He'd gotten so used to get going along with whatever she suggested, which was sometimes nice but other times brain-wracking, because he was inexperienced yet didn't want to seem so. But this... this was new. Different. Exciting. She stepped forward and his heart skipped a beat, and when she reached and pulled him closer his feet followed before his mind could even process what was happening. He leaned down into her kiss, his cheeks burning against her warm palms, his arms snaking around her waist to pull her closer.

Sweet Merlin she was something else. He dared to let his hands drop lower on her back, inching down until they slid along the curve of her bottom. This was an experiment as much as it was an escapade; most of their stolen moments had been short and always with the risk of being caught. Here, though, alone in his home with only the servants puttering around above them, there was no one to catch them. No one to tell them to stop. What could they get away with? What could he get away with?

---