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new experience for me as well.” He slid his lips across her cheek again. “Because I have never longed so much for a woman.” And remarkably enough, he’d never felt more like a man than he did right now.
    A small moan came from her as she searched for his mouth with hers. When their lips met, he crushed her in his arms, kissing her soundly. Her arms hooked over his shoulders as she held him tight. Her response nearly had him dropping to his knees and pulling her with him to the floor. But he remained strong.
    “This should be wrong, but it feels too good,” she muttered.
    Indeed, this was wrong. Yet when he remembered whose granddaughter she was , it didn’t stop him this time. Calvin enjoyed hearing her gasps and sighs of delight too much. He also enjoyed the quickening of his heartbeat and the rush of happiness flowing through him right now.
    “Oh, Calvin, I really cannot.” She pulled out of his arms, turned and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge. She placed her hands over her face, and shook her head. “This is not right. I’m so confused.”
    Slowly, he walked toward her. “What are you confused about, my lovely Dorothy?” He knelt in front of her and gingerly stroked her hair. Seeing it flowing over her shoulders like a silk waterfall—and feeling just as sleek—made him want to rub the soft locks against his face, close his eyes, and breathe in her flowery fragrance.
    “I’m afraid of…being hurt like my mother,” she muttered into her hands.
    He gently tugged on her wrists until her hands fell away, and he gazed into her beautiful face. “Do you believe I will hurt you?”
    She nodded.
    A small part of his heart twisted. He didn’t want to hurt her. All he wanted at this moment was to take her back into his arms and smother her with passionate kisses. Yet, would becoming that intimate result in hurting her?
    “Calvin, I don’t know you. We have not really talked other than how I’m supposed to act. I have no clue about your life. You know mine inside and out, but I don’t know yours. How can I allow you such liberties when I’m having a difficult time trusting you?”
    By Jove, she was right! He stood, his mind whirling with insecurities as he paced the floor. Never had he shared anything personal about himself with a woman. The few times he’d allowed a woman to enter his heart, he’d been proven that they only wanted strong, virile men… whole men. Calvin hadn’t been whole for over six months now. Before that, he’d never entered a relationship with a woman because of his duties in the military.
    “Calvin, won’t you please talk to me as a friend?”
    A friend? Did he want to be friends with her? He shook away the thought. Of course he did. So then why was his heart yearning for something much deeper than friendship?
    Exhaling slowly, he moved and sat beside her on the bed. “You are correct. I have not been very open about my life.”
    “Would you tell me now?”
    Hesitating, part of him wanted to open up and trust her, yet the reserved part of his heart reminded him that this might push her away as it had the other women he tried to court.
    “Yes, I will tell you. What would you like to know?”
    She smiled. “Where did you grow up? Do you have a family?”
    “I was born and raised mostly in Mayfair, although my father had estates in Surrey and in North Devon.”
    “You told me your father was an earl.”
    Shock vibrated through him. She actually remembered! “Indeed. My father is Earl of Roswell. He and my mother had four children. I have two brothers older and one sister younger.”
    Her smile softened as she leaned closer. “Was your family happy?”
    “Yes, I believe we were. I got along with my siblings, and my parents.” He shrugged. “To me, that was just the normal way to live.”
    “Please, go on. Tell me more about your family.” Her eyes twinkled with excitement.
    Relaxing, he chuckled. Of course she would want to know more about his family since she