Chapter Twenty-three
By the time they reached the lake, Grace felt as if she were vibrating.
It was amazing to her that, when she looked down to check, her fingers were steady on the reins.
The water was a shimmering blue, surrounded by the woodland for as far as she could see.
A small island stood in the middle of it, blocking the view of the far side.
‘Is that a house?’ she asked, pointing to a wooden structure on the patch of land.
‘It is not a habitable building. My parents had it built to entertain guests with picnics on the island. When we were allowed, Sebastian and I used it as a base from which we played. But it is not much more than a room. I have not visited it in years.’
She waited for him to suggest that they do so now, but he did not. Some of her excitement at being alone with him in a secluded spot dimmed. Perhaps she had misinterpreted his look in the woodland, for surely a man intent on seduction would want to be alone and as hidden from view as possible.
‘Would you like to ride around the lake or turn back?’ he asked, and her spirits sank lower. Those were definitely not the words of a man bent on a romantic tryst.
‘Do you think we could take a walk?’ she said, because, if nothing else, this would mean he would have to lift her on and off the horse more than once.
‘Of course,’ he said, like she had known he would, because he was polite and obliging.
Thinking that she meant anything special to him had been a foolish assumption.
Just because she was having all these inappropriate thoughts, it did not mean that he was too.
Tobias dismounted easily and the way he did it momentarily distracted her.
There was something captivating about the movement, his confidence and ability calling out to her in some way.
His hands came about her waist again and she was weightless once more. As he set her on the ground, she stumbled over a stone and grabbed his arm to keep her upright. His hands, which he had been dropping, were on her instantly, holding her still.
They stayed like that, breathing as if they had been running. His height meant that her face was level with his chest and she watched as it rose and fell quickly. Her fingers dug into his upper arm and he made a noise deep in his throat and she was certain she had not been wrong after all.
Tilting her head, she looked up at him. He was staring down at her, his lips slightly parted.
Pushing herself onto the tips of her toes, she leaned up and gently pressed her mouth to his.
Tobias was so still, her gesture may have turned him to marble.
For a few heartbeats, she held her position, enjoying the whisper of his breath across her skin.
But she could not stay there for long. If he did not want her there, then she should step back.
Just before she lowered her head, his mouth moved, slowly at first, his lips barely skimming over hers, once and then again and again, featherlight brushes that hinted at more.
She lost herself in the movement. His fingers brushed over her cheek and his thumb coasted along her jaw, touches light and gentle, reverent almost. Her hands were tangled in his hair, the silken strands soft against her skin. Her heart raced and her blood sang.
One large palm on her back was pulling her closer, and closer still until her body pressed against his, all her softness against the hard lines of him.
He groaned and she felt the noise in her mouth.
The kiss deepened, their breathing harsh in the soft summer morning.
Their hands explored, touching wherever they could reach: his on her neck, tangling in her hair, the flare of her hip, her palm against the scrape of his stubble, the solid strength of his shoulder, the long length of his spine.
He pressed kisses to her jaw. She whispered his name and his fingers flexed against her.
Her body was alive, bursting into sensation.
Kissing had never felt like this. She hadn’t loved her husband, but in the beginning he had thought of her needs a little.
Even then, he had never treated her as something special, something to be prized.
She hadn’t even known it was possible to feel this way, as if everything else had ceased to exist, as if it were only them and this timeless moment.
This was… his mouth reclaimed hers and her world became him.