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“Thank you,” she said, drawing back before pressing another kiss to his mouth. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She pressed several more kisses to his mouth.

“Thank you for what?”

“For inviting my friends here. We had such a wonderful afternoon.”

Bemused, he leaned back to eye her. “Lucy, I only—”

She kissed him again. “You are a good, good man. I always knew you were.”

“It was only afternoon tea,” he protested.

“But, do you not see, it is more than that. It was a kind gesture. It might have been small to you but not to me.”

He gave a low chuckle. “If I had known something so small would make you so happy, I would have done it sooner.”

She wrapped her hands around his face and kissed him again. Then again. Then again. With a groan, he deepened the kiss, tasting the recesses of her mouth. The flavor of tea and sugared biscuits lingered on her lips. He gripped her as tightly as he could, his body reacting to the soft warmth of her pressed up against him. She rocked into him, her rear nestled oh so perfectly in his lap.

He tore away briefly and cupped her face fiercely in his hands, his breath ragged. “Lucy, what are we doing?” His voice was hoarse.

“I do not know,” she said breathlessly. “But I want to do it again.”

Determination rang clear in her gaze. He pressed his lips to hers again, delving deeper until their tongues met. Fire roared under his skin, setting an inferno ablaze that only she could douse. He scattered kisses along her jaw and down her neck, nipping as he went. She writhed against him, her fingers twining in his hair while she muttered his name. It had to be the sweetest sound he had ever heard.

Theo cupped her breast and groaned at the feel of soft flesh confined within her stays. Then he claimed her mouth once more, and her hands shifted down to grip his shoulders. He drew away when it became too much, when he knew he was reaching the point of no return. Easing back, he pressed his forehead to hers while they both drew in unsteady breaths.

“Lucy—”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “If you speak words of regret, I will not be held responsible for what I do to you.”

He grinned. “I do not know how I could regret that.” He eased away a little and studied her. “But I need to be certain you know what you are doing.”

A little color flourished on her cheeks. “You are the first man I have kissed. I do not know what I’m doing. However, I do know that I wish to kiss you, and that when I do, I feel something I have never felt before.”

He blew out a breath and rubbed a thumb across her cheek. How he had ended up with such a beautiful, wonderful woman in his arms, he did not know, but he had no desire to throw it away. They had some difficult territory to navigate, particularly given that she was his ward, but for the first time in his life, he wanted to navigate the choppy waters of romance again—and he wanted to navigate it with her.

Chapter Eleven

“Lucy?”

She stilled outside the study door, coming to a stop in front of the narrow gap where she could just see Theo sitting at his desk. She should not be disturbing him, she knew that much, but she could not help herself. These past two weeks had been…she smiled to herself…well, wonderful and amazing and entirely unexpected.

But he had to work, and she could not dominate all of his time no matter how much she wanted to. Thankfully, the ball kept her occupied. She laced her fingers together in front of her. The ball… Something she really needed to ask about. She must have been wrong in her assumptions or why else would he kiss her and tell her sweet things all the time? However, she still needed to confirm with him that he had no intention of sending her away.

The problem was, she did not want to ruin this magical feeling.

She unlaced her fingers and inched open the door. Paperwork scattered about him, his hair was awry and his fingertips stained with ink. Her heart did a little jig at the sight of him, even though she had only seen him at breakfast. Would it ever cease to do that? Somehow, she suspected it would not. A mere two hours apart and she already missed his fingers, his mouth, the way he spoke to her.

“Do you need something?” he asked as she stepped into the room.

“You,” she blurted and clapped a hand across her mouth.

He chuckled. “Indeed.”

She peeled the hand away from her mouth. “That is…I hoped you might accompany me out.”

He glanced over the paperwork in front of him, then leaned back and looped his hands behind his head. “I should be working.”

“It is work of sorts.” She came around the desk and perched on the corner. “I was going to see what wildflowers we have around the estate. I thought we might be able to use them for the ball.”