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“Alas, I am afraid I do not remember its exact location.”

He dashed the old woman’s hopes, only to revive them again.

“I do know it is somewhere near that old gazebo.” He pointed at a small marble ledge. “But the trees are so thick that it would take some time for the three of us to cover the ground in time. I promise that next time?—”

“I can go this way,” Mrs. Bremford offered promptly, “and you can go around the gazebo, and we will alert each other when we locate it.”

“What an excellent idea!” James beamed. “How haven’t I thought about it?”

He had barely finished his sentence when the old woman walked away from them at a speed admirable for her age.

“Is there at least a Chinese magnolia?” Diana scolded as he pulled her quite indecently to the gazebo.

“Do you think me so cruel?” he murmured as he guided her away from prying eyes.

“Yes.”

He looked upon her with something that bordered on amusement and dark desire, and she completely forgot what she was scolding him about.

“Now, my eager student, where were we?”

She barely had time to process what he said when his lips descended on hers.

Diana was lost. Utterly, irrevocably lost.

She gasped against his mouth, and he took full advantage, deepening the kiss with a hunger that nearly made her knees buckle. His tongue slid into her mouth, caressing hers in a slow, tantalizing rhythm meant to unravel her. And it did.

Diana lost command of her body as she clutched at his coat in despair, fighting to keep her balance and not float away. She moved her lips boldly against his, coaxing a deep groan from him. One that spread fire through her body.

James wrapped both hands around her waist and pulled her flush against him. Then, he broke the kiss. Diana was ready to protest, her whole being cold at the loss of his lips, but he was quick to bring back the heat.

He kissed down her jaw while one hand explored her side. He breathed over the sensitive skin of her neck, and she gasped.

“Those little sounds you make, Diana,” he groaned.

He pressed her against the cold marble of the gazebo, letting her feel his full length, the hard muscles rippling under the trappings of his clothes.

“James,” she panted.

A groan rumbled in his chest when his name was uttered by the lips that were swollen from his kiss. He placed an open-mouthed kiss over the pulse point in her neck only to feel it flutter.

His mouth lingered there, savoring the wild rhythm beneath her skin. His lips trailed lower, hot and deliberate, pressing against the hollow of her throat, before moving right where her shoulder met her neck and he bit softly.

“Oh God!” she gasped.

His hands glided from her waist to her ribs, slow and measured. His touch burned through the fabric of her gown, setting fire to nerves she never knew existed. His thumb grazed the underside of her breast, just a whisper of sensation, yet she felt it everywhere and shivered.

“Should I stop, Diana?” He silently begged her to say no.

She shook her head frantically.

Diana didn’t know what she was agreeing to, but she would rather die and be buried under the Chinese magnolia than give up the bliss she was lost in. She arched into his touch, his body trapping and freeing her.

“Such a fast learner, indeed,” he breathed against her sensitive skin.

His fingers slid up, cupping her breasts. Diana lost all command of her body while feeling fully aware of it. James groaned and tried the weight of her breasts in his palm, kneading softly while his tongue tasted her neck.

“James!” She was trembling now.