His lips were on hers in a movement that was swift but hot. This is what she had wanted. She knew he didn't have the answers. She knew that her days with him were limited. So, all she truly wished for was to have him, all of him. Right here, right now.

Addie instinctively threw her hands around his neck, deepening the kiss. He pressed against her open mouth, his tongue seeking entry to stroke hers in a jolt of pleasure. Theo made a noise deep in his throat and Addie couldn't help but feel satisfied at the sound. His hands caressed her body until they planted themselves firmly on her bottom, pressing her closer to him.

"You feel amazing," he said, barely breaking his lips from hers to get the words out.

Then, in an abrupt movement, he picked her up clean off her feet so that she was forced to wrap her legs around him, his hands still tightly gripping her backside. Theo managed to walk them several paces across the room, never breaking their kiss. Addie felt the hard bedpost behind her as he bucked her into it. Her breasts were thrust forward against his chest, straining through the fabric of her clothes with tantalizing roughness.

Being supported by the wooden post, Addie gasped as Theo moved his hands up her legs, barring them as he went. His touch was light, and his fingers cool, making Addie shiver with awareness.

Theo froze. He began to let her slide down his hips, teasing her without knowing it or meaning to.

"Do you wish to stop?" he asked, uncertain.

"No," she quickly reassured him. "I never wish to stop with you."

He hesitated, lifting his head back to give her a questioning inspection.

"Do not ever stop, Theo," Addie repeated softly.

"Thank God," he muttered, before hoisting her up again and kissing her fiercely. Never letting go, he moved them capably to the bed, his heavy body coming down on top of hers. His mouth moved over hers in ragged, hot breaths.

"I need to see you, just this once. I can no longer resist the temptation," Theo breathed as he began ripping her dress away. She happily helped him in discarding her many layers until there was only her chemise between them. His hands moved up her body to cup her ample breasts in his strong hands. It felt as though he would leave impressions on her skin where his hold had been. His thumbs roved over her, making her ache with a desire she felt in every nerve in her body. Addie released a sigh that spoke of every feeling she didn't have the words to say.

His kisses moved down her jaw, to her neck, to her collarbone and further, until they brushed over her smarting breasts, raw beneath his ministrations. Addie was being worshipped, thoroughly. He caught her nipple between his lips, sucking on it through the thin fabric.

"Theo," she cried as she tangled her fingers in his golden hair.

He growled and then continued to tease her until she was ready to beg him to stop the barely-there sensations and give everything to her.

As if he knew her thoughts, he glanced at her with a flash of a smile before single-handedly ripping her chemise open so that she lay bare-breasted. Without further delay, he covered her creamy skin with his mouth. His tongue flattened over her aching tip, and Addie bucked up beneath him, arching her back to give him better access.

His dressing robe slipped open, the light fabric brushing against her skin with silky smoothness. Unable to bear it any longer, she reached between them to undo the knot he had so expertly tied to enclose the robe. Addie only hoped that the way her fingers shook wasn't noticeable. Releasing the knot, she pushed the robe open, baring his smooth but powerful chest to her.

He sat up momentarily to finish the job, shucking the discarded robe off and across the room.

Addie stared up at him in awe. Only minutes ago, he had stood in front of her naked and she had appreciated his fine form, but it was nothing compared to the way he looked now. Her eyes couldn't help but trace every muscle, every pulsing vein, every hair as it made its way down his body to the place where his desire showed clearly.

She reached out, wrapping her fingers around his length in awe. Theo sucked in a breath, his hips flexing forward, jutting himself into her grip. "God, Adelaide...."

She couldn't help but blush, feeling her face grow hot. But Theo was too busy staring. His eyes traced every inch, every curve, every ounce of her being, just as she had done to him. Her blush grew, and finally, his eyes met hers. He grinned and murmured, his voice sounding gravelly. "You are so beautiful."

She resisted the urge to cover herself. Instead, she slid her hand up Theo's erection and smiled in a way she could only hope was appealing.

Theo groaned, his eyes fluttering. Then he found her gaze, and as if he could sense her doubt, he clarified. "I want you, Addie. More than I've ever wanted anything or anyone. I've wanted you since the moment you got into my carriage that night in St. Giles. No, not even then. Before that, when I saw you in the street, when you opened that beautiful mouth of yours."

The words combined with the way he gazed at her made her feel a power that she had never felt before. This raw connection between them gave her a sense of ability beyond her reckoning. This, the passion she felt, made her feel strong and powerful. It wasn't that she didn't feel wanton.

She did.

It was merely that it felt good.

"Yes, Theo," she barely choked out. "Yes."

He circled his fingers around her wrist, plucking her hand away from his body. Then, Theo closed his eyes in something akin to pain. "But I cannot have you."

She began to shake her head furiously against the pillow beneath her, not accepting of his words. Her brunette wig came loose in the process. As usual, she had forgotten about the dreaded thing and pried it off her head, tossing it to the floor. Pins scattered about the pillow, and she brushed them aside. Shedding the wig felt glorious, and the act only urged her on. At that moment, Addie needed to be free.

She pushed herself up on her elbows, sliding off the remnants of her chemise as she did. Addie removed it completely, having it follow the wig's path to the floor. She couldn't resist rubbing her bare legs against the soft fabric of his sheets. Naked in his bed, she reveled in the feeling. Somewhere, Theo moaned.

Addie had almost forgotten him in her moment of self-liberation.

"You are making this impossible, Adelaide."

She smirked up at him. "That is not my intent." She reached and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a soul-searching kiss. Addie pressed herself up against him in a desire to feel his hardness everywhere.

"We can't," he breathed between kisses.

"We can," Addie said back, unyielding.

He drew himself up to study her eyes intently, probing for certainty. "Addie, you are going to be marri—"

"Stop. Talking." Addie didn't want to be reminded about anything her future held for her at the moment. She wanted to think of nothing except for Theo and Theo alone. She kissed him again, her hands drifting lower across his muscled back. His body was toned, but his skin soft, so soft, beneath her fingertips. She felt him shiver, and she could only hope it was in pleasure.

For once, the man listened. He didn't speak another word. He renewed his efforts instantly, his hands covering every inch of her, followed shortly by his mouth. He seemed determined to taste everything, gasping against her skin. As he drew further down, past her belly button, she couldn't breathe. Urgency grew within her as she felt a demanding pressure spreading throughout her body.

"You need to tell me now if you do not want this, Addie." His breath was hot as his words whispered across intimate, delicate flesh. There was a foreign pulsing that Addie needed him to soothe. And he seemed to know it; Theo trailed a finger between her legs, and she gasped at the pleasure of it.

"I want this," she whimpered as he began to caress her in just the right way. "Please, Theo."

Suddenly, he was hovering over her again, his face a darkened mask of desire. His eyes didn't leave Addie's as he spread her legs apart with one hand. She felt him there, hot, hard, and pulsing. "I've never needed anything the way I need you," he breathed.

There were no more words for Addie to say to reassure him, and she could wait no longer. So instead of murmuring another plea, Addie lifted her hips against his.

He let out a low, strangled growl and grabbed at her to stay her motions. "For God's sake, Addie, I am trying to be gentle." But Addie did not want gentle. She was filled with need for him, and she did not care how sore she was tomorrow. Thankfully, he relented, pushing into her in one swift motion. Addie let out a cry, understanding now why he had been going so slow.

Theo let out a strangled, pleasured gasp. But he dropped his head to the crown of hers. "Do you wish for me to stop?" His brows were drawn together in strained concern.

"I've already told you, Theo. Never."

He looked shamelessly relieved and then pulled away from her only to thrust in once more. The pain began to subside, and a hot wave overcame Addie's body. It grew until she was crying out at each jerk of Theo's hips.

"God, it's perfect," he moaned. "You are perfect."

She clutched at him as he groaned her name into the crook of her neck. Addie wrapped her legs around him, and Theo took her. He took her in a way she had never expected from a man of his strength and ability. Though his want was evident, he was patient with her. He was patient until Addie was trembling with the pent up desire she had for this man. Her man.

And then together, they reached an edge they would never be able to return from and fell.

****

Theo woke to find that evening had fallen outside. For a moment, he couldn't remember having fallen asleep, but when he went to turn over onto his side, he found his movements restricted by the luscious, warm weight of Addie's body over his.

Christ. What had he done?

No, he took that thought back. He knew exactly what he had done. He would remember the details of exactly what he had done in painful accuracy for doubtless years to come. But try as he might, he would never be able to regret it. Not fully.

A part of Theo, the possessive and selfish part, was deeply satisfied that he had been the one to have taken her virtue. No, not taken. Been given. Readily. He would always have this part of her, even if he could have no other.

Addie's sleeping form rustled against him, and he began to ache all over again.

His mind played back images of her splayed against the sheets, rubbing her naked form between them. One would have thought she was a skilled seductress with the way she had tossed her hair across his pillows, thrusting her bare breasts forward as she did so, offering them to him.

Theo would be forever drawing that in his mind, over and over again. The moment when time had slowed, knowing that they would inevitably be joined just as they would inevitably be parted.

He would draw each jaw-dropping curve of her skin in his mind.

He sucked in a deep breath, knowing his brain couldn't go down that path. And yet, it was the only path he could allow himself to go down, knowing that all other realities ended without them together.

He resisted the urge to reach out to her, knowing her body wouldn't be ready to receive him again so soon. Instead, he took his drawings of Adelaide off to sleep with him once more.

When he woke up again, it was to a rumbling stomach and Addie's giggle.

Theo opened one eye, and then the other, to see Addie propped up on her elbow next to him. The room was drowning in shadows, but moonlight shone on her, illuminating her beauty. She had put on his dressing robe, her arms drowning in the long sleeves. Theo loved it.

He loved her.

"Hello, you," he murmured.

Her blush nearly broke him because all Theo wanted was to see it every time he woke up.

When their eyes connected, Addie smiled hesitantly and lifted a hand to smooth her golden hair. Theo shook his head, mostly in disbelief of everything that she was. "Your hair looks fine, dear. I love seeing you without your wig," he murmured, reaching up to catch her hand and bring it to his lips.

"Oh?" Addie arched a brow. "I don't make a good brunette?"

Theo rolled his eyes. "That isn't what I meant, and you know it."

"Are you hungry?" she asked, switching the subject.

Chuckling, Theo replied, "What gave you that idea?"

She merely pursed her lips in an adorably amused way. "I should go anyway. God knows if people are wondering where I am. I can bring you a tray for supper." She began to roll over, inching toward the side of the bed, but Theo caught her around the waist.

"Oh no, you don't."

"Theo!" she shrieked, laughing as she fell backward.

"It is my turn to wait on you," he said, pushing her lightly back into the pillows and bringing his body to bear over hers. Leaning down, he brushed his lips against Addie's before whispering, "I've decided you're not going anywhere."

Theo hopped off the bed then, striding to find a pair of trousers he could pull on. He then flung a shirt on but didn't bother with any more clothing than that. Theo tended quickly to the fire, not wanting to call a servant to do it for him, before lighting candles throughout the room, dousing the space in a soft glow.

"I have things to do, Theo!" Addie protested from behind him, still laughing in bed. "Mrs. Combs will need my help with supper."

God, her laugh was the best sound.

Theo spun around, piercing her with a gaze. "Darling, they don't need your help right now. Kingfield House is currently overstaffed."

Her brows furrowed together. "What do you mean it is overstaffed? Was someone hired?"

His mouth kicked up in a smirk. "Yes—you."

Theo watched as she tried to process what he was saying. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He walked toward Addie then, who was still laying languidly in his bed, looking properly ravished amongst the bedsheets. Theo tried to ignore the ache he felt at seeing her there.

She tilted her head to the side in confusion, and Theo explained, "Kingfield House never had an open position for a new housemaid, Addie. I only told you that because I couldn't let you walk away from me in St. Giles that night." He leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "So, I will officially inform Mrs. Combs of your resignation, and while I am sure she will miss your company, you needn't worry about your disappearance being a burden."

Her mouth hung open, and Theo laughed. "I will be back with supper soon," he added before turning toward the door.

"Theo, wait!" He spun around to see Addie had jumped out of bed. His dressing robe fell to her knees as she flew toward him.

"Yes, dear?"

"So you're saying...I'm done? I'm no longer a maid?"

Theo couldn't stop his mouth from curving into a grin. His wonderfully strong Addie looked a little lost. So he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tightly to him and whispering in her ear. "Yes. But you never really were, were you?"

He pulled back, gazing into her blue depths, and continued to say, " There's no point anymore. We have only two days before revealing ourselves to the king, and I shouldn't want you to spend those days waiting on me. It should be the opposite." Theo kissed her soundly before she could protest and then strode through the door in search of food.

When he returned sometime later, he was pleased to find that Addie had laid back down and had a book propped open on her chest. Theo always kept a small stack of novels next to his bed, and she must have found one she liked. As soon as he'd left to get food, there was a small part of him that worried she wouldn't be there when he returned. Thank God that wasn't the case.

"Dinner is served," Theo said, smiling and placing the tray on the bed next to her. The meal—a creamy vegetable soup—was one of Theo's favorites to have in the wintertime.

"Smells delicious," Addie replied, throwing the book down and sitting upright against the pillows. She gave an appreciative sniff of the soup before glancing at Theo. "Am I to simply stay in your chambers for the next two days?"

Theo shrugged. "What's wrong with that? It is really only one day, now. Just tomorrow. I shall inform the servants that I'm not to be disturbed."

"They'll know something is off."

He shrugged again. "I truly don't care, Addie. At this point, it is the least of my concerns with you leaving here in such a short amount of time."

She nodded and sighed. He knew it wasn't at the prospect of her staying with him; it was everything else that was surely weighing on her mind. "You're right. Come here." She patted the bed next to her, and Theo instantly obeyed, settling in beside Addie. Leaning over, she rested her head on his shoulder.

Theo heard her soft whisper, and it pulled at every string in his heart.

"Thank you, Theo. For everything."