Night of Pleasure by Delilah Marvelle Page B

recovering from the one I had seven years ago.”
    He smirked. “I thought you might remember that. Which is why….” He set an amber candy into his mouth, shutting the tin with a snap and shoved it back into his pocket. He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a piece of folded confectionary paper. Unrolling it, he held it out, presenting a small single stick of flaxen-colored candy. “I got this for you, seeing you like plain sweets. It’s a honey stick.”
    Her lips parted. He remembered. She swallowed. Why did he have to be so terrifyingly adorable? It wasn’t fair. She was trying to leave. Not stay. She gently took it. “Thank you.”
    “My pleasure.” Crushing the paper into a ball with both hands, he shoved it into his pocket. “Tell me what you think.” He lingered.
    He clearly expected her to eat it now. She hated eating things in front of people. “I’ll eat it later, thank you.”
    “Why not enjoy it now?” he pressed. “I travelled well over three hours to get that.”
    Lovely. Now she had to eat it. She sighed. Hesitantly bringing it up to her lips, she set her teeth against the honey stick and snapped it off. It rolled against her tongue, an unexpected tangy sweetness heightening her senses. She chewed, crunching through its stickiness and inwardly melted at the enchantment. She hadn’t tasted a honey stick this good in years. It was…divine.
    Realizing he was intently watching her, she tucked the other piece into her mouth and primly chewed and crunched, half-nodding. “It’s very good. The best I’ve had in a while. Thank you.”
    He searched her face. “Christ. Watching you eat candy should be illegal.” Adjusting his coat with the tug of the lapels, he turned and kept walking. “How was your trip?” he rumbled out.
    It was like she had just emerged from a pulsing void of the fiery boy she had first met and the virile man he had become. A man who learned to control himself just enough to allow him out into public without a leash.
    Pushing out a calming breath, she swallowed what remained of her candy and tried to keep up with his long-legged stride. “My trip was tolerable,” she managed. “Crossing over the Atlantic is always tedious, I find, but unlike Papa, I never get ill.”
    “I’m glad to hear it.” He glanced toward her in between enjoying his hard candy. “After the roar of the Season, you and I are heading out to Paris in early July.” His voice dipped. “For a late honeymoon.”
    She cringed knowing she’d be in Persia by July. She also glanced toward him. “Don’t you think the idea of a ‘honeymoon’ is over-popularized and archaic?”
    “Archaic? God no. It’s romantic.”
    “Romantic?” she challenged. “You mean you really think there is honey on the moon?”
    He smirked and finished chewing his candy. “Well, now, maybe there is. Maybe the moon is over-populated with white bees and white flowers and we simply don’t know about it because the telescopes blur reality.”
    White bees and white flowers? Now there was a thought. It actually made a girl want to go to the moon.
    They walked for a long moment in silence.
    He came to a sudden halt and swung toward her.
    She tilted back.
    “I got ahead of myself.” He widened his stance and stared, clearly long finished with his candy. “The wedding is next week. Hope you’re ready to soar. Because I know I am.”
    Ready to soar? Gad. Everything about him was so intense . Like his spiced candy. It was as if everything mattered to him. Being around him was like their first meeting, their weeks spent together and all of his letters meshed into one breath. It was overwhelming. She tried not to panic knowing she still hadn’t heard anything from Nasser. He promised he’d already be in London waiting. “Uh…yes. I heard you got ahead of yourself.” She felt like such a rogue.
    Derek leaned toward her. “Are you all right?”
    She edged back. “Yes.” She couldn’t just blurt out that their