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“So, you don’t use this place that often? But why? It’s so endearing!”

James’s hands twitched. This was his mother’s favorite getaway.

But he could not afford to let his thoughts wander, so he mustered all his rakish charm.

“And I shall endeavor to make it even more endearing.”

The dining room was already set. There was a small table near the fireplace—intimate, not formal. Candlelight flickered over silverware, and crystal glasses gleamed. But Diana noticed none of it.

James smiled contentedly to himself. On the table, there was an assortment of cold meat and cheese, but the main course was the array of pastries. He had seen how Diana enjoyed them, how her eyes lit up when she looked upon sweets, how she nibbled on them with delight.

“You… You did all this?” She didn’t fail to notice the gesture.

“Well, I pay people to do things. I would not call myself a skilled cook.”

“Still…” Diana titled her head, regarding him.

The way she looked at him made his chest tighten. A tightness that had nothing to do with desire.

“You approve, My Lady?”

“I shall have to try them first.” She smiled.

James had almost forgotten why they were there.Almost. They had eaten a light dinner, and conversation just flowed so easily. Only when Diana decided to turn her attention to the sweets did James suffer. He watched her pink tongue dart out slowly and melt the sugared pastry.

She was savoring each lick, sometimes closing her eyes in delight and lightly moaning. James has never been jealous of a pastry and never wanted to be one so much.

Then, they moved to the velvet settee before the fireplace, wine glasses in hand. They were not close, not yet, but it was not like she was avoiding him, perching on the other side.

“I am afraid I have to ask again. You hidinsidethe clock?” James asked, amused.

“It is a big clock.”

“I am sure there is a closet or a dark corner you could have hidden in instead.”

“But no one would look for me in the clock.”

“And there is a good reason for that,” James mused. “No sane person would climb in there of their own volition.”

“Exactly! That is the brilliance of the plan.”

“Or reason to question your sanity.”

She glared at him, which made him shake with laughter.

James shook his head and sipped on his wine. “I guess you counted the… minutes till you saw me.”

Diana laughed. She truly laughed. He noted that he had made her smirk in irritation, fume in anger, gasp in lust, but laugh? He hadn’t made her laugh. And what a sight it was. Her body relaxed, her eyes reflecting the flames, the soft light caressing her limbs and the side of her face and her long black hair, which hung around her shoulders. The sound of her laughter was sweet like the chiming of a bell.

There it is, that tug in my chest.

He couldn’t resist. He let his glass down and leaned in. He took a stray dark lock and tucked it behind her ear. It was a simple gesture but so intimate. Diana’s breath hitched, and her eyes flicked to his. He let her see it. See how he had been holding back all night, how he was struggling not to devour her whole.

Her chest heaved violently. There was a battle inside her. She knew that she could back down now. End this. But she didn’t want to. Her eyes roamed over his whole body slowly, reverently, letting him see her explore first with her eyes.

James groaned under her scrutiny, feeling her eyes caress his body.

The air shifted. His eyes darkened with lust, and his chin dropped. Her pulse quickened, he could almost hear it.