Rake Beyond Redemption by Anne O'Brien

whispered, finally breaking the spell, stretching luxuriously.
    Zan kissed her lips, her hair, in a chaste little salute. ‘What can you not believe?’
    ‘That you have given me such happiness. I feel as diamond-bright as those stars shining down on us. I feel as if they have got into my blood, to sparkle there.’
    ‘Very poetic, Madame Mermaid. Then if you feel at one with the stars, I am well repaid for my efforts.’
    Was that a touch of cynicism? Momentarily unsettled, Marie-Claude reached up her hand as if to smooth his hair from his forehead.
    Abruptly Zan drew back, released her. Sat up and pushed himself to his feet in one strong movement. Surprisedby his sudden change of mood, Marie-Claude could do nothing but allow him to lift her, to help her don her robe with brisk attention, before putting his own clothes to rights.
    ‘You are very skilled, I see,’ she remarked with a soft laugh, clinging to their previous intimacy against the little distance he had built between them, as he tied her silk ribbons into more than passable bows.
    ‘I have to admit to having some knowledge of feminine attire. Does it bother you?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘It needn’t.’
    ‘I have never dreamed of anything like that!’ She closed her fingers around his wrists in the softest of bracelets. ‘You made me feel beautiful and desired and alive as a woman. What more could any woman ask but to be loved in the moonlight on a night such as this…’ And by a man she finds irresistible , she added in her mind.
    ‘You have cast an enchantment, Marie.’ His voice had gentled again, and Zan pressed his lips to her brow. ‘But now it’s beyond late and I must take you home.’
    Linking his fingers in hers, he drew her with him. Silently they retraced their steps to the edge of the lawns, where he turned her against his arm so that he could see her face.
    ‘Goodnight, my glorious girl.’
    He could not resist. A kiss that began exactly as he intended, a gentle, reflective farewell. A light touch of lips against lips. And it took him by surprise. The flood of desire. The blow to his gut like a punch from an iron fist. He wanted her all over again as if he had not just buried himself in her, satiating his needs. Those sameneeds rose like to shining fish to the surface of the sea, to rack him again.
    Marie-Claude clung to him, poured all she had into the kiss, and found her emotions whirled into disarray once more.
    ‘Go in.’ His voice was low and rough, again surprising her. Startling her when he thrust her away. ‘Go in before I take you again…’
    She did not quite understand, but reached to touch his mouth with her fingers. ‘Goodnight, Zan.’
    ‘Sleep well, Marie.’
    ‘I will.’
    ‘No bad dreams. No regrets.’ The twist of his lips against her hand was wry.
    ‘I will dream of you.’
    As she turned from him she thought she saw a hint of bitterness trace its path across his face, or perhaps it was a mere shadow as a cloud drifted across the face of the moon. She could not bear that he might already be regretting what he had done.
    Marie-Claude closed the door and leaned back against it, astonished at her boldness, her lack of discretion. How could she have acted as she did?

Chapter Five
    M arie-Claude’s memory was crystal clear when she awoke. Far too clear, she thought. Had she really done those things, said those things that brought a blush to her skin? Allowed him, invited him, to do those things to her? Marie-Claude’s awakening in her own bed, the moonlight replaced by the cool, clear light of an overcast morning, sank her spirits. Humid, heavy, the heat of the previous days threatened to break in a sudden summer storm. The air was as heavy as her heart. A flush of shame washed over her, even deeper. She had lain in Alexander Ellerdine’s arms, inviting his caresses. Demanding them. Not only the intimate discovery of his clever hands, but also tongue and teeth and lips. All consuming. And then when he had buried