She raised her hand and knocked on the door.
Robert's head shot up in surprise. He thought he'd heard the doorknob rattle, but he'd assumed that it was merely the creaking of an old building. Not in his wildest dreams did he imagine that Victoria would come to him of her own volition. But then he heard something different. A knock. What could she possibly want?
He crossed the room in swift, long strides and pulled open the door. “What do you—” He sucked in his breath. He didn't know what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. Victoria had donned the seductive gown he'd given her, and this time she wasn't covering herself up with a quilt. The blue silk clung to her every curve, the neckline plunged to reveal her delicate cleavage, and one of her legs was visible though along slit in the side.
Robert's body went instantly taut. Somehow he managed to utter her name. It wasn't easy; his mouth had gone dry as death.
She stood before him, her bearing proud but her hands shaking. “I've made a decision,” she said in a low voice.
He inclined his head, not trusting himself to speak.
“I want you,” she said. “If you'll still have me.”
Robert froze, so unable to believe what he was hearing that he couldn't move.
Her face fell. “I'm sorry,” she said, misinterpreting his inaction. “How ill-bred of me. Please forget I—”
The rest of her sentence was lost as Robert crushed her to him, his hands roving wildly up and down the length of her body. Robert wanted to devour her—he wanted to wrap himself around her and never let go. So all encompassing was his reaction that he was afraid he'd frightened her with his passion. With a ragged breath he pulled himself a few inches away from her.
She looked up at him with huge, questioning blue eyes.
He managed a shaky smile. “I'll still have you,” he said.
For a second she didn't react. Then she laughed. The sound was almost musical, and it did more for his soul than the Church of England ever had. He took her face in his hands with reverent gentleness. “I love you, Torie,” he said. “I will always love you.”
She didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally she stood on her tiptoes and brushed a feathery kiss across his lips. “I can't talk of ‘always’ yet,” she whispered. “Please don't—”
He understood, and he saved her from having to finish her sentence by claiming her mouth once again in a fiercely possessive kiss. He didn't mind that she wasn't yet ready for “always.” Soon she would be. He would prove to her that their love was a forever emotion. He would do it with his hands and lips and words.
His hands slid up the length of her body, the silk of her gown bunching under his fingers. He could feel her every curve through the thin material. “I'm going to show you what love is,” he whispered. He leaned down and pressed his lips against the soft skin of her breast. “I'm going to love you here.”
He moved his lips to her neck. “And here.”
His hands squeezed her buttocks. “And here.”
She moaned in reaction, a hoarse, sensual sound that came from deep within her throat. Robert suddenly doubted his ability to remain standing. He swooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed. As he laid her down, he said, “I'm going to love you everywhere.”
Victoria sucked in her breath. His eyes were burning into her, and she felt terribly exposed, as if he could see into her very soul. Then he came down beside her, and she was lost in the heat of his body and the passion of the moment. He was hard and strong, hot and overwhelming. Her senses were swimming.
“I want to touch you,” she whispered, barely able to believe her own boldness.
He grasped her hand and guided it to his chest. His skin burned, and she could feel his heart pounding under her fingers. “Feel me,” he murmured. “Feel what you do to me.”
Overcome by curiosity, Victoria sat up, tucking her legs underneath her. She saw the question in Robert's eyes, smiled, and murmured a soft “Shhh.”
She let her fingers slide down to the taut skin of his abdomen, mesmerized by the way his muscles leaped at her touch. She sensed that he was exerting incredible control. It was an awesomely powerful feeling to know that she could make him like this, his breathing hard and ragged, his every muscle straining and tense.
Victoria felt daring. She felt wild and reckless. She wanted the whole world, and she wanted it that afternoon. She swayed forward, teasing him with her nearness, then pulled back, feeling giddy and off-balance. Her hand dipped lower until it brushed against the waistband of his breeches.