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Eleanor’s heart pounded. “Don’t you dare.”

“Just asking,” said Danni innocently, pulling away slightly again. “Hypothetically, of course. Purely for scientific and cultural study reasons.”

Eleanor laughed, and they danced as Danni grinned and, for the first time in years, Eleanor found that she was actually enjoying the Hunt Ball.

In fact, she didn’t want the night to end.

But eventually, the string quartet stopped playing, and the guests began to drift away and it was time to go.

The drive home was quiet but comfortable. Danni hummed softly under her breath and Eleanor gripped the steering wheel a little too tightly, thinking about the warmth of Danni’s touch on her waist.

And when they reached the farm, Eleanor stopped the car, listening to the engine ticking for a moment before she opened the door. She stepped out, inhaling the cool of the night air,turning to find that Danni had quietly come around the car and was right behind her, far closer than she’d expected. The air between them was thick.

Eleanor bit her lip, her breath hitching in her throat. Danni stepped in, tilted her head just slightly.

Do it, said a voice in Eleanor’s head. Just do it.

But panic flared.

She took a step back. “I, um, I think I need some fresh air before bed.”

“Eleanor—” Danni began.

But Eleanor was already walking away, calling goodnight over her shoulder as she practically fell over the cobbles of the farmyard.

She made it as far as the gate into the paddock, stopping and taking deep breaths, looking out into the night, hoping to get control of herself.

She could hear Danni’s footsteps on the cobbles, following her, could hear Danni come up behind her. But she didn’t turn.

“Eleanor,” Danni said softly. “What’s wrong?”

Her heart beat hard in her chest and now she did turn, she had to turn, and Danni was there, those curls framing her face, her eyes dark and concerned, and the question hung between them.

The night was so still, the tension thick. Eleanor opened her mouth, but no words came.

Danni simply waited.

But Eleanor had nothing more to say.

She simply nodded.

And Danni’s face cleared in understanding.

Chapter Twenty-Two

That nod was all the permission that Danni needed. All the permission that she’d been waiting for all night, what felt like all her life. She could wait no more. It would take all the wild horses in the world to drag her away from this. To drag her away from Eleanor standing against the gate in that midnight blue dress, the moonlight in her eyes, her hair swept up from her neck.

And Danni did the only thing she could.

She dropped to her knees in front of Eleanor, her hands reaching up under the wisps of skirt, grasping smooth, muscled calves and traveling upward, taking the skirt with them, uncovering the pale loveliness of Eleanor’s legs, reaching soft thighs as Eleanor gasped and leaned back against the metal gate.

Danni parted Eleanor’s legs, reaching upward until she found the rough lace and soft silk of underwear. She leaned in, placing her face against Eleanor’s center, drawing in a breath and only then realizing that what she was doing had skipped several steps. She pulled back.

“Shall I stop?” she said, before Eleanor’s face had materialized properly out of the darkness.

Eleanor was grasping onto the top rail of the gate like she might never let go, her head was tilted back slightly, her eyeswere closed, her breath was coming faster.

“Not if you value your life,” she hissed through gritted teeth.