When she closed her eyes the dream, like it had every night for the last three years, started the second her mind slipped into a deep sleep.

She was at a ball, resplendent and pure in her rose-colored ball gown. She was the picture of stillness in the churning sea of laughing faces behind masks, groping hands and wriggling hips. She was searching, always searching for someone…

/Sarah Williams rolled over in bed, burying her head in the goose down pillow, one hand clutching her sheets/

The music made her want to join the revelers in their steamy celebration, but she had been taught better than that. Instead she would wait, wait to be asked to dance like a good little girl.

She spied him out of the corner of her eye, turning her head quickly to not lose sight of him. As quick as a thought he was gone again, leaving her frowning in frustration. He played this cat and mouse game every night, prolonging their meeting to the point of pain. She had grown accustomed to the familiar sensation of her heart fluttering in her chest like a bird when he finally appeared in front of her like magic. Recently, however, a new awareness had begun to arise. Not only did her heart quicken, her body had started to ache when he held her in his arms so chastely, gazing down at her with his knowing grin, waiting waiting…

“Sarah,” he whispered behind her, and then with a whirl of her skirts, her hair flowing in the gust of magic that surrounded him, she was again in the circle of his arms, being led around the crowded dance floor.

He was splendid in his midnight blue waistcoat, high-waisted breeches enhancing his flat belly and muscular thighs, a spill of lace at his throat and wrists. One hand held hers tight by his gloved fingers; another remained innocently at her waist, the perfect picture of a gentleman.

But he was not a gentle man. She knew it as well as she knew her own name; lying in wait beneath his manicured veneer lay a true hedonist; passion and danger in its purest form. However, their nightly reunion never progressed past the dance because she, as nature and destiny demanded, was the innocent heroine. Good and evil, innocence and lust could not become bedfellows.

“How was your day, my precious?”

“I missed you,” she admitted softly, staring up into mismatched eyes.

“Then you should have come to me sooner.”

“I had rehearsal. I’m the lead in the play this year…”

“What a pity,” he said, tilting his head imperceptibly close to hers, “that I will not be there to enjoy you.”

Her eyebrows knit together, she bit her lower lip. “You don’t need to see the play, you already have me every night.”

That one elegant eyebrow arched in amusement. “I don’t believe I have ‘had’ you every night, Sarah.”

She lowered her eyes and blushed. Normally that comment could have been laughed at, and they would have moved easily into lighter conversation. However, lately, she was unable to shrug off such a blatantly arousing suggestion. It created pictures in her head that made her feel like a liar, a wolf in sheep’s clothing; she was not chaste. Not while she imagined his mouth on her body…

He sighed as he watched her struggle with her desire. Always her subconscious mind refused to acknowledge what it was she truly wanted, and another night passed where he dutifully played the role of adolescent fantasy and trusted confidant. If he moved too quickly, he faced possibly losing her.  Unacceptable.

As always, dawn came too quickly. They were the last couple standing, their graceful dancing now reduced to a rhythmic swaying, unwilling to let the dream end.

He lightly touched the silver vines entwined in her hair, and smoothed his gloved hand down her curling locks.

“I’m afraid its time for me to go,” she said sorrowfully, feeling the pressing urge to wake as the day was born.

“I understand,” he said, following the expected script perfectly. If he had any power over her, he would have long since divested her of her gown and wrapped her thighs around his waist, cupping her-

Lost for a moment in his desires, he realized she had been speaking to him. He gave the briefest of smiles and politely bowed his head.

“Until tonight,” he agreed.

/two minds awoke instantaneously in two separate worlds. Their sheets were tangled around sweaty limbs, and both were burning for each other hotter than the sun itself/