“Mr. Hallstead said you never dance. Not ever.”
“That’s not true. It’s just that I’m a large man and a crowded dance floor does not make for easy movement. I’m constantly afraid I’ll bash some young debutante, and that would be disastrous for everyone.”
She nodded. “I understand. We can just watch.”
Such a wealth of experience in those words. It was as though she was used to being denied. Was she someone who usually stood on the outside watching while others enjoyed their lives? Not this time, he decided. He would dance with her and use the time to discover her secret. Then he would take his departure without encouraging her matrimonial hopes.
“Maestro,” he called the moment the music ended, “a waltz if you please.”
The conductor heard him and nodded. Aaron set his hand to his Green Fairy’s waist and swept her onto the floor.
“There are some dances,” he said to her startled expression, “that are made for me.” Then he smiled. “Relax. I love waltzing.”
If she had a response, there wasn’t time for her to say it. The first strains of the music began, and he began guiding her into the steps. She wasn’t a tiny woman, which he appreciated. Her body had muscles and strength beneath the soft fabric of her dress, and better yet, she adjusted quickly to his guidance.
The waltz was an adequate dance with a timid partner. One could move about the floor at a moderate pace with some modicum of enjoyment. His green fairy, however, relaxed into his hold. She let him guide her while still matching his pace. Very soon she was arching into his hold, letting him take some of her upper body weight while he whirled her about the room. Her eyes sparkled up at him and her lips spread with obvious delight.
She would look like that during lovemaking, he thought, and his body tightened at the sight. It made him move her faster about the room and draw her closer to his body. A proper chaperone would be scandalized by their intimacy, but he couldn’t stop himself. She was all but flying in his arms, and he felt like a God himself in the way he spun them through the music. His cock swelled, his attention was captivated, and his heart thrummed with hunger for the woman in his arms.
How primal it all felt. He could imagine tossing her over his shoulder as he carried her back to his cave home. He felt an internal drumbeat of desire that continued even after the music stopped. A pulse of hunger as he slowed their steps while keeping his gaze locked with hers.
“I have never felt so safe in my life,” she whispered.
“You dance divinely,” he said.
“It was thrilling.”
It had been for him too. “Shall we find a good spot to view the fireworks?”
So much for taking his leave immediately following their dance. His offer was spoken before he’d thought about it. He shouldn’t stay in her presence any longer. It would give her unfortunate ideas. Plus, he was a host of this party and should have a care that all was going as it ought. But for the first time in many long years, he cared not a whit about his responsibilities. She felt divine in his arms and he had no wish to release her. Not yet. Not until she gave up his secret to him.
The crowd was moving into viewing position. As a large man and the host, he could have easily made their way to the front. He had no such interest. Instead, he tucked her into the shadows near the back. The tree limbs blocked some of their view, but the privacy it afforded was worth it to him.
“You must tell me what the problem is,” he said as they slipped into the shadows. “Is there insanity in your family? Are you impoverished?” Her clothing was of excellent quality, so it could not be that. “Are you descended from Jacobites?” She had red in her hair and the fair complexion of a Scotswoman.
“None of that,” she said. “At least I don’t think so.”
A woman who didn’t know her family’s history? He felt his shoulders drop. “An orphan,” he said. That made sense. She was likely someone’s poor relation brought here in a desperate hope to find a husband.
“Yes,” she said, and her eyes clouded. “But it’s worse than that.”
He shook his head. He didn’t need to know more. “Is Sayres helping you? Is he the one who got you into the masquerade?”
She smiled up at him, but her expression was wistful. “How can you not know me?”
The first firework went off with a bang. He didn’t look away from her, but she jumped at the sound. And then her eyes widened as she looked to the sky. Her mouth dropped open in surprise and she craned her neck to see better.
“Have you never seen fireworks before?”
“Never,” she whispered, her eyes on the sky.
Now he regretted not taking her into the center of the viewing area. He pulled her forward, out from beneath the branches, and soon the colors were lighting up her face. In truth, as gorgeous as the displays were, they were even more beautiful reflected in her eyes. He saw her delight with every explosion as if magic were appearing right above their heads. Never had he seen someone look so purely delighted before, and the sight was one he knew he’d remember for the rest of his life.
She stood breathless throughout the display, and he was equally mesmerized by her delight. And when the fireworks were done, the unmasking began. So while she clapped her appreciation of the show, he touched her cheek. Her gaze immediately shot to his, all wide eyes and rosy cheeked happiness.
“It’s time to take this off,” he said, his voice husky. He meant her mask, but his lust thought he meant other things, other forms of disrobing.
She nodded silently as his hands slipped to the tie behind her head. Then he pulled on the laces as slowly as if he were unwrapping the most precious of presents. She remained still in the circle of his arms as he worked, and when he at last pulled the mask free, he saw blue-green eyes in a strong face. He saw the same tempting lips he’d seen before, but now they beckoned him. He didn’t know her any better now without her mask than he had five minutes before, and yet she seemed exposed to him. Revealed in all her tempting beauty.