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into his arms. He caught her, and his mouth found hers with remarkable swiftness, hungry and welcoming as he kissed her deeply, in a way that made her very bones melt. “I missed you,” she explained breathlessly when they broke apart.
    “I missed you .” He gazed intently into her eyes. “Your aunt sent a note asking me to tea, but I would have come over in any case to see you. Tea isn’t for an hour, so sit with me somewhere. The gazebo, perhaps.”
    “Yes,” Victoria agreed, her hand in his as he led her to the end of the path where a small structure sat; a somewhat neglected folly from another time that no one used anymore. It was graced with miniature Grecian pillars and a rotunda, open-sided but apart from the formal gardens. They had played there as children, she remembered, wondering at the idiosyncrasies of life. It had been their secret place.
    He glanced around. “I guess I didn’t think how very dusty it would be in here. Maybe you can sit on my coat.”
    “Damn your coat,” Victoria said dreamily. “Kiss me again.”
    “That sounded remarkably like an order.” He grinned, and Stephen did not grin often.
    I am truly lost, aren’t I ? she thought.
    “It was.”
    He took her in his arms and she pressed against him, savoring the heat of his mouth as it possessed hers, the stroke of his tongue, the fire that built inside her every time he touched her. It was only late afternoon, she thought as her body reacted instantly to the passion ignited by his touch. He could come to her tonight, but it was disappointing to have to wait when she wanted him right now .
    And he wanted her, too. She could feel the thickening swell inside his breeches. Her body also recognized the blazing desire between them. Her sex softened, growing damp with need. When he broke the kiss for a moment to graze the line of her jaw with his warm lips, she said shamelessly, “Perhaps I could lie on your coat instead.”
    “We’ll both get filthy,” Stephen objected, and it was true the floor was coated with grime and littered with piles of fallen leaves. “And someone could see us.”
    “But, I need you,” she breathed, rubbing her hands over his shoulders, flattening her breasts against his chest so he could feel how hard her nipples had become through his linen shirt. “You know how infrequently anyone comes here, and Gibbons is out front.”
    “You are the most reckless—”
    Her hand slid lower to press against the length of his erection, stopping the admonishment mid-sentence, and he groaned.
    “Here.” He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, pushing her forward so she was bent over. “Put your hands on the seat.”
    “What?” A little surprised but intrigued, Victoria gasped when she felt him shove her skirt up from behind. In seconds she was shockingly bare, the warm breeze floating in through the windows across her naked bottom. She felt his hands there also, running over the curves, finding her cleft and caressing her aching center. “What are you doing?”
    “There’s more than one position, my sweet. I’m going to mount you from behind.”
    “Oh.”
    “You’ll like it,” he added in distinct carnal promise. His fingers probed, parted, and penetrated her opening. “Damnation, are you always wet, Tori?” he muttered.
    “Are you always hard?” she countered, realizing he had freed himself and his rigid staff was stiff against her exposed buttocks. His hands moved to cup her breasts through the material of her gown, squeezing slightly.
    “When I’m around you, yes,” he murmured. “And let me note I admire your passionate nature more than I can express. Now, spread your legs a little if you want me.”
    She complied instantly. Quivering in anticipation, she felt the engorged crest of his erection nudge—then stretch her deliciously, her moan of arousal abandoned and unabashed joy. When he stopped, the tip just inside her feminine opening, she tried to move backwards to force him farther