A rare tenderness filled him as he regarded her. She looked relaxed and content, her eyes soft, dreamy, her defenses lowered.
A warning voice whispered in his head that his judgment was becoming sadly impaired and entangled in emotion, but Damien purposely ignored it, just as he pushed aside any twinges of conscience at what he was about to do. The time had finally come to attempt to penetrate her weakened armor.
Yet the possessive urges sweeping through him were more than simple carnal hunger, he knew. He felt a fierce need to hold Vanessa in his arms and teach her about desire, about passion. To unlock the unfulfilled secrets of her body and strip her of her shocking innocence. For all her familiarity with scandal, she was appallingly inexperienced in carnal matters.
How very wrong he’d been about her in that regard. It struck him, suddenly, the sacrifice she’d made for her family’s sake. It had taken considerable courage for her to agree to become his mistress when she was so averse to physical intimacy. A courage he had to admire.
Her disdain of men and sex, Damien had no doubt, stemmed from her unsavory relationship with her former husband, and he very much wanted to remedy her woeful ignorance-for her own benefit as well as his own. He wanted to free her of her fear.
“I am more grateful than you know,” he murmured, coming into the room, “for your kindness to my sister.”
Vanessa looked up with a smile. “She is deserving of kindness and easy to love.”
“You seem to enjoy her company.”
“I do, very much.”
“Then your stay here has not been so very onerous?”
She hesitated. “No, not at all.”
He read the implication in her pause: not onerous yet. Not as long as their bargain remained unfulfilled.
“Will you accompany me to the gardens?” he asked. “There is something I would like to show you.”
Her sudden wariness was reminiscent of her previous nervousness around him. “At this time of night?”
Damien kept his tone light. “Pray, don’t look as if you expect me to assault you, sweeting. I have nothing so ominous in mind, I assure you. The bath for Olivia is almost finished. I thought you might care to see it, without all the workmen present.”
Vanessa glanced at the window, whose curtains had been drawn against the darkness, and then down at her silk dinner gown. The square neckline and short, puffed sleeves would expose a wide expanse of flesh to the evening air.
“Perhaps I should fetch a wrap,” she said uncertainly.
“I think you’ll be comfortable enough without one. The conservatory is quite warm.”
“Very well…”
His eyes smiled at her as he took her arm and escorted her through the doors into the garden. The night air was cool on her bare flesh. The moon was nearly full and quite brilliant, while the stars shone like diamonds on black velvet.
She must be mad to venture into a serene, moonlit garden with such a man, Vanessa reflected, and yet a reckless pleasure filled her, a keen sense of anticipation. Perhaps she had partaken of too much wine…
“You are suddenly quiet,” Damien observed into the silence.
“I am questioning the wisdom of being here with you.”
“Would you rather inspect the conservatory on your own? I will leave you to go on alone, if you wish.”
“No, I don’t wish to go alone.”
“Come now, sweeting, I won’t have you afraid of me. If I haven’t pressed myself on you in all my visits to your bedchamber where we enjoy absolute privacy, I’m unlikely to do so here where we might be spied upon.”
“Even so, you will forgive me if I am wary of your hedonistic tendencies.”
He shook his head slowly. “It saddens me that you have such a poor opinion of my character. And to think I’ve attempted to apply my most charming manner of address with you.”
Vanessa bit back a smile, determined not to succumb to his sensual appeal, yet she had to admit she enjoyed their verbal sparring and the challenge of keeping pace with him in their game of wits. “I imagine I shall manage to resist your charm. You would do better to practice it on a more willing lady.”
“Alas, there are no others available at present. I fear you will have to suffice.”