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His naain A name she had not spoken in years A na it into her head only a night, in her dreaurine she had dropped Without a word, he set it back on the table, his intense gaze never wavering froave her a jolt

He had never looked at her in such a fashion

Then it struck her that he did not recognize her--not htness in her chest lessened as relief swept through her Her hand flew to her mask She drew an even breath at the feel of black silk stretched over stiff brocade Still there

Cocking his head, he gestured behind hied a quick nod, drinking in the sight of him He was taller than she remembered His skin darker, his shock of brown hair sun-streaked There was a hardness to his mouth and eyes that had not been there before Yet she would remember those molten brown eyes anywhere The same eyes invaded her dreams to this day

Broad of shoulder and lean of hip, he towered over the rooh he stood braced at the helm of a ship His dark jacket and trousers contrasted sharply to the roo his otten him over the years Should not have followed news of the war in Canton so closely Should not feel so shaken at the sight of him now

"Can you not speak?" he inquired, his voice deeper, richer than she remembered

She nodded, forcing her lips to fors stirred to life in the pit of her belly

Her sister may not have wanted him--at least not within the bounds of matrimony--but Jane had She had wanted hi Had looked at hi as she could remember and prayed that he would feel for her what he felt for her sister She would have risked her parents’ wrath, risked anything, everything, for him to love her back Only his love had been reserved for Madeline Not Jane Never her

Not then and certainly not now

She pressed a hand to her face, her skin disturbingly hot against her pal to that particular reality and not get swept away by the sight of hi-starved heart

"Yes?" he echoed, his voice low, a drag of velvet against her overheated skin "Then you aze prowled her face "A woular"

Her throat constricted as he neared, stepping so close the smell of hine, earthy and wild, re Her eyes drifted shut

A thousand ih herin the fall, holly gathering in the winter He had been her life’s one pleasure More constant than the parents who preferred her sister to her--and who reed revived itself in her mind, fresh and crisp as yesterday Over the years she had wondered if she could have done so, to prevent it

Madeline did not usually acco the indoors, but for soh apple trees in full bloo a on the air

Seth and Madeline had lagged behind and Jane had glanced back, her heart surging to her throat at the sight of Seth clirin on his face, her younger sister giggling below

He dropped down fro of apple blossoreat care, he secured the delicate bundle over Madeline’s ear The lowed in his eyes Tenderness, devotion, and desire All for Madeline

So and extinguishing frole look--a look she had one day prayed to receive, a look he gave to another, her sister

A shudder washed through Jane and she pushed the unwanted memory to the shadows of herher eyes, she found Seth staring intently at her

"Where’d you go?" he

She sucked in a breath and dipped her head, allier beneath her chin and forced her gaze back up with a single burning touch

Unable to resist, she leaned into his touch, wanting to feelfor what she had missed, what had never been hers

Surprise flickered in his eyes His gaze scanned her face, assessing, inquiring with a lift of his slashing black brows His fingers slid beneath her chin, skih escaped her

He sed visibly, the tendons along his throat working

Recalling herself, she pulled back before she did soet herself entirely With ato do with her if he knew her identity

Desperate to escape his nearness, his touch, his heat, she stepped back until she felt cold glass penetrating the fabric of her gown

Only he followed, caging her in, thebeneath the scar A feverish gleaers over her cheek, sparking a fire in her blood that forced the air from her mouth in a hiss

The calluses of his palazed down at her, the dark centers of his eyes glowing "Are you real? Or some enchantress?"

His hot look robbed her of breath, especially when her last memory of him contained no such looks In fact, he had looked at her very little in the end In the end, she had simply not existed to him

"Why do you look at me so?" His hoarse voice scraped over her nerves

Hysteria bubbled up inside her

Because I loved you Once When I knew you When you knew aze or the way his touchnumb

She didn’t know, but she didn’t dare let herself find out

And why not? You’re no insipid virgin Why not experience everything his hot look pro you ever wanted? Would that not be the ultiaze dropped to his mouth, the lips wide and sensual despite the scar She leaned forward, letting her brsts graze his chest, iue over that corner of his mouth