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Dominic followed Roberta into the back gardens of his estate the following afternoon, watching the way the train of her cream-and-rose-colored gown trailed along the lush green lawn. Every few seconds he would catch up to her, brush a hand along her waist. Each time, his blood would hum with a sweet delirium when she would turn and show him those flashing eyes. Then he’d gently tug a loose curl of her hair or catch his fingers in the expensive silk of her skirts and pull her back against him to feather his lips upon her neck, and all too soon he had to let her go lest her father see. This game of catch-and-release was going to kill him, but the pleasure of finally tumbling into each other on the nearest flat surface away from prying eyes was only a matter of time.
The rear admiral was
