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  “You never sound unsure of yourself,” Anabelle replied, flatly.

  Lilli laughed. Miss Anabelle didn't need to know how very unsure of herself her chaperone was.

  “I'd like pale skin and long blonde hair.” Anabelle looked sideways at her. “Powder could make my skin whiter.”

  What did people think of makeup in this world? More importantly, what was she supposed to think of makeup for Anabelle? Lilli paused.

  “You're a young lady. You don't want to look fast.”

  Anabelle pouted but her attitude was resigned. She'd expected that answer, thank heaven. Lilli reached into her pocket, remembering a trinket she'd thrown into it not long ago. All her hairpins had fallen down a few minutes before when…when hairpins hadn't been as important as now. Lilli placed a glittering butterfly pin in the girl's upswept hair.

  “The bow is sensible but let's try not being sensible. Look at yourself now.”

  Anabelle stared in the mirror.

  “You're much more fashionable than my last chaperone, I'll grant you that. I almost like this.”

  Harry watched the two of them, laughing and gossiping in front of the hall mirror. They hadn't seen him enter. They were swept up in their own female world.

  He'd wanted Lilli, thought she would hurry down to meet him. For a moment he felt almost lonely. He might have interrupted them and shattered their mood—and his— but for the picture the two of them made. They were too lovely to disturb.

  The afternoon light caught the glitter of Anabelle's hairpin, the luster of Lilli's hair. Anabelle was laughing. He hadn't heard her laugh for a long time. Not since Sarah died. Maybe not before then.

  “Oh, hello!” Anabelle's smile dimmed a little when she saw him but didn't die down completely. “How do I look?”

  He'd thought being around him had made her unhappy. He thought he just didn't know how to talk to his daughter. Maybe he'd been wrong.

  Sarah had sucked the joy out of him. Had she done that to her daughter as well?

  “Well?” Lilli prompted, a warning in her eyes.

  He wanted Anabelle to laugh. Wanted both of them to laugh. Suddenly inspired, Harry gravely pulled the ornate flower arrangement from the hall vase. With a bow, he handed the bouquet to his daughter.

  “You are the loveliest flower of them all, my dear.” He gave the words his best burlesque actor's imitation.

  Anabelle tried to hold the huge armful of dripping foliage and laughed until she hiccupped. When he saw her giggling face against the flowers, he blinked suddenly. He'd made her happy.

  “You are silly, Daddy.” She kissed him on the cheek and pushed the flowers haphazardly back into their container. “I need to hurry. I have an appointment.”

  “I'll be there in a moment!” Lilli called after her. After Anabelle scampered out of the hall, Lilli laid her hand on his arm. “Well done.”

  “She is a pretty enough girl.” Harry tried not to let the pride—and worry—show. “Almost a woman.”

  “Almost. Almost-women are temperamental.”

  “All women are,” he corrected, grinning. He picked up a rose that Anabelle had left on the floor and idly tucked it into Lilli's hair.

  “I'm only worthy of one flower?” Lilli asked, looking as if she wanted to smile.

  “I—” He paused. There weren't any words. The sunlight from the windows still made her glow. Or perhaps the glow was from Lilli herself. He couldn't say that. Those sounded like more burlesque actor words.

  He felt a fool because he meant them. Not long ago, Lilli had brought excitement and lust. Now, just as easily, Lilli brought joy and sunlight. His chest tightened. She could give him something more innocent and more dangerous than he'd bargained for.

  Still unable to explain to her how much she was worth, he bent and kissed her hand. He'd done it once to seduce. This time was different.

  “You almost make me think you're not like all women,” he said at last.

  She stared at him. He'd put it badly. Perhaps he'd insulted her. He should order a real bouquet of flowers for Lilli and deliver them tomorrow. He'd give her a traditional gift. The gesture ought to show what he meant.

  Damn, he couldn't do that. She wasn't one of his actresses who could display a gentleman's bouquet as a trophy. She was a part of his household, an employee who didn't need gossip about her. He scowled. He'd at least send his daughter flowers. He could try to make a new beginning with her.

  Lilli slipped her hand into the crook of his arm.

  “Come with me to the garden,” she suggested.

  “Perhaps you're Eve. The first woman.” He said those words without thinking.

  She smiled. “May we have tea with our apples?”

  He laughed. One moment she offered the most ferocious sex, in the next she offered him tea as if she were the mistress of the house.

  He never had tea. But she had asked him to do so and today she would have anything she wanted. “You may, Mrs. Dayton. But I suspect you don't need my permission.”

  Chapter Two

  She did look like the lady of the manor as she poured his tea. Far more the lady of the manor than any other woman he'd had in his home, including his late wife. The whack of the tennis balls was the only thing that disturbed the summer quiet.

  “I see you have allowed your daughter to meet with David after all.” Lilli nodded, as calm as if she had never tied him up and fellated him less than a half hour ago. Had never laughed at him in the hall.

  She was back to being the perfect chaperone, showing she could hold up both of the jobs he wanted her to do. He'd known that. But her calm perfection now made him ache to have her under him, moaning and uncontrolled.

  “I decided it's better to have him under my eye than make her sneak away and imagine herself in an illicit romance.” Harry knew his fingers looked big and crude holding the delicate teacup. He was lousy at the social graces women found so important.

  Not that he needed to impress this woman. He'd paid for her services. All of them. For a little while he'd forgotten. Now, he reminded himself of that very deliberately. She wasn't Eve in the garden and they weren't in Paradise. He'd allowed her too close. It was past time he showed her who was really in control.

  “Clever. You know how to handle your daughter better than I suspected.” Lilli held up the sugar bowl. “Would you care for any, Mr. Nelson?”

  The two of them stared at each other.

  “Very much, Mrs. Dayton. I want some very much.”

  Anabelle's giggle broke their sudden intimacy. Harry blinked, set the teacup down, watching it rock for a moment on the tiny table.

  “I know what her mother and I did at almost her age. I know I have no desire for history to repeat itself.”

  “I'll watch her, Harry.”

  He shook his head. “I don't mean just Anabelle. I had to marry Sarah. I regretted that every day until the day she died. I regretted how things turned out even more after that. Lilli—”

  “Yes?”

  “This affair of ours.”

  “Yes?”

  “I want you very much. But I will not risk children.” There. What he'd planned to tell her when he first asked her to join him had been said.

  He'd been laughing and relaxed. Now he was different. Lilli couldn't quite put her finger on the difference, but she was sorry for it.

  “I told you I'm almost forty, Harry. I never had a child with my husband.” She'd wondered. It had to have been her, despite what the doctors said. Mason had children.

  “I can't take that chance. Ever.”

  “What do you mean, Harry?”

  “We must never, ever, be in a position where you might conceive. I know you're inventive, Mrs. Dayton—” the formality reminded them both of how inventive she'd been—”and, so long as we remain that way, I believe both of us can be satisfied with our arrangement despite its limitations.”

  Oh. Didn't the man know about contraception? She'd have to explain an awful lot to him. Damn. Weren't wom
en of this time allowed to know?

  “Provided we never have intercourse, you're willing to do whatever we need to satisfy ourselves?” Lilli asked, carefully.

  Part of her wanted to blush. Part of her was already calculating what they could do together. It sounded like one of the most titillating games she could imagine.

  His smile at her question almost blinded her with its brightness. Had he been afraid she would refuse? He must be mad. She was already so hot for him she'd agree to much more than this request.

  “Haven't I already demonstrated how needy and willing I am? I'm putting all my desires in your capable hands.” He bent and kissed one hand, then the other.

  Oh my. Suddenly Lilli wasn't sure she was nearly as expert as he trusted her to be.

  While she searched for the right words to reassure them both, she felt one large foot snake up inside her skirt. Lilli swallowed. He'd somehow rid himself of his shoe and hosiery.

  Higher. That naked foot inched up higher. Bless those split apart drawers of hers.

  She opened up her knees, spread her legs wide.

  “Lemon, Mr. Nelson?” her voice sounded as polite as ever.

  When his toe reached her vaginal opening, she knew he had to feel how hot and wet she was. Damn, a trickle was running down her leg as he nudged her labia open.

  “I'd be delighted, Mrs. Dayton.” His voice sounded as polite as hers. “A little sweet, a little tart…it all adds to piquancy, don't you think?”

  “Papa!” Anabelle called. “Look at my serve! I think I'm getting much better!”

  “Forty-love!” David's voice called.

  His head turned briefly toward his daughter. His toe continued stroking. Lilli leaned hard into the pressure, using him to pleasure herself. Perhaps it wouldn't be quite as easy to master him as she thought. Not when he could so effortlessly control them both.

  “Excellent, my dear. I see your lessons have paid off,” Harry called.

  He turned back to her, his face unreadable. Lilli knew her lips were trembling, her cheeks flushed with color. She couldn't stop. She ought to stop, oughtn't she? To assert her dominance. Her fingers twisted in the linen napkin in her lap.

  But he was so clever. They were both enjoying themselves too much. Harry's lips curled up, smiling and coaxing her, though his face grew intent. They both were breathing fast.

  “Come.” He mouthed the words silently.

  The blood was surging inside her. Could he compel her to come? Loosening her grip on the cloth, Lilli put her hand on that toe, rubbing it against her wet clit. Nestled between his big toe and the next, he brought the toes together in a short, sharp squeeze against her swollen, aching flesh.

  “Oh!” She let out a gasp, unable to stop.

  Just one gasp. Only because the world rocked around her and screaming fireworks shot off inside her. His toe pressed harder. Lilli compressed her lips and shut her eyes, her nails clenching hard into her palms. She fought herself, refusing to allow herself to say more. It didn't help. The ricocheting sensations inside her intensified as she fought to contain them.

  She shuddered, once. Twice. Then she opened her eyes.

  “Would you care for more, Mr. Nelson?” Lilli held up the teapot, her hands steady, a composed smile on her lips. “I would hate for anything to be cold.”

  He was still breathing hard, but his smile glinted. It was a victor's smile.

  “I'm finding everything is quite warm, Mrs. Dayton. Thank you.”

  * * * * *

  Lilli stared into the mirror, almost in despair. She saw her face, the remnants of satisfied lust still showing in her half-smile and sparkling eyes.

  She didn't look depraved. She certainly didn't look old. She looked full. Lush. Pleasured.

  But she didn't look in control. What would she do with this man now that she'd let down her guard? Both of them knew he had renegotiated their bargain. Both of them knew he'd meant to do so all along.

  This was becoming much more serious than she'd expected when she first imagined a lover. She was too involved. She was too willing to do what he wanted. When had she forgotten her real life and her real husband?

  The mirror's reflection shifted once more, fluidly changing to a different time.

  “She wants children.” Mason poured himself a drink.

  “You always pick ones that do.” Fred sipped from his glass. “I thought you'd taken care of that.”

  “I did. One simple operation eliminated any more possibility of child support.”

  “Your last wife handled that operation well enough. Eventually.”

  “Well, I never got around to telling her why we didn't have children.”

  Fred laughed.

  “I wondered. Well, I suppose not telling will work again.”

  She'd never liked Fred, the sneaky bastard. Of course he was. He was Mason's best friend.

  Lilli set the mirror down. Mason. She'd never realized Mason had been lying to her all the time. God, even if she was fantasizing this, the scene made sense. All this time she'd thought there was some lack in herself. She'd been young when she married him. More naïve than she thought. Hell. How stupid had she continued to be, allowing Mason to dictate their life?

  How stupid was she now? Wasn't she with another man who didn't want children—who didn't really want her? At least he didn't want the Lilli who had inconvenient emotions or desires.

  “Mrs. Dayton?” Franny tapped at her door.

  “Yes?”

  “Mr. Nelson would like to talk to you before you get ready for bed. He'll meet you in the study.”

  “Harry?”

  “My dear Mrs. Dayton.” He seemed different tonight. She could feel heat, carefully controlled. But the sudden distance she'd seen in him this afternoon was still there.

  She felt different, too. More uneasy. More needy.

  “What do you want?”

  “I want you to come with me.” He stood, opening a small door by a bookcase. “This is an entrance to my bedroom.”

  Come with me.

  She should never have surrendered to his command at tea. Never. He was smiling a self-satisfied smile as he led her in to his bedroom. It was larger than hers, of course, though not as opulent as she had expected. She'd seen museums that showed bedrooms of the time and most of them were designed to impress the world with the wealth of their owners.

  Harry's furniture was simple, taken from a different era when simplicity was more valued. The rug on the floor was a rich-hued Oriental, but that was almost the only sign of bright color in the room. The room was very masculine, impressive in its severity.

  “Sit down, Mrs. Dayton.”

  Harry gestured to the bed. She thought about refusing. She'd lose that argument. Something about the way he held himself, as if he were waiting to pounce, told her so. So she graciously inclined her head, the way she had when he offered her a chair at the tea table. But once she sat, Lilli smoothed her hands nervously against the cool, crisp sheets and wondered why she was there. Strange. She'd gradually been feeling so at home she forgot how very out of place she was.

  Now she remembered. Harry stood over her. He was a very big man.

  “Afraid?” he challenged.

  “Not in the least.” Lilli's chin jerked up.

  “It's my turn, Mrs. Dayton. Aren't you wondering what might happen to you now?” His smile wasn't lazy or amused any more. It was predatory. Almost frightening with its sharp ferocity.

  What had she done? What had she done? She was at his mercy now.

  Her body responded to that frightening thought with a sudden twang of pure lust. Desire curled up in her stomach, warming her with a scorch of heat.

  “What do you want to happen, Harry?”

  “Me? I want everything, of course. I didn't get to where I am now by thinking small, Mrs. Dayton. Though you are small—” His hand cupped her face, holding it for a moment, before it released her as he stroked her skin. “Small and tight and…what I want.”

  Con
sumed. His eyes devoured her. That wasn't some silly phrase from a Victorian romance. For just a moment she saw how sharp and hot his needs could be and Lilli was terrified. Terrified and fascinated.

  Her own hand stretched up to touch his chin. The dangerous look on his face eased when he smiled at her this time. The amusement warmed her. This was Harry, not some stranger.

  “Not afraid then, tigress?” he asked. “You're ready for anything?”

  “I'm ready for you.”

  He laughed. “I believe you are. That's what I enjoy most about you.”

  “Why don't you take off your clothes, Harry?” She would regain dominance here. She had to. Everything felt too off-balance. Too frightening.

  “Why don't I take off yours?” With one swipe he ripped her dainty summer gown. Lilli's feel the pulse beat hard in her throat. But was she afraid or aroused?

  Both. She was both.

  He was in control again. He saw the uncertainty in her face when he tore her clothing off. His turn now. At last. He practically heard the hiss of the blood in his veins, beating hard. He'd keep her uncertain, then take her thoroughly.

  “You're beautiful,” he said instead.

  He hadn't wanted to say that, though she was. God, she was. Lilli blinked at him. Didn't she know the truth? She was as exotic as some hothouse lily, with her pale blonde hair contrasting with her dark brown eyes. She looked fragile, but he knew she was capable of amazing strength. She spoke disdainfully, but he could see her swallowing her nerves to challenge him. Beautiful. Complex.

  She was capable of annihilating him if she wanted because suddenly he wanted her more than anything else in this world or beyond.

  That was precisely why he wasn't going to let her control him.

  “Trust me, Harry. I love you. Everything will be fine.”

  Sarah had seduced him with those words, tricked him, almost destroyed him and he had never come close to desiring her the way he craved this woman. No one was going to do that to him again. Especially not this mysterious Lilli.