His resolve broken, he pulled her onto his lap. Heat met heat as their lips joined. His hands explored her back, then her skirts. A wintery chill rushed up her leg as his fingers teased one of her ankles. She giggled in delight at his gentle touches. She’d never thought she could be with a man, not after what Hugo had done, but with Charles everything was different.
She felt no danger with him, no pain, no fear, only a powerful joy, tinged with a sadness she tried to suppress. She did not deserve this happiness, not even for a little while, but she could not stop herself from feeling it.
As he kissed her, she dragged her fingers down his waistcoat, wishing they were somewhere else, somewhere where she could remove it. So many nights she’d watched him bathe, seeing his glorious golden bod
