Faith saw the flame of desire in Matt’s eyes, and she didn’t hesitate to go to him, wrapping her arms about him and nestling against the warm width of his chest. “I love you, Matthew Kincade. I always have and I always will.”

Matt stood still, cradling her against him, content for the time to just cherish the closeness and lightness of the embrace.

“Let’s dine before the food grows cold,” he suggested as he felt his senses begin to stir. There was nothing Matt wanted more than to make love to Faith, but he wanted their first time to be perfect. He deliberately postponed the ultimate, knowing that anticipation always heightened the satisfaction.

With all the gallantry of a gentleman at court, Matt seated her at the table and poured a glass of wine for her before taking his own chair. They said little as they sampled of the inn’s fare, each eating sparingly, for their thoughts were far from food. It was not food they craved, but a far more important nourishment-the nourishment of the soul from love’s embrace. Across the narrow width of the small table their eyes met and held, and Matthew lifted his wineglass in toast to his bride.

“May we be this happy always.” He spoke in a low, intimate tone that sent a shiver of expectation through Faith. There was something innately sensual about the way Matthew lifted the glass to his lips. Faith suddenly wished his lips were tasting of hers instead of the full-bodied wine.

Faith remembered every touch and kiss they’d ever shared, and she longed to experience the fullness of his passion. His body was a mystery to her, and she was eager to learn everything she could about pleasing him. Her mother had told her very little of what to expect on her wedding night beyond that there might be some pain. In spite of that, she was to submit completely to her husband’s will. Faith smiled to herself, for submitting was hardly the word to describe what she was feeling in giving herself to Matthew. She wanted him. Her body craved closeness with him in the instinctive way that had existed since the beginning of time. Her need was a deep, heart-stirring drive for possession that eclipsed every other emotion she’d ever experienced.

Again Carson’s knock at the door shattered the mood. They exchanged heated, knowing smiles as they silently acknowledged that this would be their very last interruption.

“Your bath awaits, my lady,” he told her with flourish when at last they were alone again, the bath having been readied behind a privacy screen.

“You truly thought of everything, Matthew.” She regarded him with open enchantment. “Thank you…”

“I only wish it could have been more, love.” Matt grew solemn again as he thought of the past and the beauty of Kincade Hall.

Faith rose from the table and slipped her arms about his waist, resting her head against his heart. “I don’t want more, Matthew. I have everything I could possibly want right now. I have you.” Her gaze lifted to his and he could see the truth of her words. “Nothing else is important…not the past, not the future… Only this moment matters.”

Overcome by the heartfelt sentiment, Matt could not reply; instead, he lifted her into his arms. Their lips met in a gentle exploration as Matt slowly made his way to the bed and lowered her to its comfort, the bath suddenly completely forgotten.

“Matthew…” She whispered his name in a worshipful whisper as he broke off the kiss.

With impatience, Matt tugged off his coat. Turning slightly away, he tossed it negligently aside as he quickly untied his cravat. Faith watched his movements in sensual fascination, noticing how perfectly his snowy white shirt fit across his broad shoulders and how his dark pants clung like a second skin to his slim hips. It was as he turned back toward her that she noticed the unmistakable evidence of his growing desire, and she lifted her arms to him in ready welcome.

Matt could delay no longer and he lay down beside her, drawing her full-length against him, his hips pressing with breathtaking familiarity to hers. “It seems I’ve waited forever for this moment.”

“We don’t have to wait any longer…” Faith drew his head down to her for an ardent kiss that told him of her own needs.

The quiet privacy of the moment, the intimacy of their position, and the heady sweetness of the wine they’d drunk all enhanced their senses. What began as only a kiss spiraled into a whirlwind of no longer forbidden desire. Their mouths met and parted only to meet again, as if unable to taste enough of the nectar of each other.

With tempered boldness, Matt worked at the buttons of her bodice. He remembered the sight of her naked loveliness, and he longed to touch those silken orbs. The memory of her bared breasts had haunted him all this time. When he finally pushed the material of her gown aside and unlaced her chemise, he lowered his lips to caress the satiny splendor of their creamy fullness.

Faith had never experienced the ecstasy of a lover’s knowing touch before. Her breath caught in her throat at the rapture that flooded through her as Matthew pressed kiss after heated kiss upon her sensitive flesh. Waves of heat pulsed in her veins as his lips explored the peaks and valleys of her bosom. Her eyes widened in a mixture of delight and fear at the feverish feeling that was overpowering her.

“Matthew…” she gasped, frightened by the strength of her newly discovered desire.

Hearing the edge of panic in her voice and afraid that he might have hurt her in some way, Matt drew back. His eyes were dark with concern as he gazed down at her flushed features. “Faith? Did I hurt you?”

“Hurt me…? Oh no, Matthew. You didn’t hurt me… It’s just that I…I…” She was suddenly too shy to put all she was feeling into words. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” He frowned, growing even more perplexed.

Knowing that she was botching the whole moment, she caressed his cheek. “It just felt so strange…so wonderful…I was almost frightened of the beauty of it all.”

The tension that had been building within him drained away at her words and he smiled tenderly. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I’ll go more slowly for you. It’s just that I’ve wanted this for so long.”

“So have I, love,” she told him seriously. “Shall we start again?”

“There’s no reason to start again.” He took her hand and held it over his heart so she could feel the heavy pounding of its excited rhythm beneath her palm.

“But…” Faith started to protest, for she thought he meant not to make love to her that night.

Matt saw her confusion and smiled tenderly. “There’s no reason to start over, because we never quit. Our talking is just as important as our touching. I want to know that I please you in more ways than just the physical, sweetheart.”

“Oh, you do, Matthew. You do.” She took his hand then and drew it to her breast. “Please…”

His gaze was filled with adoration as he cupped one pale mound and teased the pink tip to pertness. “Did you like it when I kissed you there?”

Again Faith blushed, but she didn’t hesitate to answer, “I think I must have, for I’ve never felt anything so…so…”

He bent to her breast and kissed the peak before lifting his head to supply the word. “Exciting?”

“Ummm…” she murmured, her eyes closing as he laved the taut crest with maddeningly arousing caresses.

With the utmost of care, he initiated her to the ecstasy of his touch, fondling and teasing her until she was clinging to him, weak with desire. Needing to be nearer, he left her embrace to strip off his shirt, and Faith looked up at him accusingly when he moved away.

“I want us to be closer…” he explained quickly as he tore at the buttons on his shirt in his eagerness to shed his clothing.

“I do, too,” she agreed, surprising him as she sat up and pushed her gown off her shoulders. “Help me?”

The invitation was innocently put, yet Matt knew the urge that sometimes drove men to rip gowns from women’s bodies. There was nothing he wanted more than Faith naked beneath him, and had she an ample wardrobe, he might just have given in to his most primitive urge. As it was, he contained himself with an effort, and after divesting himself of everything save his pants, he hurried to help her remove her gown. Taking her hand, he helped her up from the bed. With as much restraint as he could manage, he finished loosening the gown and slipped it completely off her.