Daisy stared worriedly into his shadowed face. “What if you change your mind about me? What if you come back and tell me that you were wrong, you don’t want to marry me, and—” <br />“No,” Matthew said, stroking the rampant black waves of her hair. “There’s no turning back. I’ve taken your innocence. I’m not going to avoid my responsibility.” <br />Disgruntled by the choice of words, Daisy frowned. <br />“What’s the matter?” he asked. <br />“The way you put it…your <i>responsibility</i>…as if you have to atone for some terrible mistake. It’s not the most romantic thing to say, especially in present circumstances.” <br />“Oh.” Matthew grinned suddenly. “I’m not a romantic man, sweetheart. You knew that already.” He bent his head and kissed the side of her neck, and nipped at her ear. “But I <i>am</i> responsible for you now.” He worked his way down to her shoulder. “For your safety…your welfare…your pleasure…and I take my responsibilities very seriously…” <br />He kissed her breasts, drawing the taut peaks into the melting heat of his mouth. His hand parted her thighs and played gently between them. <br />A moan of pleasure slipped from her throat, and he smiled. “You make the sweetest sounds,” he murmured. “When I touch you like this…and this…and the way you cry out when you come for me…” <br />Her face burned. She tried to be quiet, but in another moment he had coaxed another helpless moan from her. “Matthew…?” Her toes curled as she felt him slip lower, his tongue tickling the hollow of her navel. <br />His voice was muffled by the covers that tented over his head. “Yes, chatterbox?” <br />“Are you going to do—” she paused with a gasp as she felt him push her knees apart, “—what you did before?” <br />“It would seem so.