He stroked the bones of her cheeks with his thumbs. "Although the fact that you are not a widow makes this situation extremely inconvenient, I am very glad to know that you are not mourning a lost love that you hope is waiting for you with open arms on the Other Side"

"Why does that matter so much to you?"

"Because I want to kiss you again more than I have wanted to do anything in my life and I did not relish competing with a ghost."

"Oh, yes. Yes, please."

He took her mouth with a fierce hunger that swamped her senses. She would have crumpled beneath the delicious onslaught had he not held her tightly against his chest.

The kiss burned through her, hot and intoxicating. But she was beyond all caution.

`Adam, she whispered, when he briefly freed her mouth.

"So passionate and so lovely." He kissed one of her brows and moved his hands intimately down her spine.

She put her arms around his neck and brushed her mouth tentatively against his, testing his reaction.

The delicate caress seemed to electrify him. He groaned and kissed her back, his mouth hard and urgent now.

A moment later she felt his fingers on the fastenings at the front of her gown. The stiffened bodice, which did double duty as a light corset, opened slowly like a suit of armor being severed down the centerline.

"I do not know how women tolerate these modern fashions," he said hoarsely. "Wearing a dress like this must be akin to walking around in a small, tight cage"

"But it feels so good when the cage is removed: she said earnestly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she was mortified. "Oh, dear, that did not come out quite as I had intended."

He gave a sensual, husky laugh and kissed her lightly. "Explanations are unnecessary. I think I understand"

"Perhaps it would be easier if I finished this for you?"

"Absolutely not. I forbid it." He resumed his work on the hooks of her gown. "Undressing you is like unwrap-ping an elaborately wrapped gift. Never underestimate the pleasure of anticipation."

She clenched her fingers in the front of his linen shirt.

When he had opened the gown to a point just below her breasts, he paused again and rested his forehead against hers. "Damn. I don't believe this"

Her heart sank. Was he disappointed in what he had uncovered thus far? "Is something wrong?"

"Yes." He raised his head and looked down at her with a rueful expression. "My hands are shaking so badly it is all I can do to manage these hooks."

"Really?" She was entranced by the knowledge that she had such an effect on him.

"I intended to sweep you away on a romantic cloud of passion and pleasure. Instead, I feel like a great, clumsy oaf"

The confession emboldened her as nothing else could have done in that moment.

"Perhaps it would make things easier if I assisted you in this process: she suggested once more.

With trembling fingers she began to unknot his tie. Adam's mouth crooked and his eyes gleamed in the lamp-light. "Yes," he said, "I think that will help considerably.^"

In a matter of moments she was left standing only in her chemise, stockings and drawers. Her heavy gown lay in a frothy heap on the wooden floor. Adam's tie, waistcoat and white linen shirt lay next to them. He stood before her, clad only in his trousers.

The firelight gleamed on his sleekly muscled body. Fascinated, she traced the strong contours of his chest with her fingertips.

"You are as magnificent as a statue of an ancient god," she whispered.

He uttered a half-choked laugh. "I trust you find me somewhat warmer and a bit younger."

"Much warmer and much younger. Perfect, in fact" She wanted to bask in the heat from his body.

"Ah, my sweet. You go to my head."

It had been difficult to undress Adam, owing to the fact that she had never before attempted to rid a man of his clothes. She had stopped after she had gotten his shirt off because she did not possess quite enough nerve to tackle the buttons of his trousers. Fortunately, he did not seem to find her hesitation odd.

He picked her up and settled her carefully on the cot. Then he straightened and freed himself from his remaining clothes with a few swift, impatient motions.

She was transfixed.

She reminded herself that unlike the carefully sheltered ladies of the city, she had been raised in the country. She was, therefore, not unfamiliar with the sight of male animals in this state. In addition, Emma and Milly had always been extremely modem in their notions of what was appropriate to a young lady's education. All in all, she ought to have had a fair notion of what to expect from this first en-counter with a man. Nonetheless, she was astonished.

Adam hesitated at the side of the bed, his face shadowed in the flickering light. "Is something wrong?"

"No" She reached up and caught his hand in hers, squeezing tightly. "Nothing is wrong."

He lowered himself down onto the cot very carefully and pulled her into his arms. One by one, he took the pins from her hair. She trembled when she heard them click on the floorboards beside the bed.

"I did not plan on this tonight,^" he whispered, kissing her throat. "I brought you here on impulse and as a result, I have one great regret."

She held her breath. "If you have changed your mind—"

"Never." His fingers tightened in her hair. "I am consumed by my desire for you. I could not turn aside now if my life depended on it. No, my regret is that I did not take you to more elegant surroundings. You deserve better than this barren room."

She relaxed and touched his face. "This room is perfect, Adam. Everything tonight is perfect"

He put one hand on her stocking-clad leg. When he stroked her inner thigh, the world as she had always known it was forever changed. The intimacy of his touch was al-most unbearably exciting.

It was as if she had been walking through a garden all of her life, turned a corner around a high hedge and suddenly found herself in an exotic, tropical jungle.

"You are so beautiful." He undid the buttons of her chemise and kissed the curve of her breast.

She was not beautiful, she thought. But tonight he made her feel as though she were the direct descendent of Cleopatra, Helen of Troy and Venus.

When he took one nipple between his teeth, waterfalls of sensations crashed through her. A wild, fiery tension

built deep inside her. The weight of Adam's leg anchoring her thigh to the bed was an exquisite pressure.

When his fingers found her secrets through the open seam of her drawers, she almost screamed. Shock and astonished pleasure played havoc with her breath and pulse. Nothing she had ever experienced felt quite like the touch of Adam's hand on the most delicate portion of her anatomy.

"You are already damp and ready for me," he whispered into her ear.

She was vaguely embarrassed that he had noticed the wet heat between her legs but she could not retreat from his touch. She wanted more of whatever he was doing to her.

And then somehow he had undone the tapes that se-cured the drawers. He moved on top of her and kissed the place between her breasts. Her head fell back across his arm. She felt tight and hot and desperate.

"Please," she whispered, urgently curving one leg around his muscular thigh.

He shifted his position slightly. She felt pressure. "Yes," she said. "It feels so good."

"Caroline."

He drove himself into her in a single, searing thrust. Be careful what you wish for, she thought.

She had been expecting something of the sort, but the pain still came as a shock because a few seconds ago she had been glorying in the most amazing pleasure.

"What on earth?" She jerked violently and shoved instinctively at his shoulders. "Wait. Stop. I believe there is something wrong."