"Happy birthday, Thalia."

But just as quickly as it had come, her pleasure faded. "Leo, thank you, but no. Take her back."

"Remember your promise."

"I didn't think you meant to give me a horse. She's far too dear, and I-" She drew him away, lowering her voice so the servant couldn't overhear. "I cannot afford her. The carriage horse I keep is an indulgence already. A riding horse, especially one as exceptional as this, it is beyond my means. Please, do not tempt me."

"There is no temptation. I shall bear all the cost of her upkeep."

Her mouth firmed. "No. Now have your man return her to the mews at Cavendish Square."

She is so stubborn, he thought. But I am more stubborn.

If Thalia would not accept the horse outright, then he would find a less straightforward way to convince her.

"You mistake the matter," he explained, as if that had been his plan all along. "I am not giving her to you permanently. Think of her as a loan."

"What?"

"My little sister, Esme, will be making her debut this spring and she'll need a good horse for Town. I thought you could ride Athena for the time being. Keep her trained and well exercised."

"A groom could do those things."

"Yes, but I want Athena accustomed to a sidesaddle and the feel of a woman's lighter weight and touch. One of my men cannot do that."

Thalia's pretty brows drew close as she considered his words. "I suppose not. Even so-"

"You would be doing a favor, not only for me, but for my sister. Come spring, I am sure Esme will have nothing but praise for your excellent care and training of her new mount. You are an exceptional rider and can make sure the mare is properly gentled. Please, Thalia. Do not make me disappoint my sister."

She frowned harder, then turned her gaze on the mare again. Her features softened, longing plain in her luminous brown eyes.

"It will just be temporary," she repeated. "Only until spring."

He smiled. "Esme will be exceedingly grateful. And do not worry-I will provide for all of Athena's care."

But Thalia wasn't paying attention any longer. Walking slowly forward, she reached out a careful hand and stroked the horse's neck.

Athena whickered softly, puffing out a gentle breath through her velvety nostrils.

"Oh, she's a love," Thalia said with a delighted sigh. "She's got spirit, but she'll be no trouble at all. Will you, girl?"

She patted her again and the horse tossed her head as if agreeing.

Thalia laughed, a wide smile on her rosy lips.

As it had once before, Leo's chest swelled with emotion as he watched her. He drank in her beauty, not just its outward manifestation, but the radiance of the soul he knew lay underneath.

Each day he came to know her a little better.

Every day he wanted to know more, be with her more.

Would a time ever come when he wanted that to stop? Right now, he couldn't imagine it.

Somehow he didn't think he would ever be able to imagine it.

He cleared his throat. "If it weren't for this weather, I would suggest we ride out now. How about tomorrow morning instead?"

She nodded, still stroking a palm over Athena's red-brown neck and shoulders. "Tomorrow morning sounds excellent."

"In the meantime, why don't we go inside and you can try on your new gowns?" He leaned closer so only Thalia could hear. "Then afterward, I can enjoy taking them off of you again."

Her eyes grew dark with sudden desire.

After giving the horse a final farewell pat and receiving a promise from the groom that the mare would get an extra scoop of oats in that night's feed, she let Leo slide his arm around her waist.

Huddled together under the umbrella, they hurried through the rain and back inside the house.

Many hours later, darkness having long since fallen, Thalia lay in bed, warm and replete inside Leo's arms, her head cushioned on his shoulder.

She skimmed her fingers in a lazy arc over his chest, then slowly leaned up to kiss him. "Thank you," she murmured.

"Considering the evening we've had, I should be the one thanking you." He ran a hand across her naked back, then lower to lightly cup her bottom. "But somehow I get the feeling you mean something else."

"What I mean is thank you for today. Thank you for giving me the best birthday I've ever had."

He arched a dark gold brow. "Ever?"

"Yes, ever."

"Not even as a child?"

She shook her head. "Any parties we had were always far more about my mother than me. One year she didn't even invite any children. Just her friends. As I recall, I spent most of the day alone in the nursery with a book and was glad of it."

"How old were you?"

"Seven, I think."

"That's awful."

"Oh, it wasn't so bad." She shrugged. "My parents were often self-involved and thoughtless, but they could be kind as well. I never wanted for anything, not really. And it wasn't as if they did anything so very dreadful. It's not as if they beat me."

"I should think not," he said, his words gruff as if he couldn't even conceive of such an idea.

She looked away, repressing the sudden urge to shiver as other, darker memories came upon her. But just as quickly, she pushed them aside. She wasn't going to let anything ruin these moments with Leo, certainly not the past.

"I just wanted you to know," she said, gazing deeply into his eyes, "wanted to thank you for giving me this one, absolutely perfect day."

His arm tightened around her. "I would give you more. I would shower you with anything you desired, if only you would let me."

She shook her head. "This is enough. More than enough. I learned long ago never to be too greedy. It makes the disappointments that much easier to bear."

"Why do you a.s.sume there will be disappointments?"

"Because that is the way life is."

"Not always."

His hand caressed her lower back, sending ripples of pleasure in its wake.

"No," she agreed quietly, "not always."

Reaching up, she pressed her palm to his cheek, his skin faintly rough with a day's growth of whiskers.

But she didn't mind. She liked everything about Leo, even a little bristle.

"Make love to me again," she whispered.

A look of desire came into his eyes; it was an expression she had come to know well.

"Gladly," he said, with husky purpose.

Fitting his mouth to hers, he claimed her with a pa.s.sionate intensity that quickly robbed her mind of everything but him. She kissed him back, eager and needy, knowing he was the very best present of all.

Her bare skin slid in a sinuous glide against his, her pulse pounding out a wild beat with every new kiss and caress. She met his ardor with her own, demanding, almost greedy, giving and taking until she lost herself in the feverish joy of their union.

She arched, crying out as he lifted her up and over him to bury himself deep inside.

She sighed at the utter perfection, marveling at how right it was with him.

Only him.

And she felt possessed in those moments, changed in some unalterable way as if her very bones and blood were being melted away and re-formed. As if her life was no longer wholly her own and she would be cast adrift without him.

She trembled, suddenly afraid.

But then he surged within her, driving her, forcing the pleasure to a delirious peak that made her body sing and her senses fly free.

And she soared, awash with happiness as she crashed blissfully back down to earth, secure in the unbreakable bonds of his arms.

Leo joined Thalia for her inaugural ride on Athena the following morning. As usual, he'd awakened early and gone back to Cavendish Square to bathe and change clothes. He'd left again straight after, riding his stallion back to Thalia's town house so they could head out together for a morning gallop in the park.

The little roan mare had behaved even better than he and Thalia had predicted, the horse warming immediately to Thalia's skilled yet gentle touch.

Thalia was smiling broadly, her eyes bright with excitement, cheeks pink from the exercise and bracing fresh air by the time they returned to her town house for breakfast.

The two of them indulged in a hearty meal at her dining room table, enlivened by delicious offerings from yesterday's birthday hamper and a seemingly endless supply of enjoyable conversation.

All the rooms in the house were warm now, thanks to the stacks of firewood and a load of coal that had been delivered. And though he had decided not to mention it to Thalia for fear of provoking a fresh argument, another such delivery was scheduled to arrive at Christmastide-more than enough fuel to last her through the winter.

To his amazement, he discovered that Thalia had never visited the Tower of London or seen the crown jewels. So they spent the afternoon touring the great edifice on the banks of the Thames, looking like just another pair of sightseers rather than the experienced city dwellers that they were.

Afterward he convinced her to put on her new evening gown, then took her to the Clarendon Hotel for an excellent meal prepared by the great French chef Jacquiers, former servant of Louis XVIII.

She confided that the experience was another first for her, since she had never before dined out in a hotel with a gentleman or eaten authentic French cuisine that was generally considered as good as the finest fare served in Paris. The sheltered, gently bred ladies of the Ton, she told him on the drive home, had no idea what delights they were missing.

"Perhaps there are some benefits to being a disgraced, scandalous divorcee, after all." She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I never had fun like this when I was married."

But the most fun of all awaited them when they returned for the final time to her town house and went to bed. There in the quiet candlelight, they made exquisite love, feasting on each other while they indulged in a panoply of the carnal pleasures.

He brought her to her peak more than once, loving the breathy little sounds she made as he roused her, and her frantic cries of completion, which he had to smother with hard kisses or into the pillows so she wouldn't wake the house.

His own releases were powerful, leaving him exhausted and satisfied, yet somehow ready for more. He felt bewitched in her arms, whole in a way he couldn't explain.

Their final time was the best of all as he thrust into her with wild abandon, her arms and legs clenched high and tight around his back, her eyes locked with his, neither of them able to look away. He'd shuddered violently as he took his pleasure, her climax still quaking through her body and into his with a force that intensified and prolonged his own.

Later in the dark, he held her and listened to her sleep. He knew he needed to do the same, but somehow he didn't want to give up the moment.

He was too content, too replete.

She made him happy in ways even he wasn't sure he fully understood yet.

For the first time since he'd met her, he wasn't certain of the future. It was still early days in their affair and yet he couldn't see himself growing tired of her.

Or wanting things to end.

Yet what of her?

In so many ways, she was still a mystery to him. For all their closeness, he sensed there was a part of her that she kept bound tightly away.

Hidden and her own.

He wanted to know what that something was, to unlock all her deepest secrets so nothing stood between them.

I will know, he vowed. With patience I will know everything, know her inside and out.

He ran a hand over her hair, smiling as she sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer.

Dropping a kiss on her forehead, he closed his eyes and willed himself to join her in the world of dreams.

Chapter 26.