His gaze traveled down her length, making Catherine very much aware that she wore nothing beneath the cream satin robe knotted loosely at her waist. Her skin shivered with anticipation under his leisurely regard. When their eyes finally met once again, he reached behind him and locked the door. The quiet click reverberated through her mind, and she desperately tried to recall the Guide’s sage advice on how to greet one’s lover after a night spent naked in his arms. Her common sense screamed that he shouldn’t be here, that she didn’t want him here. Her bedchamber was her sanctuary. Her haven. Hers. Unfortunately, the pounding of her heart drowned out her common sense.
He walked slowly toward her, looking very much like a sleek jungle cat stalking its prey, and her heart rate doubled at the ravenous gleam in his eyes. As she seemed suddenly incapable of movement or speech, she waited for him to stop, to smile, to say good morning, but he did none of those things. Instead, he walked right up to her, wordlessly pulled into his arms, and lowered his mouth to hers.
Oh, my. It was her last coherent thought as she simply gave herself over to his demanding kiss. His clean scent surrounded her, as did the heat of his body. The strength of his arms. The urgent press of his thighs against hers.
She parted her lips and was rewarded with the sensual sweep of his tongue against hers. And his hands, those glorious, large, callused hands that could only be described as magical, seemed to be everywhere. Combing through her hair. Skimming down her back. Cupping her buttocks. Palming her breasts. All while his mouth devoured hers with a fierce hunger that left her breathless and starving for more. Had it only been a few hours since she’d been in his arms? Somehow it felt like years.
His arms tightened around her, and she reveled in his strength, lifting up on her toes, straining closer to him. Then he suddenly changed the pace of their frantic kiss, gentling it to a slow, deep melding of mouths and tongues that dissolved her knees. When he finally lifted his head, she wasn’t certain she could recall her name.
“Good morning, Catherine,” he whispered against her lips.
Catherine. Yes, of course. That is my name.
She supposed she murmured good morning, but she wasn’t quite certain. He leaned forward and nuzzled his lips against the sensitive juncture where her neck met her shoulder. “You smell incredible.” His warm breath sluiced over her skin, eliciting a barrage of heated shivers. “Like a flower garden.”
Summoning her strength, she pointed toward the brass tub set in the corner of the room. “I just finished bathing.”
He turned his head, looked toward the tub, then groaned. “Do you mean to say that if I’d arrived only minutes earlier, I’d have caught you in the bath?”
“I’m afraid so.”
His teeth lightly tugged on her earlobe. “I shall have to see about correcting my lamentable timing. Although, I don’t know that my heart could have withstood the sight of you in the bath. Do you have any idea how the sight of you, simply standing there in your robe, affected me?”
She leaned backed in the circle of his arms. Surely she meant to be demure. Coy. Instead, the simple truth rushed from her lips. “Yes. Because seeing you enter my bedchamber, with desire in your eyes, affected me the same way.” Warmth rushed into her cheeks at the admission. “Why are you here?”
“I needed to speak with you.” He hesitated, then said, “I’m afraid I must return to London. Today. As soon as possible.”
Dismay and disappointment filled her. “I see. Is something amiss?”
“A break-in and some vandalism at the museum. There was nothing there to steal, but apparently the building sustained considerable damage. I need to see how extensive the repairs will be, so I can report to Philip. I’ll also need to talk to the investors, allay any fears they may have. The last thing Philip and I need is nervous investors.”
She rested her palm against his cheek in a gesture of commiseration and sympathy. He looked so very grim. “How awful. I’m so sorry this has happened.”
“As am I. Not only for the obvious reasons regarding the museum, but also because I have no wish to leave here. I was very much looking forward to spending the day with you and Spencer.” His eyes darkened. “And the night with you.”
Desire fluttered through her veins, and she swallowed before asking, “Are you… planning to return to Little Longstone?”
“Yes.”
A breath she hadn’t realized she held pushed past her lips. “When?”
“I’m hoping tomorrow.”
“Please consider my stable at your disposal.”
“Thank you. The journey will be quicker if I travel on horseback rather than coach. I’ll do my best to arrive here by early evening, but I may be later.”
“I see. Will you… meet me tomorrow night?”
“When and where?”
She considered for a moment. “Midnight. At the springs. I want…”
He cradled her face in his hands, his eyes searching hers. “Tell me what you want.”
“I want you to make love to me in the warm waters.”
Something that looked like fear, but surely wasn’t flickered in his eyes, but it vanished so quickly she decided she must have been mistaken. He brushed a soft kiss against her mouth. “It will be my very great pleasure to grant your wish, Catherine.”
His words caressed her lips, shooting want to her core. “Tomorrow might, the springs, at midnight,” she murmured in a breathless whisper. Passion, desire, lust, all so new, all so long denied, swamped her. “Andrew… I don’t want to wait until tomorrow night.”
He lifted his head, and the inferno burning in his gaze singed her. “Be careful what you wish for Catherine, because you are only seconds away from-”
“Being led astray?” Stepping back from his embrace, she unknotted the sash to her robe, then shrugged the satin from her shoulders, where it fell to a soft heap at her feet.
He watched her robe slither down her body, leaving her naked. His entire body tensed, filling her with a heady sense of feminine power and satisfaction.
“Led astray?” he repeated softly, taking a step closer to her. “Hmmm. Yes, that is definitely a possibility.”
“Only a possibility?” She made a tsking sound, then backed up another step, then another, until she leaned against the wall. “How… disappointing.”
He erased the distance between them in one stride, then braced his hands on the wall on either side of her, bracketing her in. His heated gaze raked over her, a muscle ticking in his jaw, and her breath hitched.
“Is that what you want, Catherine? To be led astray?”
“I’m not certain precisely what that entails, but it sounds… tantalizing.”
“I’d be delighted to show you.”
She splayed her hands against his chest, further emboldened by the rapid pounding of his heart against her palms. Her entire body quickened in anticipation of his touch. “Excellent. I’m looking forward to a proper good-bye.”
“My darling Catherine, there is nothing the least bit proper about the good-bye you’re about to receive.”
His mouth covered hers in a searing, devouring kiss. She slid her hands inside his jacket to stroke his back, feeling a desperate, overwhelming need to touch, to be touched everywhere at once. With a ragged groan, he deepened their kiss, his tongue plunging and stroking while he filled his hands with her aching breasts, his fingers teasing her sensitive nipples, which begged for more. His lips left her mouth, and he pressed hot, fervent kisses across her jaw, down her neck, then skimmed over her chest. His tongue laved drugging swirls around her aroused nipples before drawing each aroused bud into the velvety heat of his mouth. Catherine arched her back in a silent plea to taste more of her, and he obliged, while she tangled her fingers in his thick, silky hair She squirmed against him, and in response he sank to his knees, trailing openmouthed kisses along her stomach. Her muscles quivered when he tasted the indentation of her navel. She sucked in a breath, filling her head with an erotic scent she recognized as her own feminine musk, combined with Andrew’s sandalwood.