Free Deception by A. S. Fenichel Page A

under him. “I cannot give you what you want. It is insane to pretend that I can. I’m sorry.”
    Lillian grabbed her dress. She stood and pulled the underdress on, then the rest. The heat of his body caressed her back, and his breath tickled her ear. He had not made a sound, yet his presence screamed volumes. Longing for his touch didn’t make it any safer to lead him on. She’d spoken the truth, and wishing for a different world didn’t make it so. Standing very still, she waited for the repercussions.
    Anger or disappointment always followed such encounters even if carried out to their natural conclusion. She was not naïve. The soft caress of his fingers along her exposed neck and the most tender touch of his lips to her sensitive skin was the last thing she expected. “I am a very patient man, Lilly. I do not mean to rush you.”
    Nothing good came of believing in the impossible. Her continued association with this strange man was messy and messy might get her killed, or worse, hurt. She stepped away and faced him. “I brought you here for only one purpose, my lord. If you could have left it at that, we would both be satisfied now. You should not have complicated matters.”
    His expression remained calm, too calm. Stepping forward, he touched her cheek. “Life is complicated. Sex when one cares for the other person is complicated. You cannot change human nature.”
    “I do not know what you are talking about.”
    “I think you probably do, but as I said, I am a very patient man.” He smiled.
    Indifference was the best answer to the Dorian problem, but the quiver of need between her legs didn’t want to comply with her determined mind. “We should get some sleep, then leave here as early as possible.”
    He pulled on his trousers and lay back down.
    Lillian found a spot in the grass several feet away from him. Her mind churned with the events both before they arrived at the pond and after. In spite of the constant assault of information, exhaustion won out and she slept.
     
     

Chapter 5
     
    Dorian stood looking down at her sleeping form. She was a riddle he couldn’t quite solve. The last embers of the dying fire illuminated her beauty, though even in sleep her expression remained serious.
    It wasn’t easy, but he pulled away from her side and readied the horses as quietly as possible. The rustle of skirts alerted him, and he turned toward the fire.
    “You’re up early.” Her voice held a sexy strained sound at the early hour.
    His body ratcheted to attention. “You said you wanted to get an early start. I was awake and thought to give you a few extra minutes of rest.”
    Brushing out her skirts and gathering her weapons, she kept her head down. “I appreciate that.”
    The carriage secured, he approached with caution as she slid her blade into the clever sheath in her boot. “You never did tell me where you got those knives of yours.”
    She snapped the second blade into place in her boot. “No I did not.”
    “I do not want there to be awkwardness between us, Lilly. I’m not going to lie to you. Nothing has changed for me with regard to you.”
    She stood up straight and finally looked at him. “I’m sorry about last night. I should not have done what I did. I should not have led you on. It is not something I generally do under any circumstances.”
    Leaning in, he kissed her cheek. Her skin was soft as a dove’s feathers, and he loved the little catch in her throat at the contact. “You and I are going to be all right, Lilly.”
    She took a step back, her expression serious. “Of course we are.”
    Without another word, she walked past him and went to the small trunk at the back of the carriage. She retrieved a brush and ran it through her tangle mass of hair.
    He remained torn between regret over the loss of intimacy and the joy of knowing he affected her. She might not want to admit her feelings, and perhaps she was afraid to explore them, but she certainly was not indifferent to him.