Veronica

I pushed Tomas against the door, our legs tangling with each other as I pulled his lips against mine. He made a startled sound of surprise as I pressed my tongue against his teeth, asking—no, begging—for entrance. He gave it, and our tongues slid together, both of us battling for dominance.

My hand slid under his soft linen shirt, almost melting as I felt the hard ridges of his toned abdomen. Not just a pretty face then.

With a pained groan, Tomas pedaled me backward until I hit the washbasin. He put both hands on my waist and lifted me easily onto the sink, my back pressed up against the cool mirror as I was perched on the cool rim.

There was a mirror behind Tomas too. We both caught scandalizing glimpses of each other’s reflections, as if there were hundreds of Tomases undressing a hundred mes. His clever fingers made quick work of my buttons—as expected from a seasoned valet. Soon my blouse was hanging open, my chest heaving, spilling out against the top of my corset. He groaned, as if the sight was causing him physical pain.

With a small smirk, I leaned over and carefully unbuttoned his trousers, slowly, sensually, sliding them down with the toe of my boot.

“I did say I would show you some of the things I’ve picked up overseas, didn’t I?” I purred.

“So you did,” he said, one of his hands exploring the curve of my waist while the other one made its way over to the back of my corset. I felt the tight boning loosen, a sure sign that he had somehow managed to undo the complicated lacing and get to work on pulling the ribbon apart—all with one hand.

My knees felt almost weak at the thought of having those talented fingers in between my legs.

A second later, my corset was being pulled off my body, revealing the soft swells of my breasts. He gasped, his eyes widening.

“You are so beautiful,” he said. A blush crept across my cheeks. I’d heard those words hundreds of times before, but never with such sincerity. His hands wandered up my waist and cupped my chest, massaging me. Moans were tumbling from my lips. No other man had ever lavished so much attention on this part of me before.

“Please—I need more,” I panted, spreading my legs so he would know exactly what I meant by more.

As he drew closer, I took him into my hands, making sure to apply pressure in the way my many lovers had taught me. He groaned but didn’t let the rush of his own pleasure deter him from reaching down and pulling my skirts away. He shimmied my underwear down, then leaned forward to capture my lips again as his hand drifted down my body. I jerked with surprise when he touched me in my most sensitive spot—something that most of the men I’d been with before hadn’t even known to do.

It felt so good, I was having trouble staying focused. Half my brain was preoccupied with trying to remember every second of this moment, every teasing touch and knee-shaking bit of pleasure, certain I was going to think back on it for many a lonely night to come. I’d done enough lovemaking to know that an ardent lover like Tomas only came around every once in a blue moon.

Still, I made good on my promise to show him a thing or two, moving my own hand deftly until his eyes were widening and he was grunting in surprise.

“Where…where did you learn that?” he panted.

I laughed. “Like I told you—merchants find out all sorts of things,” I teased.

“Perhaps I can repay the favor.”

Before I could ask him exactly what he meant, he knelt down, lowering his mouth to replace his fingers. My head fell back as waves of pleasure rolled through me. His hands were like iron bands, holding me in place, refusing to let me twist away from the delicious agony.

My back arched, my toes curled. Electricity was shooting down my spine. And still Tomas kept going as if this very act was what he’d been born to do. This was the first time a man had ever been this committed to my pleasure. I wouldn’t have tried to learn so many tricks if I’d known there was a man who didn’t need to be tricked into caring about a woman’s needs.

Just as the crashing waves were about to send me over the edge, he broke away at the last moment. I let out a frustrated growl, but before I could pull him back, he stood and lifted me so my legs were around his waist. So those hard muscles weren’t all for show—he really was exceedingly strong.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and lowered myself onto him, moaning a little as we became one. He waited for me to adjust to the fullness, even though I could tell it cost him to do so. But when I started moving, silently asking for more, he gripped me hard and took control. I hung on as he moved within me, sending sparks flying across my vision. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, and I found myself threading my fingers through his hair, trailing my hand down the line of his broad back.

“You— You’re very good,” I breathed into his ear.

He stilled. “Really?” he asked, almost eager. It was almost as if he’d never been praised by a lover before. But I had to doubt that. He was no novice, yet he responded to every gentle touch and sweet word as if it was water in a desert.

“Yes,” I promised, before punctuating it with another kiss.

Soon we were both spiraling toward the edge. Light exploded behind my closed lids as I let the feeling overtake each of my senses. Underneath me, I could feel Tomas coming apart too. A few moments passed as we regulated our breathing.

Then he carefully lowered me back onto the washbasin and cleaned us both up, which was another first for me. Men usually didn’t bother with any of the after stuff once they’d had their fill.

Now came the part I dreaded—the awkward where do we go from here? talk. Even though Tomas was deadly handsome and an amazing lover, I didn’t have time to sneak off for little rendezvous. This was going to be a busy couple of days, and I couldn’t afford to get distracted by Tomas’s teasing smile and the way his pants fit him almost too well.

“This was fun,” I began. “But I’ll probably be occupied with merchant meetings from now on. Prince Bennett is hell-bent on getting us on board with contributing funds for the war effort. The schedule is pretty packed.”

To my relief, Tomas didn’t seem put out by that. In fact, he seemed reassured. “It’s for the best. I’ll probably be busy as well.”

“I guess you valets have it rough during these events,” I said.

“Yes, that…and I also have a daughter.”

My brow shot up. “A daughter?”

He nodded, his face going impossibly soft. “Her name is Lucy. She takes up quite a lot of my time—time I’m happy to give, of course, but I definitely have my hands full with her.”

My mouth dropped in horror. “You—you’re married?”

This was not what I wanted. I wasn’t a homewrecker. And I definitely wasn’t one of those women who was interested in hurting another woman by sleeping with her husband.

“Oh, no!” He shook his head, looking vaguely repulsed by the thought. “I consider Lucy my daughter, but I’m not her biological father. Her actual father is my brother, but he’s too busy to give her the time of day.” He frowned. “So I care for Lucy in his stead.”

I opened my mouth to pepper him with more questions. Where is her mom? Why does it fall to you? How could he give up his daughter like that? But there was a sharp knock on the privy door.

“I guess we’ve been in here a long time. People must be getting antsy.”

“You should go first,” Tomas whispered. “I’ll dip into one of the stalls and slip out later.”

I waited until he had hidden himself before walking out, sending an apologetic smile at the crowd of ladies on the other side.

Despite what I had said to Tomas, I found myself wondering if I might ever see him again.