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She didn’t seereat deal like relief spread over her face and she looped her arms around his neck and tried to pull his mouth down to her lips

James didn’t let her Instead, he picked her up and half threw her onto the bed, then crawled on top of her, acutely conscious of his bulk and er than hell," he re

The ser to pull his head to hers and ran her fingers up his ar in his gut eased, but he had more to say

"I don’t give a twopenny damn what you wear under your skirts, but if you wear drawers, I ht rip theht now that I feel as if I’ve lost my mind I’ve never really wanted any woman but you" He took a deep breath "My ns of how dead I was Dead to you, dead to the world Dead to myself"

Her eyes softened, and she cupped his cheek with her hand "You’re back now"

"I a, Daisy I can’t pretend to be some sort of lily-livered, bloodless version of myself anymore I can’t be Trevelyan"

"I don’t want you to be"

"I need you to co depended on it

Her brows drew together

"I need you to find the courage you had when you were my Daisy" He chose his words as precisely as he could "I died to myself--and to you--for a few years, but part of you died as well You won’t allow yourself to feel joy"

"I feel joy," she objected "At ti And desire isabout your body that is distasteful to ive a da in our , and he didn’t knohether that was bad or good, but he kept going "You can make love to me any way you please, and I will never, ever deny you For my part, I want to kiss you everywhere I always did, and it hasn’t gone away It’s even stronger We’ll be at dinner with the Regent hi where and hoill kiss you"

Her eyes shone with tears

"Here," he said, running a finger over her lower lip "Here" He shifted to the side and wrapped a possessive hand about one of her breasts It plumped in his hand and a little sound broke froaze, he ran his fingers, fast and rough, over her belly and into the little tuft of as She et and warers sliding back to caress the asped, but he could see a faint shadow of pleasure on her face even as she squirmed away from his touch

"There is no place on your body that I don’t want to kiss, Daisy That I don’t lust after Because this is the ave her nipple a kiss and a warm lick "And this is thethrough her tears, and she pulled him back up

But he wasn’t finished, still wasn’t finished "I’ll kiss you in the Regent’s own dining room if you’ll let me You’re the only one for me I calad you came back for me," she whispered A tear like liquid crystal ran down her cheek and disappeared into her hair

"I never should have left you"