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He turned to her, eyes were wide, his mouth slack. He tilted his head. “You were?”

“I was, only I wanted to–”

Lachlan moved, lightning quick, pressing her back into the bed once more. “You agree?”

She nodded, reaching up to move a strand of hair away from his eyes. “I want to tell my family.”

He nodded and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Yes. Anything.” He pressed another to her jaw. “Tell me what you need.” Another kiss to her opposite cheek. Then he pulled back, smiling, and Tarley’s heart stretched thin, making the beats painful, because his look wasn’t one of someone being made to marry her. He seemed genuinely happy, and that happiness seeped into her own body, filling her with light.

“Then perhaps I’ve overstayed,” he said and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. “Because,” he said between kisses, “I want you so bad.” He ground his hips into hers, and she gasped at the feel of his erection through the fabric of her gown. “And now that you’ve agreed, there’s nothing to keep me from fucking you other than your word on the matter, Tarley.” He reached down and grasped her hips, tilting them so he could press his body closer.

She moaned, unable to contain it, and knew she didn’t want to anymore; she fixed her arms around him, keeping his weight where she needed it. This felt right.

“Don’t go,” she begged.

27

“Don’t tease me, Tarley,” he growled against her lips, pressing his erection between her legs, the layers of fabric between them denying him relief.

“Lachlan–”

“Say my name again. Please.” He ground his hips again, drawing in a breath, shocked by how much he wanted her. His body was wound up with it. There wasn’t a time he could recall feeling this wild with need.

She moaned again, the sweet sound filling his head. “Lachlan. Oh, Lachlan. I want you–” Her hands slid down his back and grasped his ass, holding him against her. He felt her tilt her hips toward him, seeking that friction.

Frenzied, Lachlan lifted his hips, missing her, but needing to be closer. He helped her stand. “This needs to be off.” He tugged at her dress with impatience.

“I’ll–”

“Sorry,” he told her and kissed her lips, then pressed his forehead to hers, simply breathing there for a moment. “I’ve lost my wits. You make me come undone, Tarley Fareview.” He turned her and started in on the buttons that ran down her back, until the dress fell to offer him bare skin, the dress pooling around her hips. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to her shoulder.

“You smell so good,” he said and pushed the dress from her hips, then reached around and palmed her breasts. “That soap. I’ve pleasured myself to that scent so many times thinking of you.”

She gasped and leaned into his touch.

Lachlan ran his tongue along her shoulder to her neck, until she turned her head and met his mouth with hers. The kiss was charged and filled with promise, their tongues dancing the same rhythm their bodies vowed to discover.

When she turned in his arms, he drew back to look at her in the moonlight. He’d seen her before. In the tent, spread open to his kiss. Her body barely hidden by a wet linen shirt as she stood in the rain. Naked in the river, and now, this.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, trailing a hand from her shoulder down her arm to thread their fingers and pull her closer.

“Your turn.” She reached for his shirt, pulling it from his trousers. Lachlan helped her, drawing it over his head and dropping it on the floor next to her discarded dress.

“Stars, Lachlan.” Her eyes roamed his body. “You’re beautiful yourself.” She reached out and touched him, and Lachlan loved that she wasn’t shy. Her finger skimmed down his chest, over his belly, to his erection tenting his pants.

He shivered.

“These too, yes?” She pulled at the fastener.

He nodded. “Yes. Nothing between us anymore.” He removed them with haste, then helped her with her underclothes, needing to feel her skin against his.

When they were done, naked before one another, they touched, lingered with fingertips and kisses, until they were both lying on the bed, Lachlan’s hips settled in between hers.

“My heart is racing,” he admitted between kisses.

“Mine too.”

He felt his impatience, wanting to bury himself inside her, but willed himself to slow down. This was her first time. This was their first time. He looked up at her. “Are you sure, Tarley?”