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on earth possessed you?” Nic said, coldly for a man with so much passion.
    “If you hadn’t yelled right behind me—”
    “You were laughing. Are you insane?”
    Olivia felt her face flush. “I thought you’d gone. I was crossing the stream on my way home. Why were you spying on me?”
    Nic’s frown grew even darker. “It suddenly occurred to me that you might do something stupid like take the short way over the stream instead ofwalking to the bridge. I wanted to make sure you arrived home safely.”
    “So you proceeded to drown me?”
    His frown lifted, and something approaching a smile twitched his lips. “No, you managed that perfectly well on your own.”
    “Now you ’re laughing. Are you insane?”
    “I think I must be, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought you here.”
    “Why did you bring me here?”
    His dark eyes were intent on hers. Suddenly he smiled properly, his saturnine face changing into handsomeness. “Damned if I know.” But he did know. Slowly his gaze slid over her face, her throat, her bosom, taking his time, exploring every inch of her as if she wasn’t wearing anything at all.
    How did he do that? she asked herself, with a shiver. How did he manage to make her squirm and grow hot, just by looking? Until she was longing for…she knew not what.
    “Perhaps I’ve brought you here to ravish you, Olivia. Isn’t that what you said you wanted? To be ravished by Wicked Nic Lacey?”
    She opened her mouth to say yes, but closed it again. Suddenly she wasn’t so certain. The tension in him, as if he was barely under control, made her wary. She was not such an innocent that she didn’t know some men were dangerous, untamed creatures, and rakes were particularly dangerous. Her hesitation now was pure instinct, and had nothing to do with her brain or her emotions.
    “Are you having second thoughts?” He laughed quietly, moving closer and resting his long fingers on her shoulder. His thumb rubbed against her neck, making circles, and her breathing quickened. Olivia forced herself to steady it; time to take the initiative again.
    “Ravish me, Nic,” she said, gazing up into his eyes. “I dare you.”
    He was reading her, or trying to. She saw the flicker of doubt in his face, the hardening of his mouth. He bent down, so close she could feel his heat and smell the spicy scent of him and the steam as his wet clothing dried in the warmth of the fire.
    “You’ll be sorry if I do,” he growled. “You’re pushing me, Olivia. I can only be pushed so far. You don’t know what I could do to you. What I have done…”
    Despite his warning, she ached for him to kiss her again. “Tell me.”
    His gaze narrowed. “I can tell you what I’d do to you if you were one of my usual flirts. Can you pretend to be a pretty little dancer from the East End, or a refined courtesan with a dark past?”
    “The dancer,” she said at once, enjoying the thought. “Can I imagine myself wearing a short skirt and pink stockings? I have heard that’s what they wear.”
    “Oh yes, definitely,” he drawled. “Will you sing me a saucy song?”
    Olivia considered. “I don’t know any saucysongs. Perhaps I can just kick up my legs, will that do?”
    “I’m sure that will catch my attention.”
    “Is that all I have to do?”
    “No. There’s more. Later, when you’ve finished kicking up your legs, I’ll come to your dressing room. I’ll bring a bottle of champagne with me, and pour you a glass, and tell you how much I admire you.”
    “I’d be flattered. Will you kiss me?”
    “I think so.”
    “Good. And then what?”
    “And then, my little dancer, I’ll—”
    Olivia, sensing he was trying to shock her, wasn’t about to let it happen. Once again she took the initiative. “Why don’t you show me instead of telling me?” she said, and let the blankets fall from around her, pooling in the seat of the leather chair.
    Something hot and dangerous flared in his eyes. “Don’t say I didn’t warn