e

"So tel me," he murmured, his lips in her hair, "what do you mean when you say you feel as an adolescent would?"

If we cannot discuss the present, that leaves us with only our pasts

"Dayton was h the light olden brown hairs on his chest

"I had heard that"

"He was very much in love with the first Lady Dayton But even had he not been, I think he would have found ardless"

"Oh?"

Maria felt the expectation and curiosity within the tension of Christopher’s fra and curious, and--"

"Hot blooded," he supplied with an affectionate kiss to the crown of her head, which she returned with one pressed to a hard brown nipple "Do not attempt to distract me," he admonished "You will finish your tale first"

"Dayton notedmen and took me aside He asked if there was one of the servants in particular I found "

"You told him?" Christopher tilted her chin up to reveal his raised brows

"Not immediately I was too e across her cheeks was any indication

"How lovely you are when you blush," he murmured