Flawless by Carrie Lofty Page B

relief, but Miles couldn’t be certain. He enjoyed knowing that he had her so keyed up and ready to anticipate the least little imposition.
    “Turn around,” he said.
    She met his gaze and held it. Her eyes, that startling shade of green and gold, had dulled to a mossy gray. They were bloodshot. Flecks of dust from the wickedly crude streets still clung to her hair, sullying the vibrant gold. Everything about her had dimmed. Strange, when he felt so charged and alive.
    Miles’ss certainty faltered. What if this bedeviling colony held no magic for her? How could they be so mismatched when he wanted her so badly?
    At last she complied, briskly, without another word. Miles found himself looking at the exquisite arch of her neck. Sweat had tightened the swirling curls at her nape. He needed to kiss her there. That was the compromise his mind made with his body. He would kiss her there and leave her be. After removing her gown.
    He bit back a groan.
    It didn’t take much, just the tilt of his head and the brush of his lips. She smelled as elemental as he did, all dirt and sweat—more of the ugly truth that held him so enraptured. At the first touch of skin to skin, she gasped and he hardened.
    Viv spun and backed away. “Stop.”
    “All right.”
    “Stop all of this!”
    “Well, that I cannot do.” He grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her back around, quickly unlacing her gown before she had the chance to second-guess his intentions. Metal spikes were more pliant than her spine. “Now, tomorrow morning we can visit the clearing house and I’ll acquaint you with the fundamentals of our enterprise. I expect you’ll fare much more soundly than I, what with your father’s example to draw from.”
    “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.
    “Then some evening soon, I’ll visit the Kimberley Club. I fear I must, seeing as how no women are permitted. It must gall you when you realize I’m a necessary part of this venture.”
    “What is so necessary about a smoking club?”
    His fingers still shook and blood hammered in his shaft, but Miles found the presence of mind to talk about their schedules. He deserved a curtain call for putting on such a show. “It’s where the rich and powerful men of Kimberley brag about their new wealth. Mr. Nolan mentioned that Neil Elden is back in town. I’ve never met the man, but I suspect I must.”
    “Who is he?”
    “Owner of the Lion’s Head Mine and one of our board members. He splits his time between Kimberley and Cape Colony, where he sits on the provincial Parliament.” He smiled next to her ear. “Luckily I sit on Her Majesty’s genuine Parliament, so you’ll be pleased to know he doesn’t intimidate me in the least.”
    The laces gaped open. Viv shrugged and the gown slipped down her arms. His wife turned to glance over hershoulder. Since when should she be smiling? She lifted her chin, not like a minister’s bride on her wedding night, staring at the ceiling and awaiting the worst, but a warrior planning a counterattack.
    “And the corset, please.”
    Miles froze. Breathing deeply through his nose did nothing to calm his ticking pulse. It seemed she was finally raising the stakes. He made short work of the remainder of her stays and laces, hoping that haste would ease the tremors in his fingers.
    Free of her encumbering clothing, Viv stepped out of the pile of silk and satin and lace. She wore nothing but her shift, drawers, and stockings, her dust-streaked hair still bound up in a bouquet of curls and pins. Her long, graceful legs didn’t falter. Her spine didn’t lose its majestic grace.
    But something had changed. He would’ve sworn that the faintest wiggle of her hips was designed to drive him to the brink of his control. He transformed into a statue, unable to do anything but watch as she crossed the room, selected a silken wrap from among a pile of filmy female garments, and slid into it.
    The room had turned hot, exacerbating his temper. “You