Slowly he raised his head and looked at her. Shiny strands of chestnut hair lay about her shoulders in wild abandon. Her eyes were closed, her face flushed with arousal, her full lips damp and swollen from their frantic kiss. Next time he would go slower. Savor her. Take the time to memorize every exquisite nuance of her. He would certainly have been appalled at himself for all but devouring her if not for the fact that she'd been as voracious as he. Indeed, they'd fed each other's hunger. But next time he would-

Next time? He paused to consider the import of those words. Yes, next time, for he knew, without a doubt, there would be one. To consider not touching her again… unthinkable. Kissing her had felt like coming home after a long journey. Like finding shelter after being lost in a storm. He'd once doubted, indeed had scoffed at the notion that this woman made him feel that "certain something." By God, he couldn't doubt it or scoff any longer. One kiss had practically brought him to his knees. He wanted her. With an intensity that, quite literally, left him shaking.

Her lids fluttered open, and he swallowed a groan at her dreamy, languid expression. Her eyes looked like brown velvet, their depths soft with sexual want. For the first time he could recall, he was utterly speechless. No jest or joke sprang to mind, no laughing remark tripped off his tongue. He'd suspected-no, damn it all, he'd known-that kissing her wouldn't be just a simple kiss.

Allie slowly emerged from the sensual fog enveloping her, with a sigh of pure pleasure. She felt so wonderfully alive. Every nerve ending tingled, pulsing need through her. It had been so long since she'd been kissed. And she'd never been kissed quite like that… like he'd wanted to simply absorb her. Like he couldn't hold her close enough. Taste her deeply enough. And Lord help her, she hadn't wanted him to stop. The instant he'd touched her, after telling her how brave and strong he thought her, it was as if she were dry kindling and he were a match. She'd flared to life under the onslaught of a kiss that changed in a heartbeat from gentle to devouring.

His large hands still cupped her buttocks, while her fingers remained tangled in the thick hair at his nape. Her eyes finally focused on his, and her breath stalled at the intense heat blasting from his gaze. She shifted slightly in his embrace, the movement rubbing her against his arousal. He inhaled sharply, and heat flared in her. Fierce and aching.

And unwelcome.

Sanity returned like the slap of a cold, wet blanket. What on earth was she doing? Kissing him. As you've wanted to since that first evening, when he coaxed you into that amusing duet. Yes. And giving in to the temptation only proved how unwise a decision it was. For with one mere kiss he'd inflamed her, resurrected tormenting needs and desires she'd thought she'd buried. Thoughts and feelings she never wanted or expected to experience again. But here they were, pounding through her, harder and stronger than she ever recalled them being in the past. And God help her, that frightened her.

Disentangling her fingers from his hair, she took two shaky steps back, away from him. His hands slid slowly from her buttocks. It was nearly impossible to stand her ground and look at him when everything cautious inside her screamed at her to flee. Now. Before she gave in to her body's cravings and threw herself against him.

The coward in her longed for him to speak first. To say that what had passed between them was a mistake… a lapse in judgment that would not be repeated. But when silence stretched between them, she decided it would have to be her.

"Lord Robert-"

"Robert." One corner of his mouth lifted. "I believe we are officially on a first-name basis now… Allie."

The way he said her name, in that husky voice, rippled a warm shiver down her spine. Clearing her throat, she said in what she hoped passed for a brisk tone, "I accept my full share of the blame for what just happened. I think we can both agree that it was a mistake. One that will not be repeated."

"Oh, but it was not a mistake," he said in a soft voice completely at odds with the dead seriousness in his gaze. Reaching out, he clasped her hands, shooting tingles up her arms. "And it will happen again. Surely you realize that."

She wanted to deny it, to open her mouth and refute his frightening statement, but the words refused to form in her throat.

"You felt it, too," he whispered, his eyes steady on hers. "Just as I did. That 'certain something.' I know you did. You might not want to or be ready to admit it to yourself, but I felt it in your response. Tasted it in your kiss. It's there, between us. And it's not going away. Indeed, it's only gaining momentum."

His honesty and obvious acceptance of something so completely unacceptable stilled her. She moistened her dry lips. "If we ignore it-"

"Impossible." He squeezed her hands and stepped closer to her. "And why would you want to?"

"Why? How can you even ask?" There was no disguising the anguish sneaking into her voice. "To involve myself with another man…" Her words trailed off, and a shudder ran through her.

"But I am nothing like David." A muscle jerked in his jaw and his eyes narrowed. "But you think I am. You've told me so. Twice. And I believed you were paying me a tremendous compliment." An incredulous sound burst from his lips, and he released her hands, stepping back from her with a half-baffled, half-angry expression. "May I ask exactly what I've done to give you any reason to think so badly of me?"

"I did not mean that I believed you to be a criminal-"

"Very kind, I'm sure," he murmured dryly.

"But you do remind me of him in other ways. Ways that are difficult to describe."

"We resemble each other?"

"Physically, no. David was very handsome."

"Ah. I see. Well, that splat you just heard was my manly ego hitting the floor."

Embarrassment flooded her. "I did not mean to imply… what I meant was… oh, botheration." Annoyance shoved her embarrassment aside. "The truth of the matter is that while David was very handsome, you are even more so. But it's your manner that is just like him. You possess the same carefree, fun-loving, never-take-anything-seriously personality."

"I'm afraid I must beg to differ. There are a number of things I take very seriously."

"Perhaps. But it matters not. I refuse to risk myself again. To any degree. For any man. Clearly no one has ever betrayed your trust."

"Not in the way yours was betrayed, no."

"Then you cannot possibly understand the humiliation and despair."

Something flashed in his eyes. "I know despair," he said quietly. "But what either of us has experienced in the past has no bearing on this… attraction we feel for each other. I want to show you something." Reaching into his cream brocade waistcoat, he withdrew a piece of vellum, which he carefully unfolded and handed to her.

Allie looked down and stilled. It was a sketch. Of her.

" Elizabeth gave this to me," he said, "so I would recognize you at the pier. I believe she sent you one of me for the same reason."

"Yes." And I've looked at it every day.

"I've looked at that sketch every day, Allie," he said softly.

Her gaze snapped back up to his. Before she could react to his words, which so eerily mirrored her own thoughts, he went on, "I've been enchanted by that woman from the moment I saw her."

Allie stared at the laughing young woman in the sketch, and a lump settled in her throat. Handing him back the drawing, she said, "She doesn't exist anymore."

"Yes, she does. She's just hiding." He reached out and trailed a single fingertip down her cheek. "We simply need to coax her to come out and play."

A confusing mixture of fear and longing shook her. "Why would you want to?"

"Because I want to know her. I think I'd like her… Indeed, I already do. And I think she'd like me."

God help her, she already does. Far too much.

He refolded the sketch, then slipped it back into his pocket. "You are welcome to try to ignore your feelings, resist them, if you like, but I can promise you won't be able to. Not for long."

The sheer arrogance of his statement-combined with the fact that she feared he was correct-irked her. A pique of pride lifted her brows. "How can you be so certain?"

"Because unlike you, I'm not afraid of how our kiss made me feel. Because I cannot even imagine not exploring those feelings further. Because you think I'm handsome, and I think you're absolutely beautiful. And because, if it's the last thing I ever do, I will make you realize that I am nothing like David." He stepped toward her until they almost, but not quite, touched. Then he leaned down to whisper directly in her ear, his warm breath tickling across her sensitive skin, "You won't be able to ignore what's between us, Allie, because I won't let you. And you'll never again doubt that I can be a very serious man."


*********

Closing his bedchamber door behind him,-Robert leaned back against the oak panel and drew in a much-needed deep breath. Her luscious taste lingered on his tongue, and the memory of her flowery scent teased his senses. God help him, he wanted her. And was determined to have her.

But her words drifted back to him. I did not mean that I believed you to be a criminal…

He squeezed his eyes shut against the guilt battering him. What would she say, how would she react, if she knew about his own criminal past? Images of the fire, the damage he'd caused, of Nate, all collided in his mind, and he dragged his hands down his face. He'd denied he was anything like her thieving late husband, and he wasn't-but would she believe that if she knew about his darkest hour?