"Breathtaking," he breathed, awed by the sight of her.
She turned to face him.
Slender, with shoulder length raven curls surrounding a face of such beauty he was robbed of his breath, Caroline caused a sharp stab of recognition deep within him.
"Mr. Shaw," she whispered, taking a stumbling step backward. She'd seen him in the ballroom, he was certain of it, but she'd quickly turned and headed in the opposite direction. He'd had a devil of a time finding her after that.
Smiling, he sketched a low bow. "Lady Caroline. It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." He straightened and then stepped closer.
Caroline backed away, but seemed unaware of the hedge at her back that would soon halt her retreat. Jack saw no reason to point it out.
To the untrained eye, she might seem frightened, but the heat in her gaze betrayed her. She stared at him with a burning intensity so hot it sparked a fiery awareness.
She looked beyond his shoulder, her fingers twisting restlessly in her skirt.
"We are alone," he said softly, taking another step. "I won't harm you. I simply wish to speak with you."
That wasn't entirely true. He'd wanted to meet her, yes, and talk with her. But if they suited, as he suspected they would, he also wanted to claim her.
"Wh-what is it you wish to discuss with me, Mr. Shaw?"
"Jack," he corrected, stepping closer still.
She smelled like vanilla and spice, a scent that was at once familiar and unknown, a scent that urged him to bridge the gap between them until nothing separated his body from hers.
Caroline swallowed and Jack's entire body hardened. Her gaze was ravenous, filled with a hunger that ignited a similar need within himself. No woman in his life had ever looked at him as she did.
"Mr. Shaw, it's best that you stay away from me."
His mouth curved. "You could ask anything of me, sweet, and I would do my best to grant your desire. To stay away, however, is not something I'm capable of doing."
"You don't understand--"
"Are you still unwell?" he asked gruffly, frowning with concern.
"No." The low tone of her voice made his blood heat in his veins. Eyes wide, Caroline took another backward step only to be brought up short by the hedge.
Jack tugged off his glove and reached out to her, brushing a finger along the edge of her bodice. His breathing deepened at the feel of her satiny skin. "Your heart races as fast as mine."
"Please..."
He stared into her eyes and saw the longing there, a longing he reciprocated. "If you have a care for me at all, love, you would ease my torment."
"Jack...you must go. Forget I exist."
"Tell me I'm not what you want, Caroline, and I will walk away. Otherwise, I intend to kiss you."
She started to speak, her eyes wide and pleading, but in the end she said nothing.
With unsteady hands he reached for her, lowering his mouth to hers. Her taste, sweet and ripe, flooded his senses, and Jack groaned, clutching her more tightly to him. He had not been mistaken. The fit of her body against his was perfect. She was perfect.
Caroline melted into his embrace, returning his kiss with welcome fervor. Her lips parted and her tongue slid along his, licking and tasting the deepest recesses of his mouth. Jack shuddered, his entire body aching as her gloved fingers curled around his nape, holding him to her.
And then suddenly he was alone, his arms empty.
Bewildered, Jack spun about, searching the garden around him. He found no trace of the woman he'd just held.
Like a dream or misty apparition, Caroline was gone.
Chapter 1
Two years later
Caroline closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Standing on the foredeck of the merchant vessel The Dreamer, the misty salt air bit at her skin and caused her to clutch her shawl more firmly around her. She'd left the warmth and comfort of her cabin to find a reprieve from thoughts of Jack, but it was impossible. Beneath the smell of the ocean she could still detect his evocative masculine scent, a scent that heated her blood and made forgetting him impossible.
He owned this ship, as well as a dozen others, and his presence lingered here, taunting her with the promise of what she wanted most, but could never have.
Under more ideal circumstances Caroline would have found berth on another vessel, but time had been of the essence. Jack had returned to America months earlier than she had anticipated.
She'd heard word of his return at almost the exact moment she'd sensed him. Rushing to her lodgings, she'd gathered up her belongings and boarded the first ship back to England. It was her misfortune that the earliest departing vessel had been one of Jack's, because her haste had cost her dearly.
These last days at sea had been torture. Jack's essence had seeped into every pore of the ship. He haunted her dreams, would give her no peace. Every night as she attempted to sleep he visited her, begging in his velvety voice for her to return to him. Come back to me, Caroline, he urged. Come back. The heat of his nocturnal caresses and the ravishment of his kisses drove her to madness.
Opening weary eyes, Caroline gazed out over the water. Swirls of mist partially obscured the cloudy sky, the silvery gray color reminding her so much of Jack's eyes.
From the moment she'd first seen him in the Fontaine ballroom, she'd been lost. The passionate kiss a week later had destroyed her. Even now she could feel the heat of his expert lips against hers, and the remembrance of his taste made her mouth water.
She wanted him so desperately she knew she would never be able to control the animal within her. It would bleed him dry; she would not be able to stop it. She had to stay away, far away. A man as beautiful and magnetic as Jack Shaw did not deserve to die in such a heinous manner. He radiated life and vitality, and she would flee to the ends of the earth before she drained him of the very things that had caused her to fall in love with him. A love that had been doomed long before she met him.
And so she ran. From France to Italy to America, she'd barely catch her breath before Jack would arrive, the expansion of his shipping interests causing him to visit all of the places she fled to.
This last missed encounter had come too close. Caroline could only hope his overseas business was resolved and he would remain in America. She was tired, lonely, and hungry for him. Misery was sapping her strength and resolve. If Jack came near her again, she wasn't certain she had the will to resist him.