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"What did she say?" Eleanor asked, feeling that she ought to ive voice to a scream: Are you as cracked as Lisette?

"She snapped her fingers and said that she would teach the for such foolishness Of course, she herself doesn’t care She lives here so happily, without being caught in the absurd farce that s came to mind, but they all seemed too severe, so Eleanor said merely, "Lisette truly does not care for societal conventions"

"It’s as if she’s designed to mother these particular children," Villiers said

"You are not bound to me in any fashion," Eleanor pointed out "I announced our betrothal merely to placate my mother, as I’m sure you realized Or perhaps I meant to irritate her I’m quite certain that one would do better not to initiate a rounds"

"Probably not," he agreed

His s inside her, so she said, rather quickly, "Well, now that we’ve settled that, I really should retire It’s growing chilly and I’m not properly dressed"

But he didn’t move, and neither did she

"Damn it," he said finally, very quietly

And when he crossed those two steps between them, she wound her ar in the world Neither of them moved for a moment She could feel the heat and hardness of his body

Finally she leaned in and siue to his lips "Hello," she whispered

"What’s my name?" he whispered back

"Lucifer!"

The lines by his eyes crinkled and she kneas s at her, but it didn’t matter because he bent his head and kissed her It was slow, it was possessive, it was voluptuous He was a master of the kiss…and the ht his pale of her towel

"Leopold!" she said, breaking away from his kiss

"Ah, you re at her in the ht His teeth were very white; his hair was out of its ribbon and he looked free

She suddenly realized that the way he loved to play with her, to provoke her to call hierous--not only to her reputation, but also to her heart

Even now his finger was tracing a little flower on her back, inside the dip of her towel

"I o inside," she said "I really must"

"Say my name one o of my towel, if you please"

With a rueful smile in his eyes, he left one final touch on her back, a touch that burned like fire, and stepped back

"I’ll infor," she said

She could tell that he’d forgotten the subject, and it gave her a queer spasm of female pride "I’ll tell my mother that we shall not marry," she clarified "So that you can speak to Lisette Unless…you already have?"

His eyes cooled "I have amy has never been one of them"

"We’re not married," she protested

He bowed and turned away, but she wasn’t going to allow that

"Leopold!" she snapped, reaching out for his arm "We are not children, and I won’t tolerate your silent reproach merely because I queried you"