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Mr Jaht the bird to say "Mr James Bell"? Tartuffe must have been nearby when he came to escort Lily to the theater Bloody hell

What a fool he’d been just athere was no room for his past to intrude He hadn’t even been ined for himself and Lily threatened to crumble around him, all thanks to a loose-beaked, decrepit bird Panic closed in, cla rivulets of cold perspiration down his back

"Now you listen to er at the iet you ever heard that name Otherwise for tomorrow’s dinner, I will specially request parrot fricassee"

The bird cocked its head and regarded hier you and your entire species"

The parrot turned away in indignant silence

Julian threw the blanket over the cage "Wise bird"

As he made his way back to Lily’s chambers, he tried to convince himself this was no cause for concern So the parrot had learned the na Lily couldn’t even hear it None of the servants would ascribe any entleht have picked up the name anywhere

Julian paused with his hand on the bedcha the cool brass caled parrot to ruin his wedding day This hat he’d been waiting for all his life

This was love This was Lily

Resolving to banish all worries, he flung open the door And halted mid-step

Because this was Lily, naked

Lily paused, one foot propped on the bed steps, arrested in the act of rolling her stocking over her knee

Aside fro, and its untouched counterpart on her other leg, she was bare to the skin And Julian was standing in the doorway, utterly entranced

Oh, drat

"You …" she stammered "Er, that was fast"

He didn’t respond Merely … tilted his head a fraction His gaze roamed every part of her except her face Fortunately, her bent leg and a fall of unbound hair served to conceal her most private places from his view She didn’t dareherself coown, stays, and shift lay in an unhelpful heap on the floor

"Ibefore you returned," she explained, "and wait for you in bed, under the covers To surprise you"

He re

Lily blushed from head to toe Now that she’d explained herself, she hoped he would do her the courtesy of ducking back into the corridor, counting ten, and allowing her to finish But he showed no sign ofin agreement with himself "Much better"

Still, heat " He stayed her with an open palainst the doorjaht there, indeed Wherever would she go? She could act rab for her cheainly scramble up these low steps and dive under the bedclothes

But as vulnerable as she was in her nakedness, she wasn’t afraid She had power over hiainst his trouser fall His obvious arousal told her he had needs And the determined look in his eyes told her he had plans

She wanted to learn what they were

So she remained still, foot propped on the step and torso arched over her bent knee, watching hied out of his topcoat and waistcoat Stripped down to shirt and trousers, he crossed to her in sooseflesh as he advanced

He stopped at her side "I’ve wanted this for a long tiaze revealed the truth of his state ti detail What if the actual experience didn’t live up to his expectations? She wanted so much to please hirazed her cheek

"Always"

Cat-like, he slid around her body, coainst her back, then caught sight of his discarded shirt as it joined her garments on the floor A moment later, his trousers topped the pile She closed her eyes on a s better than to wait for smallclothes

His hands smoothed over her shoulders and ca her torso upright and pulling her back flush against his naked chest