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    “Oh, Sir!” Serina gasped along with him, no longer overwhelmed with guilt for hurting him, or thinking she had, but now for touching him.
    “Umm!” He cleared his throat and gave the chin nod towards his groin.
    She released her grip on him, again!
    Lucian placed a gentle finger to her lips. “Shush, m’lady. I’m fine. You’ve more than seen to that. You’ve a most peculiar bedside manner.” He couldn’t help but smile as he straightened the shawl, covering himself once more. “I must confess to you, it is very stimulating, finding a beautiful woman in my lap...And a first.”
    He placed his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her head upward to get a closer look. He found her ravishing, with a small, slightly turned-up nose, soft facial features, unforgettable glistening, green eyes and lush full lips made for him alone to kiss. That thought caught him off guard, but then it seemed everything about her did. When she laid her head back down on his shoulder to regain her composure, he knew she was thoroughly mortified. With that small movement, Lucian wasted no time and placed his hand back in the silken strands of her hair, savoring the moment.
    “I would think that you and I might need a more informal introduction after this evening, m’lady. My name is Lucian and you could start by looking at me. My promise to you, I’ll try not to make any more wise comments or embarrass you more than you already appear to be, but on the rarest of occasions, as my dear sister claims, I speak before I think. You’ve been forewarned.”
    Serina glanced up from beneath her lashes just as he winked at her.
    Lucian’s gentle whisper sought her out and touched her where no man ever had. He caressed her soul and took possession of her heart.
    Oh, bloody hell, what’s wrong with me? Well, genius, how ’bout blood loss and the heat. The heat, yes, indeed, he is an inferno.
    “I do have some serious questions for you, though.” Lucian brushed her hair from her face, adding intimacy to the desire that swiftly overcame her.
    “My name? Oh, ah … call me Serina.” She shyly met his striking silvery blue eyes. They shone, as if the sun beat directly on them. Melting mercury, she thought. The man definitely had the capability of making a few things melt, her being one of them; her drawers a dead giveaway. Serina stifled a gasp. She could actually differentiate his eye color. Color blind from birth, she hid it as best she could, memorizing everything in life her mother had taught her, like apples are red, grass is green, dead people are bluish-grey...the important things, to be sure.
    His lips, she decided, looked like an invitation to heaven. Serina wanted to kiss that bottom lip and nibble on it just a bit—all right, maybe more than just a bit—have them explore every inch of her body…for starters.
    Even through what was left of his trousers the solid muscle of his thighs looked inviting. Serina slid her hands over them once more, just because she could. What was a little more guilt at this point?
    Isn’t she a cheeky one? He bit his tongue thinking that only moments before, he’d done the same to her delicate behind. He sat in awe of the woman, wondering how fate had intervened and given him this little gift so nicely wrapped in a scantily-laced robe. His heart had a strange tug to it as he watched her every move. For the first time in his life, he felt alive, possessive. Urges demanded he take her and run. Run far away from everyone in his life and get to know her, to make love to her on the beach as the setting sun cast a golden glow to her soft, flawless skin. Wake with her in his arms and warm her where the sun didn’t shine!
    What in the name of the Queen happened to me tonight? Not as much as I’d have liked to! Lucian, you’ve only just met the woman. Act like a gentleman.
    Having never before experienced anything remotely like this, Lucian found himself in a quandary. He’d never given another woman the