“Just before dinner.” His lips brushed her temple as he spoke, his warm breath gliding over her ear, shivering a delighted tingle down her spine. “I was very surprised- and pleased-to find the basket of items you’d obviously left. Are you pleased?”

Her eyes slid closed and she breathed out a lengthy, feminine sigh. Then she turned in his arms and cradled his smoothly shaven cheeks between her palms.

“You went to a great deal of time, effort, and expense to plant my favorite flowers, and to create a private, romantic place for us. Yes, Andrew. I am pleased. And touched. And flattered. I started out this evening hoping to seduce you, yet here I find myself thoroughly seduced.”

“I started out this evening hoping to court you, yet here I find myself thoroughly seduced.”

Heat rippled down to her toes. “We started out with different objectives, yet here we are, with the same results. Although I wonder how that can be as I’ve yet to try to seduce you.”

He turned his head and pressed a heated kiss against her palm. “If that is so, then God help me should you put a bit of effort into it. But fear not. You’ve thoroughly succeeded without expending any effort.”

“Indeed? How? What have I done?” Lord knows she wanted to know so that she could do it again.

With his gaze steady on hers, he clasped her hand, pressed another kiss against her palm, then touched his tongue to the spot. Her breath caught, and her eyes widened.

“That,”he whispered. “The way you respond to my touch. The way you breathe in, and the heat that flares in your eyes. Very seductive. And this…”He drew her into his arms then leaned forward and flicked his tongue over her earlobe. A shudder ran through her. “… the way you tremble when you find something pleasurable. And this…”His lips skimmed across her jaw, before his mouth settled on hers for a soft, teasing kiss that had her lifting her face for more. “… the way your mouth feels against mine. The way you want more, just as I do.”

He reached up and slowly pulled the pins from her hair. “The way your hair feels sifting through my fingers.” Catherine felt her hair fall loose from its chignon and tumble down her back and over her shoulders. After gathering a handful of long, loose curls in his hand, he buried his face in the strands. “The scent of flowers that clings to your hair and skin. Ah, yes, then there is your skin…”

He brushed her hair over her shoulder, then trailed his fingertips slowly down her neck. “The pale perfection. The velvet texture. The alluring fragrance… that teasing hint of floral that makes me want to remain no more than an inch away from you so as not to draw a single breath that isn’t scented with you.” He lowered his head and brushed his mouth over the sensitive juncture where her neck and shoulder met. “Pure seduction.”

Her fingers clenched against his jacket, and a low rumble of pleasure trembled in her throat. “That sound you make when you’re aroused,” he said, his words vibrating against her skin, “is one of the most seductive things I’ve ever heard.”

“One of?” she asked in a breathless voice she barely recognized. “What is the most seductive thing you’ve ever heard?”

He lifted his head and stared directly into her eyes. “Your voice. Asking me to make love to you.”

Warmth filled her cheeks. “I’d never said those words before.”

“Just one more of the countless ways you seduce me, Catherine. You know how I like being first.”

“Then you’d best prepare yourself, because I’ve a feeling I’m going to experience many more firsts tonight.”

“As will I.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “You mean you’ve never-?”

“No, I’m not saying I’ve never been with a woman, although it has been… a while. But I’ve never been with anyone I wanted this much. Or anyone whom I wanted to please more. Or anyone who pleased me so very much.”

Catherine swallowed, certain that her hold on his shoulders was the only thing keeping her from slithering to the floor in a quivering heap. “I hope I please you, Andrew. I want to, but-”

He silenced her by touching his fingers to her lips. “You will, Catherine. Don’t doubt it for even a second.”

His expression made it clear he believed it, but a spate of self-doubt and insecurity suddenly assailed her, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out the painful truth. “I’m afraid I cannot help it. My husband found me… less than enthralling. He never touched me after Spencer was born. In spite of the fact that I was married for a decade and bore a child, I fear I’m woefully inexperienced.” Her gaze searched his. “How can you be so sure I’ll please you?”

“As I’ve told you, there are just some things that we know, Catherine. You and I are going to make beautiful love together. As for your inexperience…”He took one step back, then spread his arms. “Practice all you wish. Consider me at your disposal.”

Catherine’s heart pounded at the husky-voiced invitation, so ripe with sensual possibilities.

“Don’t be shy,” he said softly. “Or embarrassed. It’s just us, Catherine. The only other person in this room besides you is a man who wants nothing more than to grant your every wish and to please you. Tell me how to do that. Tell me what you want.”

Words from A Ladies’ Guide popped into her mind. Should Today’s Modern Woman ever be fortunate enough to be asked “What do you want?” hopefully she will answer truthfully.

She licked her lips, then allowed her gaze to wander slowly down, then up his long, muscular length. When their eyes again met, she spoke the simple truth. “You make me want so many things, I’m not certain where to begin.”

“Why don’t I start by removing my jacket?”

She watched him shrug the dark blue material from his shoulders, and suddenly she knew exactly where to begin. Stepping forward, she grasped his cuff. “I want to do it.”

He stood immobile, watching her, and for the first time in her life, Catherine removed an article of clothing from a man. The simple act of slowly slipping the jacket down his arms intoxicated her. When she finished, she held the garment, still warm from his body, against her chest. Her eyes slid closed, and she bent her head to breathe him in. “You smell delicious,” she murmured on a sigh. “Sandalwood mixed with something else I can’t name. But it’s a clean, masculine scent that belongs to you alone.”

Andrew stood perfectly still, spellbound by her words and the sight of her cradling his jacket against her. God knows he’d never been more sincere than when he told her he wanted only to please her, but he didn’t have a bloody prayer of surviving the rest of the night if she brought him to his knees just by holding his damn jacket.

Her curious gaze traveled again down his body, and he had to clench his hands to keep from reaching for her. “You worry about your ability to please me,” he said in a tight voice, “yet you can seduce me with a single look.”

Her gaze jumped back up to meet his, and he clearly read the flare of confidence that lit her eyes. After carefully setting his jacket on the floor beside her, she brushed her fingertips over his loosely knotted cravat. “I want to undress you,” she whispered.

He swallowed and attempted a half smile, but wasn’t at all certain he succeeded. “I’m all yours.”

“I’m not certain how all these garments work.”

Giving in to the overwhelming need to touch her, he traced his fingertip over her cheekbone. “Not to worry. I’ll help you.”

She applied herself to his cravat, and he stood in an agony of want, warring between his body’s need simply to shove aside their clothing and make fierce love to her now, and watching, feeling the stunning miracle of her removing his clothes. The blooming confidence and wonder in her eyes as she dispensed with his cravat, then slowly unfastened his shirt. When she reached his waist, he pulled his shirt free of the confines of his breeches, then held his breath.

She slowly separated the linen, then placed her hands on his chest. Heat arrowed through him, and he pulled in a quick breath. An expression of utterly feminine delight crossed her features, and she slowly dragged her hands downward. He wanted to watch her, but his eyes slid closed of their own volition, and a growl of pure pleasure escaped him as he memorized the intense sensation of her touching him.

“Do you like that?” she whispered, her fingertips grazing his nipples.

“God, yes.”

Her hands slipped down over his abdomen, and his muscles contracted. “You like that as well?”

“Yes.”The word was a raw rasp. He forced his eyes open to watch her, her hands growing bolder with each pass over his skin. Everywhere she touched felt as if she’d scorched him. Need roared through him, and his erection jerked inside his tight breeches. After gliding her hands back up his chest, she pushed his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. He pulled his hands free and dropped the garment to the floor.

She ran her hands over his bare shoulders, then down his back, and he gritted his teeth against the pleasure. “You’re very strong,” she said, her warm breath caressing his chest.

A shudder shook him. He felt anything but strong. His insides were shaking, and his knees were… gone.

She slid her arms around his waist, then stepped forward to rest her head against his chest. “Your heart is beating almost as fast as mine, Andrew.”

Before he could reply, she looked up at him with solemn eyes. “I want you to undress me.”

Since he wanted that more than he wanted to draw his next breath, he didn’t hesitate. “Turn around.”

Standing behind her, he combed his fingers through her long, lustrous chestnut locks, brushing the strands over her shoulder to expose her pale nape. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to that soft, fragrant bit of skin that had haunted a thousand dreams and countless waking moments. A delicate shiver trembled through her, and she tilted her head to the side, an invitation he didn’t even attempt to resist.