EXCERPT:Kil rose unsteadily from the chair in front of the cold fireplace. On his first step, he teetered and grabbed at a table for balance. He’d not call himself drunk, but he had consumed enough liquor to be lightheaded.“You weren’t invited in here,” he said again, uncomfortable with the familiarity of her voice. “Leave.”“I brought Rachel home.”Kilburn spun around at the mention of his cousin. Poor Lady Rachel had a passel of problems. Her worst was the dementia, wandering off when no one watched her proved to be a chore in which he had regulated the duty to Missus Bevy. He didn’t have the strength to do more for his cousin than he already had, yet there was an obligatory thread of chivalry that wouldn’t let him turn his back on her either.“What do you mean you brought Rachel home?” He walked to the doorway and grabbed her upper arms. “Answer me.”He stared at the face looking up at him. In a turn for the good or the worse, his chest tightened and he found it difficult to breathe the name that always symbolized home to him—Juliette.Over the years, how many times had he tried to imagine the very contours of her jaw and her nose, or the color of her hair and the texture of her cheeks? Those aspects were not as important as the nature of her personality. She once had the gift of making him happy when she was around.Juliette remained quiet, gazing at him with an unexplainable expression. He had asked her a question. But what was it? Nothing filtered through his head that erased the mental inventory he took of his heart’s desire. The creamy shade of her skin alone distracted him.“I was riding my horse as I usually do this time of day and I found Lady Rachel swimming in the pond.” Juliette’s perfect lips appeared warm and appetizing.“Swimming?” He had always wondered what her heart shaped mouth would feel like against his.“Yes, fully clothed.” Her breath floated up and stroked his face, a caress that reached the danger of his buried lust.“Where is she now?” He turned from the sweetness of Juliette’s exhale, and glanced at the closed door.“Missus Bevy took charge of her.” Juliette answered his unspoken concern. “I would assume she’s in her chamber by now, changing into dry clothes.”Kilburn returned his attention to Juliette’s appearance. Sheathed in wet brocade, she shivered. Goosebumps dotted her pale skin all the way to the brim of the bodice. The fabric clung to her curves, making her a tempting treat for a man starving for sex. There were two pleasures in life, riding a magnificent dragon and coupling with a lovely woman. He’d lost the love he had of one, but seeing Juliette grown up made his body tense and anxious to have the other.Behind the shield of fabric, the tips of Juliette’s breasts pointed. Kil licked his lips, savoring the image he formed of them exposed. Dark capped or rosy pink, he had no preference to the color of her nipples—in the past he had no preference to anything about the women he bedded. Once forbidden to him because of her youth, Juliette had matured into a woman he could pursue. Excitement raced through his veins as his desires grew on that realization.“You’re very nicely packaged.” He slid his hands to her shoulders, trying to recall her as a young girl, and then, thinking better of it.Her brow wrinkled, maybe a little puzzled, possibly a bit frightened. Neither stopped him from inspecting her. Twisting a wet lock of her golden hair, he tugged the tendril and made her step closer.She stared with a sympathetic set to her features. The scar on his face wasn’t large, but it was noticeable. He put his hand against the line that skittered down his cheekbone, the mark of battle where a dragon’s talon cut him.