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She nodded, so entranced by his low, sensual whisper that she’d lost any capacity for denial

"I want to see it," he said "Letshe rereen

His hands slid to her back, and the closures of her gown "You wore it for me, so let me see it Just the shift, love Just the shift Do you kno long it’s been since I’ve seen a girl in a plain white shift?"

Susanna didn’t like speculating on the answer to that question She only knew she hated all the girls who had come before

His lips brushed her cheek, her neck The scrape of his whiskers set her senses ablaze "Let me see you I only want to look"

"Only look?"

"Maybe touch, just a little But only through your shift I swear, nothing more I’ll remain clothed If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop" He tipped her chin "You can trust me"

Could she? She felt herself nod

His hands slid around her ribs and went to the closures at the back of her gown "Are these false buttons?"

Without waiting for her answer, he eased the top hook free Then another And another Her bodice began to gape in front Cool night air rushed over her skin, drawing her nipples to tight peaks

"Brao somewhere else?" He loosened another closure at the back of her gown Her left sleeve slipped fro ainst her stays as she struggled for breath

Her gaze darted to the Blushing Pansy

"No one can see," heher close His lips brushed the side of her neck "They’re all occupied in the tavern Don’t think of anyone else It’s just the two of us right now"

Another hook surrendered, and she felt her gown falling away He drew the right sleeve down her shoulder, trailing kisses down the side of her neck As if by instinct, she tilted her head to give hiue slid lazily over her pulse, setting her senses aflaht to want this"

His words soothed her nerves Still, her fingers trembled as she drew her arms out of her sleeves Once she’d freed them, the violet silk bodice fell slack at her hips From the waist up, she was clothed only in her corset and chemise

His hands went to the sht knot He fumbled a bit as he picked the tapes loose, as if his hands were unsteady That subtle hint of uncertainty was co

The laces slid free of their holes, and her corset fell away fro and fresh He let the garrass With it went all her confidence Shehow vulnerable and exposed she felt

"What shall I do?" Her voice shook

His breath caressed her ear "Just breathe" He pressed a kiss to her jaw "Just be here withher entire body

Just be you, he said He didn’t want her to be different He didn’t wish she were someone else He just wanted her to be herself

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him full on the lips Because those precious words deserved a kiss Buthim hat shethe kiss by slow, sensuous degrees His tongue teased and coaxed, and she responded in kind They kissed in an unhurried, almost playful fashion For a minute And then matters becaed at her gown, pushing it down over her hips "All of you Now"

She helped hiave way and slipped to the ground in a shi pool He took both her hands and helped her step free Then he stood back froaze roamed over her Every inch of her Beneath the thin er the silence stretched, the rew Then more uncertain Her shift was thin, but it was so dark Just how much could he see? Did he like what he sa did she coirls he’d seen in plain white shifts, so very long ago?

"Lovely" A ragged sigh shook free of his chest "So lovely Thank you"

He drew a single fingertip up the inner slope of her arm As his touch swept over her scars, she held her breath But her wounds didn’t give him aover her shoulder and dipping his fingers to the neckline of her shift His touch blazed a fiery trail across the tops of her unbound breasts "But there’s nothing in the worldthan a shift like this Sweet and pure, yet so revealing Lace, ribbons, silks, fursNothing can co her breast She sed anxiously But he stayed cal pressure and rolling the taut nipple beneath his thuhtful tilt of his head, he turned his attention toward her other breast Now he cupped thehtas though he were testing and weighing thee He pinched both her nipples at the saasped with surprise and pleasure

She covered the noise with a nervous laugh "Couldn’t you at least kiss me when you do that?"

"Gladly"

His lips brushed the hollow of her throat Again, and then again Light, feathery kisses that tore apart her resistance, shredded any resolve His hands roamed her curves